A seemingly simple and sensible
#principle is actually a complex problem: how do I, as a plant cell with limited spatial resources, manage to rearrange my interior flexibly and quickly
#adapting to a current situation? A serious challenge for the cell, which depends on energetic efficiency despite of the harming aspects of being exposed to
#solarradiation.
#Chloroplasts—organelles responsible for
#photosynthesis—must be oriented in such a way that, under favorable light conditions, they distribute themselves within the cell to generate the maximum amount of energy through photosynthesis; however, when exposed to harmful excessive
#sunlight, they must position themselves near the cell membrane to ensure optimal protection against damaging levels of
#UVradiation.
Researchers N. Schramma et al. (2026) investigated the aquatic plant
#Elodea #densa (Hydrocharitaceae) to examine the active mechanism it employs to reorganize its
#discshaped chloroplasts. Utilizing live-cell
#microscopy in conjunction with
#computersimulations, the authors were able to demonstrate that the flexible dynamics of the chloroplasts can be attributed to the fundamental principles of
#discpacking #physics.
This text Stefan F. Wirth, May 2026, Berlin
Reference:
N. Schramma et al. (2026) :
doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2511696…