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>Plants do Math Overnight to Efficiently Use Food Stores
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>By James A. Foley
>Jun 24, 2013 11:00 AM EDT
>Plants perform precise arithmetic calculations to prevent starvation
>overnight, according to new research published in the open access journal
>eLife. energy: plants. (Photo : arbyreed / Flickr)
>Plants perform precise arithmetic calculations to prevent starvation
>overnight, according to new research published in the open access journal
>eLife.
>Scientists working at the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Norfolk, England report
>that plants will make calculations that allow them to use up their reserves of
>starch so precisely that they are depleted at dawn, when a new round of
>photosynthesis begins.
>Martin Howard, an expert mathematical modeler at the JIC, said the research is
>the "first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a
>sophisticated arithmetic calculation."
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>Alison Smith, a JIC metabolic biologist involved in the study, said plants'
>ability to accurately perform division is vital to botanical growth and
>productivity, adding that understanding how plants continue to grow in the
>dark could help unlock new ways to boost crop yield.
>The researchers report that the mechanisms inside the plants' leaves work in
>the night to measure the amounts of starch reserves and divide it against the
>time remaining until dawn, when daylight will allow them to photosynthesize
>more starch. If given a test for accuracy, the plants would be near the top of
>their class - researchers report the plants calculate so effectively that 95
>percent of the starch reserve is used up by dawn.
>"The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make
>the most efficient use of their food," Smith said in a statement. "If the
>starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the
>night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted."
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