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Oscillatory growth movements of roots in weightlessness
Author(s) -
Antonsen F.,
Johnsson A.,
Perbal G.,
DrissEcole D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.1995.tb05528.x
Subject(s) - gravitropism , weightlessness , centrifuge , fast fourier transform , acceleration , fourier analysis , signal (programming language) , fourier transform , physics , biological system , optics , nuclear magnetic resonance , mathematics , chemistry , computer science , classical mechanics , mathematical analysis , biology , algorithm , nuclear physics , biochemistry , astronomy , arabidopsis , mutant , gene , programming language
The gravitropic curvature of lentil roots ( Lens culinaris L. cv. Verte du Puy), grown in near weightlessness and stimulated on a 1‐g centrifuge for 5 to 60 min was followed by time lapse photography. The experiment was carried out in the frame of the IML 1 Mission of Spacelab. Due to the applied acceleration field, the tip of the roots bent and reoriented with respect to the acceleration vector. However, visual inspection of the data could indicate an oscillatory movement superimposed on the gravitropic reorientation. We applied two signal processing techniques, fast Fourier transform (FFT) and maximum entropy spectral analysis (MESA), to provide quantitative data about the oscillatory movements of the lentil roots under gravity free conditions. In the case with very few data points in the time series the MESA method is superior to the conventional FFT. In the lentil root movements, the Fourier analysis could not extract and resolve the oscillatory signals present in the time series. The MESA approach revealed oscillations with periods around 35 and 50 min for the present lentil roots. Circumnutations are, therefore, present in roots also in weightlessness.