Thought experiment: a hidden signal and an etioreceptor
2020
Khanna, Rajnish | Kutschera, Ulrich
A pioneer in the study of the effect of light on plant development, Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845–1920), outlined both modes of plant development in darkness and in light– today known as skoto- and photo- morphogenesis, respectively. By exploring the current understanding of these pathways in Arabidopsis, we speculate on the possible mechanisms of cell and organ elongation in darkness. We present a thought experiment, which highlights the need for a yet unknown (hidden) external signal, we call aleph (ℵ), and its possible sensor “etioreceptor”. Here we propose for the first time that this system is required for growth and developmental patterning to continue in localized spacetime under minimal growth environments, particularly in the absence of light. If true, this mechanism may have played a fundamental role in organism’s survival during Darwinian (adaptive) evolution (“survival of the fittest”). We present our working model whereby the hidden signal acting through its etioreceptor, increases auxin biosynthesis to facilitate organ expansion, and suggest a function for this system in the auxin biosynthesis pathway.
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