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Statocyte
Statocytes are gravity-sensing (gravitropic) cells in higher plants. They contain amyloplasts-statoliths – starch-filled amyloplastic organelles – which sediment at the lowest part of the cells. Statocytes are present in the elongating region of coleoptiles, shoots and inflorescence stems. In roots, the root cap is the only place where sedimentation is observed, and only the central columella cells of the root cap serve as gravity-sensing statocytes. They can initiate differential growth patterns, bending the root towards the vertical axis. References See also * Prolonged sine The law of the prolonged sine was observed when measuring strength of the reaction of the plant stems and roots in response to turning from their usual vertical orientation. Such organisms maintained their usual vertical growth, and, if turned, s ... Plant cells {{botany-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravitropism
Gravitropism (also known as geotropism) is a coordinated process of differential growth by a plant in response to gravity pulling on it. It also occurs in fungi. Gravity can be either "artificial gravity" or natural gravity. It is a general feature of all higher and many lower plants as well as other organisms. Charles Darwin was one of the first to scientifically document that roots show ''positive gravitropism'' and stems show ''negative gravitropism''. That is, roots grow in the direction of gravitational pull (i.e., downward) and stems grow in the opposite direction (i.e., upwards). This behavior can be easily demonstrated with any potted plant. When laid onto its side, the growing parts of the stem begin to display negative gravitropism, growing (biologists say, turning; see tropism) upwards. Herbaceous (non-woody) stems are capable of a degree of actual bending, but most of the redirected movement occurs as a consequence of root or stem growth outside. The mechanism is bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prolonged Sine
The law of the prolonged sine was observed when measuring strength of the reaction of the plant stems and roots in response to turning from their usual vertical orientation. Such organisms maintained their usual vertical growth, and, if turned, start bending back toward the vertical. The prolonged sine law was observed when measuring the dependence of the bending speed from the angle of reorientation. The observed law It was observed that deviation from the desired growth direction by more than the 90 degrees causes further increase of the bending speed. After turning the 135 degrees the reoriented plant or fungi understands that it is places "head down" and bends faster than turned by just 45 degrees. Poul Larsen in 1962 proposed, that the intensity of the gravitropic reaction (bending rate) is proportional to :g \times a\sin\alpha \times (1-b\cos\alpha) where α is the angle of reorientation, g - gravity vector and constants a and b are determined experimentally. Сила тя ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function. The name ''organelle'' comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as organs are to the body, hence ''organelle,'' the suffix ''-elle'' being a diminutive. Organelles are either separately enclosed within their own lipid bilayers (also called membrane-bound organelles) or are spatially distinct functional units without a surrounding lipid bilayer (non-membrane bound organelles). Although most organelles are functional units within cells, some function units that extend outside of cells are often termed organelles, such as cilia, the flagellum and archaellum, and the trichocyst. Organelles are identified by microscopy, and can also be purified by cell fractionation. There are many types of organelles, particularly in eukaryotic cells. They include structures that make up the endomembrane system (such as the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, and G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
