What is it about?

We still do not understand what ageing in plants means and whether plants actually senesce. We show that it is essential to distinguish between processes driven by size and by age, because plants, by their nature, tend to increase in size. Size increases create physiological changes which must be understood before any effect is attributed to senescence per se.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

We summarise the state of knowledge in this field with special emphasis on our own work specifically looking at the the question of why it is important to distinguish size-related versus age-related ageing processes.

Perspectives

Plants (annuals, perennials, herbaceous, woody, etc) are one of the most important groups of living organisms. Some plants constitute ideal model systems to study senescence, which is important biologically, ecologically, environmentally and, more egoistically, to understand senescence in our own species, H. sapiens.

Prof Maurizio Mencuccini
University of Edinburgh

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Physiological and Biochemical Processes Related to Ageing and Senescence in Plants, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/9781139939867.013.
You can read the full text:

Read

Resources

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page