Abstract
The perception of light direction yields important information enabling organisms to optimize their position in the natural environment by appropriate orientation movements. Well-known examples are phototaxis and phototropism. Phototaxis is the orientation movement of motile organisms with respect to light direction. The phenomenon can be demonstrated easily using phytoflagellates, desmids or cyanobacteria (Section 5.4.2.3). If unidirectional low irradiance light is applied, these photosynthetic microorganisms usually move towards the light source (= positive phototaxis), whereas in high irradiance light they move away from it (= negative phototaxis). Buder (1919) showed in a basic experiment that the direction in which the light beam propagates is the important factor for orientation movements of the phototactic phytoflagellate Euglena, and not a gradient of irradiance (Chapter 4.5): in a converging light beam organisms move against the irradiance gradient and towards the light source (Fig. 1).
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Kraml, M. (1986). Light direction and polarization. In: Kendrick, R.E., Kronenberg, G.H.M. (eds) Photomorphogenesis in plants. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2624-5_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2624-5_12
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