= Elison B. Blancaflor
{c}
<Elison B. Blancaflor> is a researcher in <plant> growth and environmental responses. A 1998 study led by <Elison B. Blancaflor> used <laser ablation> to remove defined cells from the <root cap> of <Arabidopsis thaliana> and measured the resulting <gravitropism>. This tested the role of particular cells more precisely than removing the entire <root cap>.<Mapping the Functional Roles of Cap Cells in the Response of Arabidopsis Primary Roots to Gravity by Elison B. Blancaflor and others>[Abstract and Figures 1–3: defined-cell removal and curvature measurements]{ref}
Removing inner <root-cap columella cells> strongly reduced bending without reducing axial growth to the same extent, while removing some peripheral cells had little effect on curvature. Continued growth matters as a control: loss of bending could otherwise reflect an inability to grow at all. Comparing the position of the removed cells with the time course of bending linked a local cellular perturbation to a whole-organ response.<Mapping the Functional Roles of Cap Cells in the Response of Arabidopsis Primary Roots to Gravity by Elison B. Blancaflor and others>[Abstract and growth controls; Plant Physiology 116, 213–222, 1998]{ref}
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