Following up on my Lysenkoism post (bsky.app/profile/soms...), here’s another Russian plant biologist worth knowing: Have a look at this thread on 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗞𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵𝘆𝗮𝗻 (1902–1991), who proposed the existence of a mobile, leaf-derived flowering factor, long before FT. #PlantScience 🧵 👇 - ThreadSky

somssich.bsky.social • 5 days ago

Following up on my Lysenkoism post (https://bsky.app/profile/somssich.bsky.social/post/3lequj4dox22y), here’s another Russian plant biologist worth knowing: Have a look at this thread on 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗞𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵𝘆𝗮𝗻 (1902–1991), who proposed the existence of a mobile, leaf-derived flowering factor, long before FT.
#PlantScience 🧵 👇

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somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

In the 1930s Chailakhyan was a PhD-student in Moscow, studying #photoperception in #Chrysanthemum. He noticed that plants flowered quicker under short-day conditions, and showed that it was sufficient to expose the leaves to this light regime to induce flowering in the shoot.

somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

It therefore appeared that the locations of photoperception (leaves) and flowering-response (floral meristem) are different and could be uncoupled. Based on his results and pioneering work by Julius Sachs in the 1800s (pic), he planned to show that a mobile, leaf-derived flowering-factor existed.

somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

For example, he grafted the stem of a long-day flowering plant onto the rosette leaves of a short-day flowering plant, demonstrating that the long-day flowering stem would now produce flowers under short-day conditions. The short-day leaves must produce a signal, that the long-day stem senses.

somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

He named the mysterious substance #florigen (‘blossom-former’), suggesting it may be a #phytohormone. Hormones were just becoming 'en vogue', with Fritz Kögl describing and naming the first plant hormone, #auxin (greek for ‘to grow’), in 1931 (pic).

somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

Chailakhyan published his work and PhD-thesis on a ‘Hormonal Theory of Plant Development’… but then met Trofim #Lysenko on his thesis committee. Outraged by this non-Marxist theory of life, Lysenko raged & attacked Chailakhyan in "broken, brief, and harsh phrases often unconnected with each other".

somssich.bsky.social•5 days ago

Chailakhyan was denied his PhD & demoted, while his PhD-supervisor was dismissed. Thanks to some supporters, such as Nikolai #Vavilov, Chailakhyan was able to stay and continue his research in low paying positions, repeatedly getting rehired every time he was fired by Lysenkoists.

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