Guam's Most Endangered Tree Species Reveals Universal Biological Concept
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956:
Guam's most endangered tree species reveals universal biological concept:
Newly published research carried out at the University of Guam has used a critically endangered species to show how trees modify leaf function to best exploit prevailing light conditions. The findings revealed numerous leaf traits that change depending on the light levels during leaf construction.
"The list of ways a leaf can modify its shape and structure is lengthy, and past research has not adequately looked at that entire list," said Benjamin Deloso, lead author of the study. The results appear in the October issue of the journal Biology.
[...] The research team used Guam's critically endangered Serianthes nelsonii tree as the model species because of the complexity of its leaf design. This tree's leaf is classified as a bi-pinnate compound leaf, a designation that means a single leaf is comprised of many smaller leaflets that are arranged on linear structures that have a stem-like appearance. The primary outcome of the work was to show that this type of leaf modifies many whole-leaf traits in response to prevailing light conditions. Most literature on this subject has not completely considered many of these whole-leaf traits, and may have under-estimated the diversity of skills that compound leaves can benefit from while achieving the greatest growth potential.
This study provides an example of how plant species that are federally listed as endangered can be exploited for non-destructive research, helping to highlight the value of conserving the world's threatened biodiversity while demonstrating a universal concept.
[...] The latest results have augmented the team's earlier research that demonstrated how a specialized leaf gland enables rapid leaflet movement when the light energy is excessive. This skill of being able to change the leaflet's orientation is an instantaneous behavior that mitigates the damage that may result from excessive sunlight exposure.
"Just because the tree can't move itself, that doesn't mean it can't move its leaves to avoid stress," Deloso said.
Journal Reference:
Deloso, Benjamin E., Marler, Thomas E.. Bi-Pinnate Compound Serianthes nelsonii Leaf-Level Plasticity Magnifies Leaflet-Level Plasticity, Biology (DOI: 10.3390/biology9100333)
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