If you have every observed a dandelion for a day you will notice the flowers open and close in response to light. We have been having some wonderful sunny days of late and today it happens that it is cloudy thus the petals have not opened so much. When the clouds are in the sky the red light of infrared and visible is blocked more than some of the UV side of the spectrum.
So in the video when we have a fresh dandelion under the microscope after being in the direct sun and the epiflourescent light is used on the petal it moves. The epiflourescent light on the scope is on the blue light end of the spectrum and therefore it seems the flower is moving in response to the blue light because it is the action taken at the end of the day aka closing up for the night. As the sun rises we have more red light because the light has to travel through more atmosphere than and at the end of the day where have more blue.
In the video you can see only the petals really move. Once they move they donโt return so much but when the infrared red-light led panel is shone on it it moves back more.
I have also seen trichomes and leaves pump sap, puffballs move their spores with the epi, signalling a similar end of the day type of action. The leaves would likely be pumping metabolites to the roots, puffballs hairs would be possibly preparing spores for dispersal to avoid direct midday sun.
Turns out this process is called Nyctinasty.
Phytochromes proteins seem to be responsible for the red light movement
Phytochrome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytochrome
and Phototrophins are proteins for the blue light movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropin
there is also a protein for UV B
UVR8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UVR8
also for blue light:
Cryptochrome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptochrome
I am sure there must be more too and it would surprise me if lots of this stuff applies to people in some way too.
#permies
#permaculture
#bluelight
#infrared
