Aging in Perennials

Munné‐Bosch, Sergi

doi:10.1080/07352680701402487

Cited by 93 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 108 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In many species of bryozoan, zooids delay senescence and instead go through several cycles of degeneration and regeneration known as polypide cycling, and this is likely to further complicate the effects seen in W. subtorquata. Modules deteriorate with age in other bryozoans and in corals and plants (Meesters and Bak 1995, Bayer and Todd 1997, Munne-Bosch 2007 and so similar effects to those seen in W. subtorquata may be expected in these taxa. However, in many modular organisms individual modules are specialized for support, growth, reproduction, and defense, and so the effects of modular demography in many taxa could be far greater than our results suggest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Does size predict demographic fate? Modular demography and constraints on growth determine response to decreases in size

Hart

Keough

2009

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The modular construction of many plants and animals defies conventional approaches to the study of life histories and population dynamics. An important complication of modular construction is that individuals can rapidly decrease in size when some modules are removed or die or when an individual fragments. Most attempts to describe life histories and population dynamics of modular organisms classify individuals according to their size. This approach relies on the fundamental assumption that fragmentation and module loss have no consequences for an individual apart from a simple decrease in size. Here we experimentally test this assumption.Using a modular marine invertebrate, the encrusting bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata, as a model species, we manipulated colony size and then assessed performance against three potential explanatory models based on size, age, and damage. In a second experiment we disrupted the internal modular demography of colonies to determine whether the performance of a fragment is influenced by the type of modules that remain. Finally, we investigated how constraints on growth in modular organisms uniquely influence growth after module loss. We found that single-state variables such as size or age do not describe performance in our species. Internal constraints substantially reduce growth after a decrease in size, and the age of modules that remain determines the timing of reproductive onset and fecundity. A knowledge of the size history of individuals, including any decreases in size, is necessary to accurately describe life histories and population dynamics in this modular organism. Our results have major consequences for established methods for modeling the demography of modular organisms.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Does size predict demographic fate? Modular demography and constraints on growth determine response to decreases in size

Hart

Keough

2009

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Perennial plants base their life strategy in maintaining at least a vegetative meristem indeterminate for the next growth season (Thomas 2002;Rohde and Bhalerao 2007). It is widely accepted that when perennials age and increase in size, their relative leaf growth and photosynthetic rates tend to slow down (Ricklefs and Finch 1995;Day et al 2002;Morgan 2002;Thomas 2002;Pennissi 2005;Peñu-elas 2005;Mencuccini et al 2005;Munné-Bosch 2007). The universality of this trend, however, and most particularly for those that do not experience dramatic changes in size as they age, has to be proven.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Several theories have been proposed to explain the ageing process in different organisms. The hormonal theory of ageing has attracted special attention (Ricklefs and Finch 1995), but little is known about its validity in perennial plants (Morgan 2002;Thomas 2002;Munné-Bosch 2007, 2008. Long-lived perennial plants constitute valuable cases to explore the physiological mechanisms resulting in exceptional rates of survival, which is of special relevance for a better understanding of the ageing process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and sex-related changes in cytokinins, auxins and abscisic acid in a centenarian relict herbaceous perennial

Oñate

García

Munné‐Bosch

2011

Planta

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is still an unsolved question of fundamental biology if, and how, perennial plants senesce. Here, age- and sex-related changes in phytohormones were tested in Borderea pyrenaica, a small dioecious geophyte relict of the Tertiary with one of the longest lifespan ever recorded for any non-clonal herb (more than 300 years). Biomass allocation, together with levels of cytokinins, auxins and absicisic acid, and other indicators of leaf physiology (chlorophylls, lipid peroxidation and F (v)/F (m) ratio) were measured in juvenile and mature plants, including both males and females of three age classes (up to 50 years, 50-100 years, and over 100 years). Plants maintained intact capacity of their vegetative growth and reproductive potential. Cytokinin levels decreased with age, but only in females. Such sex-related differences, however, were not associated with symptoms of physiological deterioration in leaves, but with an increased reproductive effort in females. It is concluded that B. pyrenaica does not show clear signs of senescence at the organism level. Altered cytokinin levels in females were associated with their reproductive effort, rather than to a degenerative process. The alternate use of five meristematic points in the tuber could explain the extraordinary longevity of this species.

show abstract

“…Clonal propagation is very frequent in plants and there are examples of entire forests being formed by clonal propagation of a single organism [8] . These groups of clonal plants may, in fact, represent the oldest currently living organisms on earth, with some estimated lifespans on the order of tens of thousands of years [11] . If perennial plants age, this process should be primarily manifested through a systemic cessation of meristematic activity in a whole plant.…”

Section: Peculiarities Of Plant Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may imply that the concepts and mechanisms underlying aging in animals can also be applied to plants. However, plants have adopted fundamentally different life and developmental strategies, and even seemingly simple terms such as aging, lifespan or individual may sometimes be difficult to clearly define [for excellent reviews on this topic see 10,11 ]. In this review, we briefly discuss various aspects of aging in plants and examine whether telomere metabolism may play a role in plant aging and development.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Telomeres, Aging, and Plants: From Weeds to Methuselah – A Mini-Review

Watson

Říha

2010

Gerontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The process of aging affects most, if not all, living creatures, from single celled yeast to multi-cellular mammals and plants. The DNA end-replication problem along with the tissue-limited expression of telomerase led to the telomere hypothesis of aging, where limits on cellular proliferation are genetically encoded in the lengths of a cell’s telomeres. Support for this hypothesis has been found in several organisms, from worms to mice to humans. While development, and therefore the process of aging, is quite different between plants and animals, telomere biology between these organisms is fundamentally the same. Do telomeres, then, also play the role of a molecular clock in plants? In this review, we explore the current knowledge of the relationship between telomeres and aging in plants in three specific cases: leaf senescence, aging of perennials and seed longevity.

show abstract

Aging in Perennials

Cited by 93 publications

References 108 publications

Does size predict demographic fate? Modular demography and constraints on growth determine response to decreases in size

Does size predict demographic fate? Modular demography and constraints on growth determine response to decreases in size

Age and sex-related changes in cytokinins, auxins and abscisic acid in a centenarian relict herbaceous perennial

Telomeres, Aging, and Plants: From Weeds to Methuselah – A Mini-Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About