(Phys.org) —A combined team of researchers from Nagoya University and the University of Tokyo has discovered that a certain type of fern plant communicates with others of its kind using pheromones as a means of choosing the gender of maturing plants. In their paper published in the journal Science, the researchers describe how their study of the Japanese climbing fern, led to a better understanding of the role that the pheromone gibberellin plays in its reproduction process. Tai-ping Sun, with Duke University offers a perspective piece in the same journal edition, providing a more in-depth analysis of the work the team has done.
As farmers know, most flowering plants are both male and female—the Japanese climbing fern is an exception—individual plants are either male or female. Until now, it wasn’t clear how it was that some of the plants grew to become male, however, while others grew to be female. In this new effort, the researchers have found that it’s due to a form of intergenerational communication between the plants.
Read full article at Phys.org: http://phys.org/news/2014-10-ferns-gender.html#jCp