Structure-property relationships in mechanically stimulated Sorghum bicolor stalks

• Authors: Marie-Louise Lemloh , Anna Pohl , Eva Weber , Marco Zeiger , Petra Bauer , Ingrid M. Weiss , Andreas S. Schneider
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Mechanical properties of plants and underlying
structure-property relationships are important for
agricultural purposes as well as for biomimetic concepts.
In this study, the effect of mechanical stimulation on
morphology and bending properties of the stalk was
investigated for Sorghum bicolor (Poaceae), a widely used
drought-tolerant biomass grass. An experimental set-up
allowing for defined growth and mechanical perturbation
(flexing) during a defined growth period was designed.
Mechanical properties of individual internodes of the
stalk were determined by three-point bending tests. We
found that the three investigated lines showed differences
in their general bending strength in the non-stimulated
condition. However, similar high range of bending
strength values was measured for all plant lines after
they underwent the mechanical stimulation procedure.
The anatomy of internode cross-sections was examined
to evaluate structure-property relationships. An increased
thickness of the outer sclerenchymatous tissue was
observed for internodes with higher bending strength
values. Dried internodes fail under lower strains but
showed higher bending strength. These findings show that
mechanosensitivity in sorghum is dependent on genetic
as well as environmental factors. The experimental system
presented here offers new straight-forward possibilities for S. bicolor line selection for applications requiring
mechanical strength of the stalk.

Keywords

EN

Poaceae; Sorghum bicolor; stalk; internode; mechanical properties; three-point bending; bendingstrength; thigmomorphogenesis; mechanical stimulation; sclerenchyma

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Bioinspired Materials
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1

Dates

received

20 - 2 - 2014

online

30 - 9 - 2014

accepted

8 - 8 - 2014

Contributors

author

Marie-Louise Lemloh

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

author

Anna Pohl

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

author

Eva Weber

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany
• Department of Materials Engineering
  and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion Israel
  Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel

author

Marco Zeiger

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

author

Petra Bauer

• Saarland University, Department of Biosciences - Plant
  Biology, Campus A2 4, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany
• Heinrich Heine University, Institute of
  Botany, Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany

author

Ingrid M. Weiss

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

author

Andreas S. Schneider

• INM - Leibniz Institute
  for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/bima-2014-0001