How plants chill out
Date: 23.5.2012
Plants elongate their stems when grown at high temperature to facilitate the cooling of their leaves, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in Current Biology. Understanding why plants alter their architecture in response to heat is important as increasing global temperatures pose a threat to future food production.
When grown at higher temperatures, plants have an elongated, spindly architecture and develop fewer leaf pores, known as stomata. However, in spite of having a reduced number of stomata, the elongated Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown by the team displayed greater water loss and leaf evaporative cooling.
The researchers suggest that the increased spacing of leaves observed in high temperature-grown plants may promote the diffusion of water vapour from stomata, thereby enhancing the cooling process.
