A few seconds after touching the Mimosa pudica plant, its leaflets fold together. It takes about 10 minutes or more for the plant to regain and restore the natural form of the leaf. A good explanation for this is:

a. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because of the loss of K+

b. Cells suddenly become turgid after stimulation because of loss of Na+

c. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because of the loss of Na+

d. none of these

Question

Alivia Trevino

Biology

17 September, 07:46

A few seconds after touching the Mimosa pudica plant, its leaflets fold together. It takes about 10 minutes or more for the plant to regain and restore the natural form of the leaf. A good explanation for this is:

a. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because of the loss of K+

b. Cells suddenly become turgid after stimulation because of loss of Na+

c. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because of the loss of Na+

d. none of these

+3

Answers (1)

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Maryjane Martinez · Answer 1

cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because of the loss of K+

Explanation:

Nastic responses are non-directional movements of parts of plants in response to diffuse stimuli. The closinf of leaves of Mimosa pudica when touched is a type of haptonastic response. These movements are brought about by turgor pressure changes of the leaf and the petal bases. At the bases, there are pressure sensitive swellings called pulvini which through loss of turgidity cause nastic movements.

According to research, cells go through an efflux of potassium (K) which leads to the reduction of turgor. Direct quote on Reed-Guy et al. (2017) 's paper "This mechanism is initiated when a stimulus causes an efflux of potassium within the leaf, creating a loss of turgor pressure, which closes the leaves and causes them to droop."