Thermogenesis-triggered seed dispersal in dwarf mistletoe

Rolena A. J. deBruyn, Mark Paetkau, Kelly A. Ross, David V. Godfrey, John S. Church and Cynthia Ross Friedman ()
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Rolena A. J. deBruyn: Thompson Rivers University
Mark Paetkau: Thompson Rivers University
Kelly A. Ross: Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4200 Highway 97
David V. Godfrey: Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4200 Highway 97
John S. Church: Thompson Rivers University
Cynthia Ross Friedman: Thompson Rivers University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-5

Abstract: Abstract Lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (DM), Arceuthobium americanum, is a parasitic flowering plant and forest pathogen in North America. Seed dispersal in DM occurs by explosive discharge. Notably, slight warming of ripe DM fruit in the laboratory can trigger explosions. Previously, we showed that alternative oxidase, a protein involved in endogenous heat production (thermogenesis) in plants, is present in DM fruit. These observations have led us to investigate if thermogenesis induces discharge. Here, infrared thermographs reveal that ripe DM fruits display an anomalous increase in surface temperature by an average of 2.1±0.8 °C over an average time of 103±29 s (n=9, 95% confidence interval) before dehiscence. Furthermore, both non-isothermal and isothermal modulated differential scanning calorimetry consistently show an exothermic event (~1 J g−1) in the non-reversible heat flow just prior to discharge. These results support thermogenesis-triggered seed discharge, never before observed in any plant.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7262

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