The Environmental & Plant Biology Colloquium Series presents Dr. David T. Hanson on “Walls, roots, and the evolution of photosynthesis on land” on Friday, Nov. 13, at 11:50 a.m. in Porter 104.
Dr. David Hanson
Hanson is a Professor in the Department of Biology at The University of New Mexico.
Abstract: Controlling water loss and gain, resisting degradation, and building height to compete for light are all major challenges associated with life on land. These selective pressures have likely contributed to the evolution of cuticles, tough cell walls, and roots. What is less obvious is that changes in all of these structural components have large consequences for our understanding the supply of CO2 for photosynthesis, especially in the face of a hotter and drier climate. I will present recent work from my lab and from collaborators demonstrating these effects across a wide range of land plants and the implications they have for our understanding of leaf, plant, and global carbon balance.
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