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SUMMARY:Explosive seed dispersal - Angela Hay\, Max Planck
DTSTART:20180510T120000Z
DTEND:20180510T130000Z
UID:TALK82581@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:david baulcombe
DESCRIPTION:How mechanical and biological processes are coordinated across
  cells\, tissues\, and organs to produce complex traits is a key question 
 in biology. Cardamine hirsuta\, a relative of Arabidopsis thaliana\, uses 
 an explosive mechanism to disperse its seeds. We show that this trait evol
 ved through morphomechanical innovations at different spatial scales. At t
 he organ scale\, tension within the fruit wall generates the elastic energ
 y required for explosion. This tension is produced by differential contrac
 tion of fruit wall tissues through an active mechanism involving turgor pr
 essure\, cell geometry and wall properties of the epidermis. Explosive rel
 ease of this tension is controlled at the cellular scale by asymmetric lig
 nin deposition within endocarp b cells – a striking pattern that is stri
 ctly associated with explosive pod shatter across the Brassicaceae plant f
 amily. By bridging these different scales\, we present an integrated mecha
 nism for explosive seed dispersal that links evolutionary novelty with com
 plex trait innovation.
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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