NIR-REFLECTANCE PLASTICITY IN PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA FLOWERS

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Floral reflectance in the weedy perennial, Plantago lanceolata, is phenotypically plastic. Flowers produced at cool ambient temperatures are less reflective and darker than flowers produced at warm ambient temperatures. Preliminary data support the hypothesis that this plasticity is adaptive because it allows individual plants to partially thermoregulate their own reproduction. Plants respond to changing temperature by altering floral reflectance in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. Changes in the visible region can be explained by increased anthocyanin production at low temperature. This pilot project will assess the potential of magnetic resonance microscopy on the 9T magnet to elucidate the reason for change in the near-infrared region.