Physiological Roles of Phloem Transport: Source-Sink Interactions, Drought Stress Responses and Flowering in Plants (Paperback)
This monograph illustrates specific roles that phloem transport plays in some of the most important physiological processes in plants. The M nch Hypothesis of Phloem Transport is expressed in mathematical form, using equations suggested by M nch in 1930, Horwitz in 1958, Eschrich, Evert and Young in 1972, and closed-form solutions by this author and colleagues in 1976 and 1980. The resulting models are then used to predict the behavior of Phloem Sieve Tubes in relation to various physiological conditions in the plant. They were also used to design and develop a unique experimental technology (i.e. Extended Square Wave Carbon-11 Tracer Kinetics) capable of measuring the necessary variables to test the model and the hypothesis it represents. A thorough description of methods, designed to extract the greatest amount of information and avoid artifacts, should be of direct value and an object lesson for both new and experienced researchers. Unique results of these efforts are illustrated here by the theoretical and experimental responses of phloem transport to re-watering of a moderately drought-stressed plant.