Mechanical Stress behind Floral Bud Closure and Protection
Author(s): Saumya Jaiswal & Vijay Pratap Singh
Abstract: Among the different floral organs in plants, sepals are considered protective in nature, as they form the outermost layer and safeguard the reproductive structures. Sepals exhibit differential growth patterns influenced by environmental cues. Recently, Trinh et al. demonstrated that microtubule rearrangement in the transverse direction, in response to mechanical stress, leads to growth arrest at the sepal tip, resulting in the formation of a sepal hook (a reversible process) that encloses the floral bud. Therefore, this study reveals a novel mechanism of stress-mediated growth arrest involved in sepal hook formation, which prevents the opening of premature flowers and also protects flowers against other possible environmental stress (e.g., osmotic stress).
Keywords: Bud Protection, Bud Closure, Growth Arrest, Mechanical Stress, Microtubular Rearrangement, Sepal Tip
DOI: doi.org/10.65719/RC.3.2.2025.039
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