VFT closing with dry ice
MuadD'ib (MBT1159@ACS.TAMU.EDU)
Mon, 6 Mar 1995 15:39:17 -0600 (CST)
Well, I find it kind of doubtful for cell growth (probably more specifically
cell elongation) to be the answer. If I remember correctly, the way a VFT
closes is by rapidly expelling (at least I think it's expelling and not
absorbing) water from specific cells in the "hinge." In the fixation of
CO2, CO2 binds to a 5 carbon diphosphate compound and H2O is used to split
the now 6 carbon compound into 2, 3 carbon compounds (pyruvate)[hence VFT is
a C3 plant]. So water is reduced to O2, which we tend to find a favorable
trade-off. So if the amount of CO2 is increased, then the amount of H2O
reduced increases, perhaps even beyond the cells' ability to hold water,
especially in cells that hold large amounts of water (the "hinge" cells). I
would describe this as a dehydration of these cells.
Of course, if the VFT closes by rapidly absorbing water in these same cells,
then a very clever theory just got shot to hell. Someone please confirm or
deny my memory's overworked and underslept abilities.
Matt in Aggieland