Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW)

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dc.contributor.advisorLindsey, George Gen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorBrandt, Wolf Fen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorFarrant, Jill Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKoonjul, Priyum Ken_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-12-10T08:10:41Z
dc.date.available2014-12-10T08:10:41Z
dc.date.issued1999en_ZA
dc.descriptionBiliography : leaves 162-184.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractResurrection plants, including Myrothamnus flabellifolius, grow in shallow soil upon rocky outcrops where they experience regular periods of water stress. Associated with this is light stress. The presence of light under water limiting conditions can result in photo-oxidation which causes damage to plant tissues. M flabellifolius is a homoichlorophyllous plant and thus retains chlorophyll during desiccation. The mechanisms whereby this plant prevents photo-oxidation damage are not known and thus one of the objectives of this study was to characterise the chloroplasts and the changes they undergo during dehydration. It was shown that chloroplasts from M flabellifolius could only be isolated using trehalose gradients (instead of sucrose gradients) and were found to have a higher buoyant density than chloroplasts isolated from another resurrection plant, Craterostigma wilmsii. The latter had the same buoyant density as those isolated from the desiccation sensitive plant Pisum sativum. The increased buoyant density in M flabellifolius was ascribed to the unusual ultrastructure of the thylakoid membranes. The latter have a staggered conformation (staircase arrangement) rather than the discrete granal and intergranal conformation found in most plants.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKoonjul, P. K. (1999). <i>Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW)</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9940en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKoonjul, Priyum K. <i>"Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW)."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9940en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKoonjul, P. 1999. Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW). University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Koonjul, Priyum K AB - Resurrection plants, including Myrothamnus flabellifolius, grow in shallow soil upon rocky outcrops where they experience regular periods of water stress. Associated with this is light stress. The presence of light under water limiting conditions can result in photo-oxidation which causes damage to plant tissues. M flabellifolius is a homoichlorophyllous plant and thus retains chlorophyll during desiccation. The mechanisms whereby this plant prevents photo-oxidation damage are not known and thus one of the objectives of this study was to characterise the chloroplasts and the changes they undergo during dehydration. It was shown that chloroplasts from M flabellifolius could only be isolated using trehalose gradients (instead of sucrose gradients) and were found to have a higher buoyant density than chloroplasts isolated from another resurrection plant, Craterostigma wilmsii. The latter had the same buoyant density as those isolated from the desiccation sensitive plant Pisum sativum. The increased buoyant density in M flabellifolius was ascribed to the unusual ultrastructure of the thylakoid membranes. The latter have a staggered conformation (staircase arrangement) rather than the discrete granal and intergranal conformation found in most plants. DA - 1999 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1999 T1 - Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW) TI - Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW) UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9940 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9940
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKoonjul PK. Investigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW). [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 1999 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9940en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBiochemistryen_ZA
dc.titleInvestigating the mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant, myrothamnus flabellifolius (WELW)en_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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