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. 2020 Nov 10;10(1):19465.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76588-z.

The dynamics of plant nutation

Vicente Raja  1 , Paula L Silva  2 , Roghaieh Holghoomi  3   4 , Paco Calvo  4
Affiliations

The dynamics of plant nutation

Vicente Raja et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

In this article we advance a cutting-edge methodology for the study of the dynamics of plant movements of nutation. Our approach, unlike customary kinematic analyses of shape, period, or amplitude, is based on three typical signatures of adaptively controlled processes and motions, as reported in the biological and behavioral dynamics literature: harmonicity, predictability, and complexity. We illustrate the application of a dynamical methodology to the bending movements of shoots of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in two conditions: with and without a support to climb onto. The results herewith reported support the hypothesis that patterns of nutation are influenced by the presence of a support to climb in their vicinity. The methodology is in principle applicable to a whole range of plant movements.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of the experimental setting (see Method for full details). Cylindrical booth for the pole condition. The cylindrical booth for the no-pole condition was identical except for the presence of the pole. Left: Zenithal camera viewpoint of a bean plant and the pole (30 cm away from the bean plant; height: 0.90 m, diameter: 1.8 cm) in the cylindrical boot (width: 93 cm). Right: Lateral viewpoint of a bean plant and the pole in the cylindrical booth. Time Lapse Camera: Brinno TLC200 PRO (height: 130 cm); 4.2 µm High Dynamic Range (115 dB) image sensor for recording in darkness. Illumination: high-pressure sodium lamp Lumatek pulse-start HPS Lamp 250 W (height: 150 cm; photon fluence rate: 430 ± 50 μmol m–2 s–1 at leaf level). A white parabolic reflector provided symmetrical lighting.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Three examples of the detail of the time series (Pair 1, Pair 7, and Pair 9 out of the ten pairs used in the study). Every row corresponds to one pair of plants. (a) Fast-Fourier Transformation of the pairs of time series organized by condition. Main frequency components were around 0.15–0.35 Hz for all plants. (b) Time-series organized by condition. Displacement of the shoot-tip across the x-axis of the frames. Amplitude of the displacement of the shoot-tip (in pixels) is plotted against time (in samples).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Normal peak acceleration (NPA) and sample entropy (SampEn). (a) NPA Analysis. Average values of NPA per windows 1 to 6 including standard errors. Solid light blue line plots average NPA values for plants in pole condition and dashed light blue line plots its linear trend. Solid dark blue line plots mean NPA values for plants in no-pole condition and dashed dark blue line plots its linear trend. (b) SampEn Analysis. Average SampEn values per windows 1 to 6 and standard errors for m = 2, r = .25. Solid light blue line plots average SampEn values for plants in pole condition and dashed light blue line plots its linear trend. Solid dark blue line plots average SampEn values for plants in no-pole condition and dashed dark blue line plots its linear trend.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Empirical Mode Decomposition and Multiscale Sample Entropy. (a) Example of EMD analysis of a time series and of the fine-to-coarse EMD procedure. The 4 panels show the EMD for the Pair 3, pole condition plant (see Table 1). From top to bottom, each panel shows: full time series (green), six IMFs (blue), and Rest of signal (red). Light blue squares show IMFs that are included in each Scale generated by a fine-to-coarse EMD procedure. Left panel represents Scale 1 including IMFs 1 to 6 (the whole signal). Second to left panel represents Scale 2 including IMFs 2 to 6 after subtracting the highest frequency component (IMF 1). Second to right panel represents Scale 3 including IMFs 3 to 6 after subtracting the two highest frequency components (IMFs 1 and 2). Right panel represents Scale 4 including IMFs 4 to 6 after subtracting the three highest frequency components (IMFs 1, 2, and 3). (b) EMD-based MSE (m = 2, r = .25) for all windows and scales. Left chart shows no-pole condition. Right chart shows pole condition. General reduction of the average magnitude of SampEn is observed for both conditions. The average magnitude of SampEn is preserved across scales 2 and 3 for windows 3, 4, and 6 in pole condition.
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References

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    1. Badot P-M, Melin D, Garrec JP. Circumnutation in Phaseolus vulgaris L. II. Potassium content in the free-moving part of the shoot. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 1990;28:123–130.

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