Reaching for the sun: How plants work

Reaching for the Sun: How Plants Work

Volumn , Issue , 2011, Pages 1-298

  King, John ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84928626456     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511973895     Document Type: Book

References (100)

1. Hopkins W G and Hüner N P A (2009) Introduction to Plant Physiology, 4th edn. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
2. Huxley A (1978) Plant and Planet. Harmonds worth, Middlesex: Penguin.
3. Raven, P. H., Evert, R. E. and Eichhorn, S. E. (1999) Biology of Plants, 6th edn. New York: Freeman.
4. Ridge, I. (2002) Plants. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Salisbury, F. B. and Ross, C. W. (1992) Plant Physiology, 4th edn. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
6. Stern, K. R. (2006) Introductory Plant Biology, 10th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
7. Taiz, L. and Zeiger, E. (2006) Plant Physiology, 4th edn. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.
8. Bazzaz, F. A. and Fajer, E. D. (1992) Plant life in a C O 2 -rich world. Scientific American, 266 68–74 That possible benefits of increasing CO 2 in the atmosphere are rooted in the details of the pathway of photosynthesis, an issue also discussed at length in Part V.
9. Bjorkman, O. and Berry, J. (1973) High-efficiency photosynthesis. Scientific American, 299, 80–93. Authors consider the range of environments in which plants grow and the adaptations in photosynthesis that have evolved in these environments.
10. Boyer, P. D., Walker, J. E., and Skou, J. C., (1997) ATP– the universal energy carrier in the living cell. Press release from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 15 October 1997, announcing the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. http://nobelprize.org (accessed July 10, 2009).
11. Castelvecchi, D. (2009). Photosynthesis: the reaction that makes the world green is just one of many variants. Scientific American, 301, 89. A note regarding the type of photosynthesis in which water splitting is used to generate a source of chemical energy.
12. Dostrovsky, I., (1991) Chemical fuels from the sun Scientific American, 265, 102–107. Shows how much energy the sun delivers to our planet and how this source might be harnessed by humans.
13. Engelmann, Th. W. (1882) On the production of oxygen by plants in a micro spectrum Botanische Zeitung, 40, 419–426. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Here, Engelmann used the alga Cladophora and bacteria to answer the question of which wavelengths of light were most effective in photosynthesis.
14. Hill R (1939) Oxygen produced by isolated chloroplasts Proc Roy Soc Lond, Ser B, 127, 192–210. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Gabriel and S Fogel (eds) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. In which Hill describes how oxygen release in photosynthesis is linked to the light and can occur even when chloroplasts are isolated from cells.
15. Ingen-Housz, J. (1779) Experiments upon Vegetables, Discovering that their Great Powers of Purifying the Common Air in the Sunshine, and of Injuring it in the Shade and at Night. London: P. Elmsly and H. Payne. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Ingen-Housz showed that oxygen was produced only in the light in photosynthesis and only in the green parts of plants.
16. Khakh B S and Burnstock G (2009) T he double life of A T P Scientific American, 301, 84–92. ATP is being recognized now as not just an essential source of energy in cells but also as a carrier of critical messages between cells.
17. Kiang, N. Y.(2008) The color of plants on other worlds Scientific American, 298 48–55 Do plants need to be green? The author reasons that plants could be red, blue, or even black.
18. Lambers, H. and Ribas-Carbo, M. (2005) Plant respiration: from cell to ecosystem. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol. 18. Dordrecht: Springer. Comprehensive coverage of most aspects of knowledge about respiration in plants, including photorespiration.
19. Maruyama, K. (1991). The discovery of adenosine triphosphate and the establishment of its structure. J Hist Biol, 24, 145–154. Concerning the initial discovery and establishment of the structure of ATP.
20. Priestley J (1772) Observations on different kinds of air Phil Trans Roy Soc Lond, 62, 166–170. In Great Experiments in Biology M L Gabriel and S. Fogel (e d s) Englewood Cliffs: NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Shows that green plants “restore” air.
21. Ruben, S. Kamen, M. and Hyde, J. L. (1941) Heavy oxygen (18 O) as a tracer in the study of photosynthesis. J Am Chem Soc, 63, 877–879. In Great Experiments in Biology M L Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Shows that oxygen released during photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide.
22. Saussure, N. Th. De. (1804) On the influence of carbonic acid gas on mature plants. Recherches Chimique sur la Vegetation, Paris. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Garbriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Showing that CO 2 from the air is required for photosynthesis.
