Plant Tissue Optics

Certain Biominerals in Leaves Function as Light Scatterers

“…[29,30] The general anatomy of the leaf is designed to transmit light from the surface into the tissue and then scatter it to minimize losses. The elongated palisade cells were suggested to act as 'light pipes' directing light into the tissue.…”

Molecular Mechanisms and Physiological Significance of Organelle Interactions and Cooperation

“…In comparison to the WT Arabidopsis epidermal cells, the mutant cells have increased curvature due to reduced cellulose crystallinity (Fujita et al, 2013). In general, epidermal cells in plants are known to act as lenses that, depending upon characteristics such as the cell surface area, cell wall composition and the degree and uniformity of curvature, filter, and refract the sunlight that reaches the mesophyll and other internal layers in a plant (Haberlandt, 1914;Vogelmann, 1993;Vogelmann et al, 1996). If the radius of curvature (r), is small, the light is focused with minimal scattering to the top of the mesophyll layer.…”

“…Based on the idea that the plant cell wall acts as micro lens and has a regulatory role in determining the intensity and property of light that reaches the cell interior (Haberlandt, 1914;Vogelmann, 1993;Vogelmann et al, 1996) we used anisotropy1, an Arabidopsis mutant for comparison with the wild type (WT) plants. The any1 mutant in an Arabidopsis cellulose synthase (CesA) gene has reduced cell wall crystallinity (Fujita et al, 2013).…”

Partly transparent young legume pods: Do they mimic caterpillars for defense and simultaneously enable better photosynthesis?

“…The reason for this is simple: plants, being photosynthetic, cannot be highly transparent in general. 5 Moreover, the fact that plant cells have cell walls made of various polymers 6,7 further reduces the ability of plants to be highly transparent. In spite of these inherent limitations, many succulent plant species of hot arid zones have partially transparent "windows" to allow below-ground photosynthesis as defense from both herbivores and from harsh environmental conditions, or have such "windows" in thick, aerial organs.…”

“…In spite of these inherent limitations, many succulent plant species of hot arid zones have partially transparent "windows" to allow below-ground photosynthesis as defense from both herbivores and from harsh environmental conditions, or have such "windows" in thick, aerial organs. 5,[8][9][10] Recently, Lev-Yadun 11 proposed that similarly to the succulent leaves of window-plants, in many unripe fleshy fruits there are partly transparent whitish spots that among their several proposed defensive functions serve as windows that enable light to penetrate deeper into the photosynthetic layers in the developing fruit, this being a solution to overcome the limitations of light harvest because of the high volume-to-surface ratio of developing fleshy fruits.…”