Thermogenesis-triggered seed dispersal in dwarf mistletoe

Rolena A J deBruyn1, Mark Paetkau2, Kelly A Ross3

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada V2C 0C8.

Nature Communications
|February 10, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Seed dispersal in lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (DM) is triggered by heat. Thermogenesis, or internal heat production, causes an explosive discharge of seeds, a phenomenon previously unobserved in plants.