23. Staes, D. M. Otto Meyerhof and The Physiology Institute (2001) The birth of m odern bio-chemistry. In A History of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research 1929–1939, Nobelprize.org, 2001. A report from the Nobel Prize Organization on the career of Otto Meyerhof who, along with A. V. Hill, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1922. http://nobelprize.org
24. Stiles, W. and Leach, W. (1952) Respiration in Plants, 3rd edn. London: Methuen and Co Ltd. Detailed account of early history of respiration from de Saussure onwards.
25. Van Helmont, J-B. (1748). By experiment, that all vegetable matter is totally and materially of water alone. Ortis Medicinae, 108–109. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Garbriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Translation of Van Helmont’s great experiment with willow cuttings by N. Lewis.
26. Van Niel, C. B. (1929) Contributions to Marine Biology, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 161–169. In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Van Niel clarifies the nature of variants of photosynthesis among which is the notion that oxygen comes from the decomposition of water.
27. Barthlott, W. Porembski, S. Fischer, E. and Gemmel, B. (1998) First protozoa-trapping plant found. Nature, 392, 447. A plant which, like those that are insectivorous, captures protozoa and digests them for their nitrogen.
28. Boonman, A. Anten, N. P. R. Dueck, T. A. (2006). Functional significance of shade-induced leaf senescence in dense canopies: an experimental test using transgenic tobacco. The American Naturalist, 168(5), 597–607. The authors demonstrate that plants growing in dense stands benefit from shedding lower, shaded leaves, which can no longer photosynthesize efficiently, yet take energy to maintain.
29. Crofts, A. Peter Mitchell., (1992) A commentary on Mitchell’s life and accomplishments, especially in regard to the chemiosmotic hypothesis. See: www.life.illinois.edu/crofts (accessed July 18, 2010).
30. Dittmer, H. J. (1937). A quantitative study of the roots and root hairs of a winter rye plant (Secale cereale). American Journal of Botany, 24, 417–420. Grown under ideal conditions, this rye plant produced an astonishing amount of root.
31. Epstein, E. (1972) Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives. New York: Wiley and Sons. Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of plant mineral nutrition, including nitrogen fixation.
32. Flowers, T. J. and Yeo, A. R. (1992) Solute Transport in Plants. London: Blackie. Advanced coverage, to the date of publication, of all aspects of solute transport from the external substrate throughout the plant and its cells.
33. Govindarajulu, M., Pfeffer, P. E., Jin, H, et al. (2005). Nitrogen transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature, 435, 819–823. How some plant–fungi symbioses operate to transfer nitrogen from the soil to the plant via the fungus.
34. Hales, S. (1961) Vegetable Staticks [1727]. London: Oldbourne Press. A re-issue of Hales’s 1727 book which deals primarily with his experiments on the movement of water through the plant from the roots to the leaves and beyond.
35. Hewitt, E. J. and Smith, T. A. (1975) Plant Mineral Nutrition. London: The English Universities Press Ltd. Has an account of the history of plant nutrition after Van Helmont, including the important contribution of von Sachs’ hydroponic method.
36. Holderness, B. A. and Turner, M. (1991) Land, Labour and Agriculture, 1700–1920. London: The Hambledon Press. The authors provide information surrounding the controversy between Liebig and Lawes and Gilbert regarding the nitrogen requirements of crops.
37. Lewington, A. (1990) Plants for People. New York: Oxford University Press. Information especially about the many ways soyabean can be processed to make different foods.
38. Lewis, O. A. M. (1986) Plants and Nitrogen. Studies in Biology, No. 166. London: Arnold. Information about many aspects of nitrogen assimilation and the nitrogen cycle.
39. Mc Caskill, A. and Turgeon, R. (2007) Phloem loading in Verb scum phoeniceum L. depends on the synthesis of raff nose-family oligosaccharides. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 104, 19619–19624. Overview of the early steps in phloem trans-location from a leaf.
40. Nelson, N. (1994) Energizing porters by proton-motive force Journal of Experimental Biology, 196, 7–13. Review of the systems which carry out transport across cell membranes.
41. Rachmilevitch, S. Cousins, A. B. and Bloom, A. J. (2004) Nitrate assimilation in plant shoots depends on photorespiration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 101, 11506–11510. Evidence of the essential role of photorespiration in nitrate assimilation by plants and why breeding crops with lower photorespiration may be counterproductive, therefore.
