Both scopoletin and chlorogenic acid are natural growth inhibitors which have previously been shown to increase in plants under a variety of stress conditions. In order to determine if these inhibitors interfere with stomatal function, tobacco and sunflower seedlings were treated with scopoletin or chlorogenic acid in a nutrient culture. After treatment, daily measurements were made of stomatal apertures by making Duco cement prints from the lower epidermis. It was found that 10-3 M and 5 x 10-4 M treatments of both compounds caused stomatal closure in tobacco within one day after treatment. This closure persisted for several days, but eventually stomata returned to near normal. Stomata of sunflowers treated with 10-3 M and 5 x 10-4 M chlorogenic acid reacted similarly with less extreme effects in the latter group. Both tobacco and sunflower seedlings treated with scopoletin or chlorogenic acid of 10-4 M levels showed an enhancement of stomatal openings. Stomatal reductions induced by 10-3 M and 5 x 10-4 M scopoletin treatments correlate well with growth retardation and photosynthetic reductions previously established in these seedlings. It appears that one mechanism of growth inhibition induced by scopoletin and chlorogenic acid operates through stomatal closure.
The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society (until 1997 The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club), the oldest botanical journal in the Americas, has as its primary goal the dissemination of scientific knowledge about plants (in the broad sense of both plants and fungi). It publishes basic research in all areas of plant biology except horticulture, with emphasis on research done in, and about plants of, the Western Hemisphere.
The Torrey Botanical Society is an organization of people interested in plant life, including professional and amateur botanists, students, and those who just like to go out into the country and study nature. The society began informally in the 1860's under the aegis and inspiration of Dr. John Torrey, then professor of botany at Columbia College, and claims to be the oldest botanical society in America. The early members were amateur botanists and some students and colleagues of Dr. Torrey, who were interested in collecting and identifying plants. They occasionally met in the evening to discuss their findings. The organization was first named with the appearance of its first publication, The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Society, in 1870, and was incorporated in 1873. Today, the society holds as its objectives "to promote interest in botany, and to collect and disseminate information on all phases of plant science." These objectives are fulfilled through indoor meetings, outdoor meetings or fields trips, and publications. Because the publications have become standard reference material for botanists, many people residing in practically every state and in a number of other countries have become members, primarily to receive the publications. Thus, the society has become an international organization and is affiliated with the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It differs from most scientific societies in the numerous meetings and field trips.
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© 1971 Torrey Botanical Society