Plants And Memory

Scientists Disocver How Plants Tailor Growth to the Seasons

'Molecular memory' of light exposure helps plants to remember daylight during winter nights

Science News | February 3, 2016

Dmitri A. Nusinow, Ph.D., assistant member at the Danforth Plant Science Center and researchers in his lab studying plants' circadian clock have discovered a gene that allows plants to remember daylight during the long nights of winter, helping them tailor their growth appropriately to the seasons. The gene, PCH1 accumulates at dusk and stabilizes light signals in the early hours of the night, keeping the plant from growing too much during extended dark periods.

''Molecular memory' of light exposure helps plants to remember daylight during winter nights...' Source: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-molecular-memory-exposure-daylight-winter.html

<more at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160203134940.htm; related articles and links: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/27/plant-memories-prions/ (Plants might know when to bloom by remembering seasons. Misfolded proteins that cause diseases in animals could be beneficial to plants. April 27, 2016) and https://www.jic.ac.uk/news/2014/12/mother-plants-teach-seeds-about-seasons/ (Mother plants teach seeds about seasons and give them a thicker coat when it’s cold. December 15, 2014)>