42. Rothamsted Research. (2006). Guide to the classical and other long-term experiments, data sets and sample archives. www.rothamsted.ac.uk (accessed July 18, 2010).
43. Tudge, C. (1988) The Environment of Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The importance of pulses to the human diet, and nitrogen fixation.
44. Virgil (2009) Georgics: A Poem of the Land K Johnson (translator) London: Penguin Classics
45. Amasino, R. (2004) Verbalization competence and the epigenetic memory of w inter The Plant Cell, 16, 2553–2559. Historical review of the connection between exposure to cold temperatures and the promotion of flowering.
46. Barinaga M (1998) C lock photoreceptors shared by plants and animals Science, 282, 1628–1630. Commentary on the fact that cryptochrome is found in animals as well as plants.
47. Black, M., Bewley, J. D and Halmer, P. (2006) The Encyclopedia of Seeds: Science, Technology and Uses. Wallingford, UK: CABI International. Includes a review of the evolution of dormancy.
48. Boysen-Jensen, P. (1910). Transmission of the phototropic stimulus in the coleoptile of theoat seedling. Berichted. Deu tsche Botanisch Gesellschaft, 28, 118–120. In Great Experiments in Biology, M. L. Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1955. Boysen-Jensen was the first to show that the phototropic stimulus in plants is likely to be of a chemical nature.
49. Creelman, R. A. and Mullet, M. E. (1997) Biosynthesis and action of jasmonates in plants Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 48, 355–381. A review of the jasmonates.
50. Darwin, C. (1859) The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London: Murray. Darwin concludes that flowers are colored when pollinated by insects but not when wind-pollinated.
51. Darwin, C. and Darwin, F. (1955) Sensitiveness of plants to light: its transmitted effects In Great Experiments in Biology M. L. Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds) Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall. Excerpt from The Power of Movement in Plants, C. Darwin and F. Darwin. London: Murray, 1880, which highlights the pioneering work of the Darwins on the curvature of plants towards light.
52. Davies, P. J. (2008) B right days cool nights help create autumnal splendor says Cornell Plant Physiologist. Science Daily. http://www.sciencedaily.com (accessed July 11, 2008). Discussion of what kinds of prior conditions lead to more or less brilliant autumn colors.
53. Dodd, A. (2007). New research alters concept of how circadian clock functions. http://www.sciencedaily.com (accessed July 11, 2008). A report that a molecule important for stress signaling in plants also regulates their circadian clock.
54. Delph, L. F. and Lively, C. M. (1985) Pollinator visits to f oral color phases of Fuchsia excorticata. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 12, 599–603. Links color change in flowers to nectar reward and pollination.
55. Dukas, R. and Shmida, A. (1989) Correlation between the color size and shape of Israeli crucifer flowers in relationships to pollinators. Oikos, 54, 281–286. Whether pollinators, in this case bees, differ in their innate color preference.
56. Fankhuer, C. and Staiger, D. (2002 Photo receptors in Arabidopsis thaliana: light perception, signal transduction and entrainment of the endogenous clock. Planta, 216, 1–16. Review of light-related developmental processes in plants, the photoreceptors involved, and the circadian clock.
57. Goodwin, T. W. and Mercer, E. I. (1990) Introduction to Plant Biochemistry, 2nd edn. Oxford: Pergamon Press. The role of flavonoids in plant coloration and how their color is influenced by factors like pH and metals.
58. Harborne, J. B. (1993) Introduction to Eological Biochemistry, 4th edn. London: Academic Press. Extensive discussion of the types and roles of color and scents in plant pollination.
59. Jones, P. (2001) Smart proteins New Scientist, 17 March, 2001, 1–2. Jones outlines the structures of different kinds of proteins and the array of tasks they perform in the living cell.
60. Kende, H. (1998). Plant biology and the Nobel prize. Science, 282, 627. Kende points out that ethylene in plants was the first gas shown to be a signaling molecule in biological systems, not nitric oxide in animals.
61. Klein, R. M. (1987) The Green World: An Introduction to Plants and People, 2nd edn. New York: Harper and Row. With chapters on the use of plants in human nutrition, medicines, and religion.
62. Lamont, B. B. and Collins, B. G. (1988) Flower colour change in Banksiailicifolia: a signal for pollinators. Australian Journal of Ecology, 13, 129–135. Bird pollinators learn to discriminate between flowers with nectar reward and those without on the basis of flower color.
