By IANS
New York : Mother’s care is important even for plants, a new study says.
A study by researchers at the University of Virginia shows that maternal plants give cues to their offspring that help them adapt to their environmental conditions.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Science.
The researchers found that plants grown in the same setting as their maternal plant performed almost three-and-half times better than those raised in a different environment.
The study done on the American bellflower, a wildflower that grows in both shaded and sunlit areas, focussed on the transmission of environmental information between maternal plants and their offspring.
Biologist Laura Galloway, who planted seeds in light conditions similar to their maternal plants and some in different light, found that plants growing in the same setting outperformed those in a different environment.
Since plant adaptation is typically studied on a permanent, genetic level rather than in direct response to environmental conditions, the study is unique.
“Historically maternal effects have been viewed as a complicating factor — an inconvenience,” explains Galloway. “But we have found that they can dramatically influence the performance of an individual.”