|
|
Phototropic memory in early plant development
Šišková, Michaela ; Konrádová, Hana (advisor) ; Krtková, Jana (referee)
This thesis was inspired by controversial published results on the existence and reliability of a memory trace of the direction of the last illumination in young dicots. The theoretical part first covers phototropism, it briefly summarizes current knowledge about this growth movement, phototropins, and the mechanism of phototropic bending, including the role of auxin and its transporters. It also discusses the effect of previous light exposure on hypocotyl bending. Another section of the theoretical part is focused on the question of the existence of memory in plants. The experiments performed in the practical part are based on the assumption that plants are able to store a memory trace of previous light exposure. After the establishment of a system that made it possible to obtain a robust phototropic response to blue light, seedlings of the model plant Lepidium sativum were tested under different conditions to see if and how the direction of light affected the plants' response to subsequent phototropic stimulation. The results suggest that in at least one case, the final phototropic response could be interpreted as a formation of a specific memory trace in the tested plants. However, based on the results of this work, the existence of a memory trace of previous light exposure cannot be...
|
guest ::