63. Lee, D. W. (2007) Nature’s Palette: The Science of Plant Color. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Full coverage of color in plants, including iridescence.
64. Lee, D. W. and Gould. K. S. (2002) Why leaves turn red: pigments called anthocyanins probably protect leaves from light damage by direct shielding and by scavenging free radicals. American Scientist, 90, 524–532. Authors hypothesize that plants protect their dying leaves so that retrieval of their contents can be completed before they are discarded.
65. Leopold, A. C. (2000) M any modes of movement Science, 288, 2131–2132. Leopold outlines the fact that movements in plants are primarily based not on contractile proteins, as they are in animals, but on alterations to physical and cellular functions (e.g. change in shape or direction of growth).
66. Lewington, A. (1990) Plants for People. New York: Oxford University Press. Comprehensive account of the use of plants by humans, including how they cure our ailments and our use of them to adorn our bodies.
67. Mas, P., Kim, W-Y. Somers, D. E. and Kay, S. A. (2003) Targeted degradation of T O C1 by ZTL modulates circadian function in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature, 426, 567–571. Evidence for the control of circadian rhythm city by gene loops forming an oscillator.
68. Pain, S. (2002) Redalert New Scientist, September, 41–44. How plants use red anthocyanin pigments to protect themselves against damaging wavelengths of light.
69. Pichersky, E. (2004). Plant scents: what we perceive as a fragrant perfume is actually a sophisticated tool used by plants to entice pollinators, discourage microbes and fend off predators. American Scientist, 92, 514–522. A comprehensive review of the use of scents by plants both to lure and repel.
70. Sage, L. C. (1992) Pigment of the Imagination: A History of Phytochrome Research. San Diego: Academic Press. Includes an account of the pioneering work of Tournois.
71. Srivastava, L. M. (2002) Plant Growth and Development: Hormones and Environment. San Diego: Academic Press. A comprehensive text covering many aspects of growth and development.
72. Suarez-Lopez, P. and Coupland, G. (1998) Plants see blue light Science, 279, 1323–1324. Identification of blue-light receptors in plants.
73. Trewavas, A. J. (1997). Plant cyclic & comes in from the cold. Nature, 390, 657–658. Definitive demonstration that, like other organisms and contrary to prevailing opinion, plants produce cAMP and use it to mediate the action of the growth substance, auxin.
74. Troyer, J. R. (2001). In the beginning: the multiple discovery of the first hormone herbicide. Weed Science, 49, 290–291. Troyer cites Theophil Ciesieski’s article: Untersuchungen über die Abwärtskrümmung der Wurzel. (Investigations of the downward curvature of roots.) Beitrage zur Biologie der Pfianzen, 1872.
75. Tsukaya, H. (2003). Organ shape and size; a lesson from studies of leaf morphogenesis. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 657–662 Tsukaya discusses how leaf shape- and size-control mechanisms determine leaf shape at the whole organ level via cell–cell interaction.
76. Weiss M R (1991) Floral colour changes as cues for pollinators Nature, 354, 227–229. A comprehensive review of how color changes influence the behavior and movement of pollinators.
77. Went, F. W, (1955) On growth-accelerating substances in the coleoptile of Avena sativa. In Great experiments in biology M. L., Gabriel and S. Fogel (eds) Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall. Excerpt from Went’s article in Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 30, 10–19, 1926.
78. Wheelwright, N. T. and Janson, C. H. (1985) Colors of fruit displays of bird-dispersed plants in two tropical forests. The American Naturalist, 126, 777–799. Color preferences of fruit-eating birds.
79. Whitney, H. M. Kolle, M. Andrew, P. et al. (2009). Floral iridescence, produced by diffractive optics, acts as a cue for animal pollinators. Science, 323, 130–133. Demonstration, for the first time in a plant, of a causal link between iridescence in a flower and attraction of a pollinator, the bumble bee.
80. Barz, W., Bless, W., Borger-Papendorf, G. (1990). Phytoalexins as part of induced defence reactions in plants: their elicitation, function and metabolism. In Bioactive Compounds from Plants, Ciba Foundation Symposium 154. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Highlights the wide range of substances that can act as phytoalexins.
81. Bennett, R. N. and Wallsgrove, R. M. (1994) Secondary metabolites in plant defence mechanisms. Tansley Review No. 72. New Phytologist, 127, 617–633. A comprehensive review of metabolites which play a role in plant defense.
