Abstract
The influence of mechanical bending or flexing of trees, due primarily to wind, on tree growth and development has been observed and reported for hundreds of years. This response was defined as the thigmomorphogenetic response in 1973. In general, the response of trees and other plants to bending is a reduction in extension/height growth, increase in radial growth, and increased allocation from above-ground to below-ground tissues accompanied by changes in biomechanical properties of the xylem. Within the last 50 years, significant advancements have been reported in characterizing the response of trees to this mechanical perturbation. Current research has advanced the understanding of how plants respond after mechanopreception via molecular signaling and physiological changes in growth regulation. This review provides insight into these subcellular reactions of thigmomorphogenesis and a summary of recent advances.
Highlights
External mechanical loading induces mechanical perturbation (MP) of trees and nonwoody plants via wind, rain, the brushing or touching of passing animals, pushing through soil, or accumulation of ice or snow and is known to induce a cascade of physiological, developmental, anatomical, and morphological responses termed thigmomorphogenesis (Table 1) (Jaffe, 1973)
Thigmomorphogenesis is one of several plant responses to touch requiring a cellular-level mechanosensing mechanism involving the cytoskeleton connected to the plasma membrane and cell wall
The growth response is characterized by a decrease in height or extension growth and an increase in radial growth, which increases stem taper
Summary
External mechanical loading induces mechanical perturbation (MP) of trees and nonwoody plants via wind, rain, the brushing or touching of passing animals, pushing through soil, or accumulation of ice or snow and is known to induce a cascade of physiological, developmental, anatomical, and morphological responses termed thigmomorphogenesis (Table 1) (Jaffe, 1973). After perceiving a mechanical force, a series of signaling and subsequent growth regulator responses are triggered. This review article addresses the current state of knowledge concerning this physiological response pathway. The alteration of plant structure and function (anatomy, morphology, and mechanical properties) has been addressed in a previously published reviews (Telewski, 1995, 2006, 2012, 2016a,b; Jaffe et al, 2002; Gardiner et al, 2016)
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