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A down-to-earth model of gravisensing
1Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Gravitational and Space Biology Bulletin : Publication of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology
|June 1, 1997
Abstract:
The statolith hypothesis for gravity sensing is the most accepted model of gravity sensing in plants. However, the lukewarm acceptance of the statolith hypothesis among plant physiologists is most likely due to inertia and not due to any one experiment done over the past one hundred years that unambiguously pitted the statolith hypothesis against any of the competing hypotheses. Here we emphasize the weaknesses of the statolith hypothesis and suggest that the gravitational pressure hypothesis is superior in describing gravisensing in all plant cells.