82. Collazo, C., Chacón, O. and Borrás, O. (2006) Programmed cell death in plants resembles apoptosis of animals. Biotecnologia Aplicada, 23, 1–10. Review of the resemblances and contrasts between plant programmed cell death and animal apoptosis.
83. Crawley, M. J. (1986) Plant Ecology. Oxford: Blackwell. Strategies plants adopt to ensure their survival from one season and one generation to another.
84. Engelberth, J. Albon, H. T. Schmetz, E. A. and Tumlinson, J. H. (2004) Airborne signals prime plants against insect herbivore attack. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 101, 1781–1785. See also Penn State (January 28, 2004). Signal chemical primes plants for pest attack. Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases. Article deals with the release of green leafy volatiles (GLV) by plants used to turn on plant defenses in response to an attack.
85. Gan, S. and Amasino, R. M. (1997) Making sense of senescence: molecular genetics regulation and manipulation of leaf senescence. Plant Physiology, 113, 313–319. An update on knowledge about senescence and underlying molecular controls.
86. Harborne, J. B. (1993) Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry, 4th edn. London: Academic Press. See below.
87. Harborne, J. B. (1990) Role of secondary metabolites in chemical defence mechanism s in plants. In Bioactive Compounds in Plants, Ciba Foundation Symposium 154. Chichester: Wiley and Sons, 126–139. In these two books, the author provides a wealth of information about the effect of the environment (air, water, soil) on plants, and plants on the environment, from a biochemical viewpoint.
88. Leon, J. Rojo, E. and Sanchez-Serrano, J. J. (2001) Wound signaling in plants Journal of Experimental Botany, 52, 1–9. Review of the mechanisms plants employ to generate wound signals.
89. Leopold, A. C. (1980) Aging and senescence in plant development In Senescence in Plants, K V Thimann (ed) Boca Raton, F. L: C R C Press Leopold addresses the issue of how senescence in plants is triggered, proceeds, and is regulated.
90. Lesham, Y. Y., Halevy, A. H. and Frenkel, C. (1986) Processes and Control of Plant Senescence. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Includes discussion of the plant senescence patterns proposed by Leopold.
91. Macias, F. A. Galinda, J. C., Molinillo, J. M. G. Cutler, H. G. (2004) Allelopathy: Chemistry and Mode of Action of Allelochemicals. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Series of advanced articles on allelopathy, its efficacy and challenges.
92. Newman, E. I. (1978) Allelopathy: adaptation or accident? In Biochemical Aspects of Plant and Animal Co-evolution J. B. Harborne (ed) London: Academic Press Addresses the controversy as to whether allelopathy is an adaptation or merely a fortuitous coincidence.
93. Noodén, L. D. (1980) Senescence in the w hole plant In Senescence in Plants K V Thimann (ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. That senescence involves deliberate, programmed changes which lead to death.
94. Pennisi, E, (1997) Plants decode a universal signal Science, 278, 2054–2055.Demonstrates that the molecule cyclic ADP-ribose is a key element in a pathway that helps plants respond to stress and provides a commentary on other components of stress responses in plants.
95. Pichersky, E. (2004). Plant scents: what we perceive as a fragrant perfume is actually a sophisticated tool used by plants to entice pollinators, discourage microbes and fend off predators. American Scientist, 92, 514–522. A comprehensive review of the use of scents by plants both to lure and repel.
96. Ren, D., Liu, Y., Yang, K-Y. (2008). A fungal-responsive MAPK cascade regulates phytoalex in biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 105, 5638–5643 How a certain plant initiates a phytoalex in pathway in response to attack by a particular pathogen.
97. Rosenthal, G. A. (1986) The chemical defenses of higher plants Scientific American, January, 254, 94–99. Strategies and compounds used by plants to defend against attack.
98. Skelton, P. (1993) Evolution: A Biological and Paleontological Approach. Wokingham, UK: Addison-Wesley in association with the Open University. The variation in life expectancy among organisms, and reproductive strategy.
99. Slate, A. Scott, N. and Fowler, M. (2003) Plant Biotechnology: The Genetic Manipulation of Plants. Oxford: Oxford University Press. A useful overview of the field of genetic modification of plants, especially in regard to engineering stress tolerance.
100. Wildon, D. C., Thain, J. F. Minchin, P. E. H. (1992). Electrical signaling and systemic proteinase inhibitor induction in the wounded plant. Nature, 360, 62–65. Electrical alarm signaling in a wounded plant in response to attack.