Journal: Journal of Experimental Botany

Abbreviation

J. Exp. Bot.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Journal Volumes

ISSN

1460-2431
0022-0957

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Publications1 - 10 of 79
  • Role of plant sensory perception in plant–animal interactions
    Item type: Review Article
    Mescher, Mark C.; De Moraes, Consuelo M. (2014)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • Final grain weight is not limited by the activity of key starch-synthesising enzymes during grain filling in wheat
    Item type: Journal Article
    Fahy, Brendan; Siddiqui, Hamad; David, Laure C.; et al. (2018)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
    Since starch is by far the major component of the mature wheat grain, it has been assumed that variation in the capacity for starch synthesis during grain filling can influence final grain weight. We investigated this assumption by studying a total of 54 wheat genotypes including elite varieties and landraces that were grown in two successive years in fields in the east of England. The weight, water content, sugars, starch, and maximum catalytic activities of two enzymes of starch biosynthesis, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase, were measured during grain filling. The relationships between these variables and the weights and starch contents of mature grains were analysed. Final grain weight showed few or no significant correlations with enzyme activities, sugar levels, or starch content during grain filling, or with starch content at maturity. We conclude that neither sugar availability nor enzymatic capacity for starch synthesis during grain filling significantly influenced final grain weight in our field conditions. We suggest that final grain weight may be largely determined by developmental processes prior to grain filling. Starch accumulation then fills the grain to a physical limit set by developmental processes. This conclusion is in accord with those from previous studies in which source or sink strength has been artificially manipulated.
  • Rainwater uptake in conifer twigs: five experiments tell a story of absorption, storage, and transport
    Item type: Journal Article
    Chin, Alana R.O.; Gessler, Arthur; Guzmán-Delgado, Paula; et al. (2025)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
    While evidence supports the idea that a portion of the many raindrops that fall onto a forest canopy may be directly absorbed by the twigs they land on, we do not know how much is absorbed, how it enters the twig, or what internal path it might take on its way to the xylem. Using a diverse series of five experiments encompassing isotopic labelling, fluorescent tracers, rehydration kinetics, synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy, and thermal imaging, we follow the fate of rainwater from initial contact with the twig to its distribution to adjacent tissues. We provide conclusive, multi-pronged evidence of surface water-absorption into the xylem of 1-year-old conifer twigs with incomplete bark development. Additionally, we demonstrate a surface capillary phase, mixed apoplastic and symplastic internal routes, and the strong influence of intercellular airspace as a hydraulic capacitor across multiple tissues. We show that twigs are capable of rapid, large-volume water absorption, which may help trees take advantage of crown-wetting events and support the repair of hydraulic damage from frost and drought. Forecasting the impacts of climatic stress on different tree species will benefit from understanding the importance, and tissue-level specifics, of this critical water-acquisition pathway. Our work tells a detailed story of rain absorption by twigs and lays a foundation for future trait-based research into among-species differences in absorption capacity.
  • FLC or not FLC
    Item type: Review Article
    Alexandre, Cristina Madeira; Hennig, Lars (2008)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • A tribute to Lars Hennig (1970-2018) Obituary
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Mozgova, Iva; Alexandre, Cristina; Steinbach, Yvonne; et al. (2018)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • Ice and air: Visualisation of freezing spread and freeze-thaw embolism in young Liriodendron tulipifera leaves
    Item type: Journal Article
    Johnson, Kate M.; Scherer, Muriel; Gerber, Dominic; et al. (2025)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
    Spring freezing is an unforgiving stress for young leaves, often leading to death and with consequences for tree productivity and survival. While both the water-transport system and living tissues are vulnerable to freezing, we do not currently know whether damage to one or both of these systems causes death in leaves exposed to freezing. In this study, whole saplings of Liriodendron tulipifera were exposed to freezing and thawing trajectories designed to mimic natural spring freezes. We monitored the formation of freeze-thaw xylem embolism and damage to photosynthetic tissues and found a predictable progression of ice formation across the leaf surface that was strongly influenced by leaf- vein architecture, notably the presence or absence of bundle-sheath extensions. Our results also showed that freeze-thaw embolism occurred only in the lowest vein orders where mean vessel diameter exceeded 30μm. With evidence of both freeze-thaw embolism and damage to photosynthetic tissue, we conclude that this dual-mode of lethality in leaves might be common among other wide-vesseled angiosperm leaves, potentially playing a role in limiting geographic distributions, and demonstrate that bundle sheath extensions might stall or even prevent freezing spread.
  • Assimilate transport in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings at vertical low temperature gradients in the root zone
    Item type: Journal Article
    Sowinski, Pawel; Richner, Walter; Soldati, Alberto; et al. (1998)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • Evolutionary divergence of the plant elicitor peptides (Peps) and their receptors: Interfamily incompatibility of perception but compatibility of downstream signalling
    Item type: Journal Article
    Lori, Martina; Van Verk, Marcel C.; Hander, Tim; et al. (2015)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • Pine and mistletoes
    Item type: Journal Article
    Zweifel, Roman; Bangerter, Sara; Rigling, Andreas; et al. (2012)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
  • Stomatal regulation by microclimate and tree water relations
    Item type: Journal Article
    Zweifel, Roman; Steppe, Kathy; Sterck, Frank J. (2007)
    Journal of Experimental Botany
Publications1 - 10 of 79