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dc.contributor.authorIsnard, Sandrine
dc.contributor.authorCobb, Alexander R.
dc.contributor.authorHolbrook, Noel Michele
dc.contributor.authorZwieniecki, Maciej A.
dc.contributor.authorDumais, Jacques
dc.date.accessioned2010-08-23T13:21:06Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.identifier.citationIsnard, Sandrine, Alexander R. Cobb, Noel Michele Holbrook, Maciej A. Zwieniecki, and Jacques Dumais. 2009. Tensioning the helix: a mechanism for force generation in twining plants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Containing Papers of a Biological Character Royal Society 276(1667): 2643-2650.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0080-4649en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4382420
dc.description.abstractTwining plants use their helical stems to clasp supports and to generate a squeezing force, providing stability against gravity. To elucidate the mechanism that allows force generation, we measured the squeezing forces exerted by the twiner Dioscorea bulbifera while following its growth using time-lapse photography. We show that the development of the squeezing force is accompanied by stiffening of the stem and the expansion of stipules at the leaf base. We use a simple thin rod model to show that despite their small size and sparse distribution, stipules impose a stem deformation sufficient to account for the measured squeezing force. We further demonstrate that tensioning of the stem helix, although counter-intuitive, is the most effective mechanism for generating large squeezing forces in twining plants. Our observations and model point to a general mechanism for the generation of the twining force: a modest radial stem expansion during primary growth, or the growth of lateral structures such as leaf bases, causes a delayed stem tensioning that creates the squeezing forces necessary for twining plants to ascend their supports. Our study thus provides the long-sought answer to the question of how twining plants ascend smooth supports without the use of adhesive or hook-like structures.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipOrganismic and Evolutionary Biologyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipOther Research Uniten_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherRoyal Society, Theen_US
dc.relation.isversionofdoi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0380en_US
dc.relation.hasversionhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686668/pdf/rspb20090380.pdfen_US
dash.licenseMETA_ONLY
dc.subjectbiomechanicsen_US
dc.subjecttwining vinesen_US
dc.subjectthin rod theoryen_US
dc.subjectstipulesen_US
dc.subjectsqueezing forceen_US
dc.titleTensioning the Helix: A Mechanism for Force Generation in Twining Plantsen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.description.versionVersion of Recorden_US
dc.relation.journalProceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Containing Papers of a Biological Character Royal Societyen_US
dash.depositing.authorDumais, Jacques
dash.embargo.until10000-01-01
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rspb.2009.0380*
dash.contributor.affiliatedDumais, J
dash.contributor.affiliatedZwieniecki, Maciej A.
dash.contributor.affiliatedHolbrook, Noel


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