Memory and after-life of clonal plants (2017-2019)
Vítek Latzel, Francesco de Bello, Zuzana Münzbergová
Environmentally induced epigenetic change enables plants to remember past environmental interactions. We suggests that clonal plants can take great advantage of the memory because if this memory capability is exploited to prepare plants for future challenges, it can provide a basis for highly sophisticated behaviour. In the project we will focus on three clonal species and will test how the epigenetic memory on the past experiences with the environment affects their behaviour in the future. We will test whether the shared epigenetic memory between ramets of the clone together with information exchange among interconnected ramets provides clonal plants advantage when facing environments that the clonal plant already experienced in the past. Because epigenetic memories can alter not only plant behaviour but also their physiology and chemical composition, we will also focus on the role of plant memories on circulation of nutrients in the ecosystem after clonal plants senescence.
Publications:
Latzel V, Rendina González AP & Rosenthal J 2016. Epigenetic memory as a basis for intelligent behavior in clonal plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01354