Sphagnum moss disperses spores with vortex rings - PubMed (original) (raw)
. 2010 Jul 23;329(5990):406.
doi: 10.1126/science.1190179.
Affiliations
- PMID: 20651145
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1190179
Sphagnum moss disperses spores with vortex rings
Dwight L Whitaker et al. Science. 2010.
Abstract
Sphagnum spores, which have low terminal velocities, are carried by turbulent wind currents to establish colonies many kilometers away. However, spores that are easily kept aloft are also rapidly decelerated in still air; thus, dispersal range depends strongly on release height. Vascular plants grow tall to lift spores into sufficient wind currents for dispersal, but nonvascular plants such as Sphagnum cannot grow sufficiently high. High-speed videos show that exploding capsules of Sphagnum generate vortex rings to efficiently carry spores high enough to be dispersed by turbulent air currents. Spores launched ballistically at similar speeds through still air would travel a few millimeters and not easily reach turbulent air. Vortex rings are used by animals; here, we report vortex rings generated by plants.
Comment in
- Plant science. Launched at 36,000g.
van Leeuwen JL. van Leeuwen JL. Science. 2010 Jul 23;329(5990):395-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1193047. Science. 2010. PMID: 20651138 No abstract available.
Similar articles
- Plant science. Launched at 36,000g.
van Leeuwen JL. van Leeuwen JL. Science. 2010 Jul 23;329(5990):395-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1193047. Science. 2010. PMID: 20651138 No abstract available. - Size matters for violent discharge height and settling speed of Sphagnum spores: important attributes for dispersal potential.
Sundberg S. Sundberg S. Ann Bot. 2010 Feb;105(2):291-300. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcp288. Ann Bot. 2010. PMID: 20123930 Free PMC article. - The Sphagnum air-gun mechanism resurrected.
Sundberg S. Sundberg S. New Phytol. 2010 Mar;185(4):886-9; author reply 889-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03086.x. New Phytol. 2010. PMID: 20356344 No abstract available. - Mechanistic models for wind dispersal.
Kuparinen A. Kuparinen A. Trends Plant Sci. 2006 Jun;11(6):296-301. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2006.04.006. Epub 2006 May 11. Trends Plant Sci. 2006. PMID: 16697244 Review. - The effects of meteorological factors on atmospheric bioaerosol concentrations--a review.
Jones AM, Harrison RM. Jones AM, et al. Sci Total Environ. 2004 Jun 29;326(1-3):151-80. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2003.11.021. Sci Total Environ. 2004. PMID: 15142773 Review.
Cited by
- Microscopic and submicroscopic exploration of diplolepideae peristome structures in hygroscopic movement.
Wu Y, Wu Q, Zhang Z, Wang Z. Wu Y, et al. BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Jul 26;24(1):710. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05407-8. BMC Plant Biol. 2024. PMID: 39060989 Free PMC article. - Coherent spore dispersion via drop-leaf interaction.
Wu Z, Basu S, Kim S, Sorrells M, Beron-Vera FJ, Jung S. Wu Z, et al. Sci Adv. 2024 Feb 2;10(5):eadj8092. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj8092. Epub 2024 Jan 31. Sci Adv. 2024. PMID: 38295175 Free PMC article. - Hidden functional complexity in the flora of an early land ecosystem.
D'Ario M, Lane B, Fioratti Junod M, Leslie A, Mosca G, Smith RS. D'Ario M, et al. New Phytol. 2024 Jan;241(2):937-949. doi: 10.1111/nph.19228. Epub 2023 Aug 29. New Phytol. 2024. PMID: 37644727 Free PMC article. - High-speed video and plant ultrastructure define mechanisms of gametophyte dispersal.
Mitchell N, Piatczyc NP, Wang DD, Edwards J. Mitchell N, et al. Appl Plant Sci. 2022 Apr 20;10(2):e11463. doi: 10.1002/aps3.11463. eCollection 2022 Mar-Apr. Appl Plant Sci. 2022. PMID: 35495193 Free PMC article. - Seed ejection mechanism in an Oxalis species.
Li S, Zhang Y, Liu J. Li S, et al. Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 1;10(1):8855. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65885-2. Sci Rep. 2020. PMID: 32483323 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources