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Environmental morphing enables informed dispersal of the dandelion diaspore

View ORCID ProfileMadeleine Seale, View ORCID ProfileOleksandr Zhdanov, View ORCID ProfileMerel B. Soons, View ORCID ProfileCathal Cummins, Erika Kroll, View ORCID ProfileMichael R. Blatt, View ORCID ProfileHossein Zare-Behtash, View ORCID ProfileAngela Busse, View ORCID ProfileEnrico Mastropaolo, View ORCID ProfileJames M. Bullock, View ORCID ProfileIgnazio Maria Viola, View ORCID ProfileNaomi Nakayama
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/542696
Madeleine Seale
1School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
2Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
3School of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
4Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
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Oleksandr Zhdanov
5James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
8Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biophysics, Bower Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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Merel B. Soons
6Ecology & Biodiversity group, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Cathal Cummins
1School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
2Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
7School of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FB, UK
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Erika Kroll
1School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
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Michael R. Blatt
8Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biophysics, Bower Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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Hossein Zare-Behtash
5James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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  • ORCID record for Hossein Zare-Behtash
Angela Busse
5James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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Enrico Mastropaolo
3School of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
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James M. Bullock
9UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
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Ignazio Maria Viola
7School of Engineering, Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FB, UK
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Naomi Nakayama
1School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
2Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK
10Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, UK
11Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, SW7 2AZ, UK
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  • For correspondence: n.nakayama@imperial.ac.uk
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Summary

Animal migration is highly sensitised to environmental cues, but plant dispersal is considered largely passive. The common dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, bears an intricate haired pappus facilitating flight. The pappus enables the formation of a separated vortex ring during flight; however, the pappus structure is not static but reversibly changes shape by closing in response to moisture. We hypothesised that this leads to changed dispersal properties in response to environmental conditions. Using wind tunnel experiments for flow visualisation, particle image velocimetry, and flight tests we characterised the fluid mechanics effects of the pappus morphing. We also modelled dispersal to understand the impact of pappus morphing on diaspore distribution. Pappus morphing dramatically alters the fluid mechanics of diaspore flight. We found that when the pappus closes in moist conditions, the drag coefficient decreases and thus the falling velocity is greatly increased. Detachment of diaspores from the parent plant also substantially decreases. The change in detachment when the pappus closes increases dispersal distances by reducing diaspore release when wind speeds are low. We propose that moisture-dependent pappus-morphing is a form of informed dispersal allowing rapid responses to changing conditions.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Revised ecological modelling, modifications to existing experimental results and elaboration of the introduction and discussion.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted July 18, 2022.
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Environmental morphing enables informed dispersal of the dandelion diaspore
Madeleine Seale, Oleksandr Zhdanov, Merel B. Soons, Cathal Cummins, Erika Kroll, Michael R. Blatt, Hossein Zare-Behtash, Angela Busse, Enrico Mastropaolo, James M. Bullock, Ignazio Maria Viola, Naomi Nakayama
bioRxiv 542696; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/542696
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Environmental morphing enables informed dispersal of the dandelion diaspore
Madeleine Seale, Oleksandr Zhdanov, Merel B. Soons, Cathal Cummins, Erika Kroll, Michael R. Blatt, Hossein Zare-Behtash, Angela Busse, Enrico Mastropaolo, James M. Bullock, Ignazio Maria Viola, Naomi Nakayama
bioRxiv 542696; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/542696

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