Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling
Freezing patterns in the high alpine cushion plants Saxifraga bryoides, Saxifraga caesia, Saxifraga moschata and Silene acaulis were studied by infrared thermography at three reproductive stages (bud, anthesis, fruit development). The single reproductive shoots of a cushion froze independently in al...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:2987464 2023-05-15T18:19:45+02:00 Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling Hacker, Jürgen Ladinig, Ursula Wagner, Johanna Neuner, Gilbert 2011-01 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987464 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151351 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 en eng Elsevier Ireland http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987464 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151351 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. This document may be redistributed and reused, subject to certain conditions (http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/supplementalterms1.0) . Article Text 2011 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 2013-09-03T07:49:25Z Freezing patterns in the high alpine cushion plants Saxifraga bryoides, Saxifraga caesia, Saxifraga moschata and Silene acaulis were studied by infrared thermography at three reproductive stages (bud, anthesis, fruit development). The single reproductive shoots of a cushion froze independently in all four species at every reproductive stage. Ice formation caused lethal damage to the respective inflorescence. After ice nucleation, which occurred mainly in the stalk or the base of the reproductive shoot, ice propagated throughout that entire shoot, but not into neighboring shoots. However, anatomical ice barriers within cushions were not detected. The naturally occurring temperature gradient within the cushion appeared to interrupt ice propagation thermally. Consequently, every reproductive shoot needed an autonomous ice nucleation event to initiate freezing. Ice nucleation was not only influenced by minimum temperatures but also by the duration of exposure. At moderate subzero exposure temperatures (−4.3 to −7.7 °C) the number of frozen inflorescences increased exponentially. Due to efficient supercooling, single reproductive shoots remained unfrozen down to −17.4 °C (cooling rate 6 K h−1). Hence, the observed freezing pattern may be advantageous for frost survival of individual inflorescences and reproductive success of high alpine cushion plants, when during episodic summer frosts damage can be avoided by supercooling. Text Silene acaulis PubMed Central (PMC) Plant Science 180 1 149 156 |
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Article Hacker, Jürgen Ladinig, Ursula Wagner, Johanna Neuner, Gilbert Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
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Article |
description |
Freezing patterns in the high alpine cushion plants Saxifraga bryoides, Saxifraga caesia, Saxifraga moschata and Silene acaulis were studied by infrared thermography at three reproductive stages (bud, anthesis, fruit development). The single reproductive shoots of a cushion froze independently in all four species at every reproductive stage. Ice formation caused lethal damage to the respective inflorescence. After ice nucleation, which occurred mainly in the stalk or the base of the reproductive shoot, ice propagated throughout that entire shoot, but not into neighboring shoots. However, anatomical ice barriers within cushions were not detected. The naturally occurring temperature gradient within the cushion appeared to interrupt ice propagation thermally. Consequently, every reproductive shoot needed an autonomous ice nucleation event to initiate freezing. Ice nucleation was not only influenced by minimum temperatures but also by the duration of exposure. At moderate subzero exposure temperatures (−4.3 to −7.7 °C) the number of frozen inflorescences increased exponentially. Due to efficient supercooling, single reproductive shoots remained unfrozen down to −17.4 °C (cooling rate 6 K h−1). Hence, the observed freezing pattern may be advantageous for frost survival of individual inflorescences and reproductive success of high alpine cushion plants, when during episodic summer frosts damage can be avoided by supercooling. |
format |
Text |
author |
Hacker, Jürgen Ladinig, Ursula Wagner, Johanna Neuner, Gilbert |
author_facet |
Hacker, Jürgen Ladinig, Ursula Wagner, Johanna Neuner, Gilbert |
author_sort |
Hacker, Jürgen |
title |
Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
title_short |
Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
title_full |
Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
title_fullStr |
Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
title_full_unstemmed |
Inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
title_sort |
inflorescences of alpine cushion plants freeze autonomously and may survive subzero temperatures by supercooling |
publisher |
Elsevier Ireland |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987464 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151351 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 |
genre |
Silene acaulis |
genre_facet |
Silene acaulis |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987464 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21151351 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 |
op_rights |
© 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. This document may be redistributed and reused, subject to certain conditions (http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/supplementalterms1.0) . |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.07.013 |
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Plant Science |
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180 |
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1 |
container_start_page |
149 |
op_container_end_page |
156 |
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1766196967039303680 |