When do plants bloom?

2002/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Botanika

In spring, of course. But what is the concrete moment? That is, what factors initiate the process of obtaining? Plants are obtained according to the duration of the day and the intensity of light. The northern flowers require long sunbathing and those of the tropics much shorter. California researchers have analyzed 141 samples of the Arabidopsis taliana plant and, to flower, have seen that tropical varieties have 100 times less red light than others. And why? Because tropical varieties have much less photoreceptors called A-phytochrom.

On the other hand, Dutch researchers have studied the genome of Arabidopsis taliana, a region related to the flowering process. It has detected the 2-cryptochrome receptor gene that detects blue light and has detected that in tropical varieties this gene is mutated. Consequently, the daily cycle of 2-cryptochrome is different in tropical varieties.