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Why Canny's theory doesn't hold water.

J P Comstock1

  • 1Boyce Thompson Institute, Tower Road, Ithaca, New York 14853-1801.

American Journal of Botany
|August 17, 1999
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Martin Canny's theory on water transport using tissue pressure is critiqued. The study finds tissue pressure is inconsistent with biophysics and cellular water relations, challenging its role in plant processes.

Area of Science:

  • Plant Physiology
  • Biophysics
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Martin Canny proposed a theory of water transport in plants involving tissue pressure.
  • This theory suggests tissue pressure influences water movement within xylem conduits.
  • Basic principles of cellular water relations and biomechanics underpin plant water transport studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critique Martin Canny's theory of water transport.
  • To evaluate the consistency of tissue pressure application in Canny's model with biophysical principles.
  • To assess the biological feasibility of tissue pressure magnitudes required by Canny's theory.

Main Methods:

  • Critique of Canny's theory based on established principles of cellular water relations.
  • Analysis of the biophysical plausibility of applying tissue pressure to water transport.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Application of La Place's Law to evaluate the scale of pressure and material strength required.
  • Examination of Canny's definitions and proposed mechanisms for tissue pressure effects.

    • Main Results:

    • Canny's application of tissue pressure is internally inconsistent and incompatible with basic biophysics.
    • The proposed mechanism for translating tissue pressure to xylem pressure lacks defensibility, relying on action-at-a-distance.
    • The magnitude of tissue pressure required by the theory is biologically unfeasible, demanding unrealistic tensile strength from plant tissues.
    • La Place's Law indicates pressure balance occurs at the cellular, not tissue, level.

    Conclusions:

    • Canny's theory of water transport supported by tissue pressure is fundamentally flawed.
    • Tissue pressure, while potentially existing at a cellular level, cannot function in whole-plant water transport as Canny proposed.
    • Water potential regulation in plants is primarily a cellular-level phenomenon, not a tissue-level one as suggested by Canny's model.