60秒科学:Plants Share Light If Neighbor Is Related
Plants Share Light If Neighbor Is Related
A study in the American Journal of Botany finds that plants can tell if they're next to a relative and will grow to allow the kin 1 more access to light. Cynthia Graber reports.
We humans are known to help out members of our own families. When it comes to business we call it nepotism 2. Now plants have demonstrated the same predilection 3, in a study published in the American Journal of Botany.
Previous research showed that plants—in that study they used a plant called the Great Lakes sea rocket—can recognize the root systems of siblings 4 from the same momma plant and will give them a more fair share of nutrients 5 in the soil.
This new study is the first to look above ground. Researchers at McMaster University in Canada potted North American impatiens. When the plants shared a pot with seeds from the same parent plant, they shared access to light by growing taller with more branches and fewer leaves. But when those same impatiens were planted with other impatiens—but not their siblings—they put more energy into growing more and larger leaves that could crowd out the non-relatives.
Researchers say the roots alert plants to the relationship of nearby plants, because when impatiens were planted near siblings but in separate pots, they didn’t recognize their kin. Just goes to show that even in the plant world, family comes first.
- He comes of good kin.他出身好。
- She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。
- The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
- Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。
- He has a predilection for rich food.他偏好油腻的食物。
- Charles has always had a predilection for red-haired women.查尔斯对红头发女人一直有偏爱。
- A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分