Communicate the stress received on the ground underground.What is the communication method for plants?

If the distance is strangely close, you will feel uncomfortable...This is not just humans.

Personal space is important even for plants because the sun is not sufficiently exposed.Rather than mental stress, it is thought that the sense of distance can be directly linked to the issue of life and death, so it is thought that it has gained some kind of "avoid" ability in the process of evolution.

However, no matter how crowded the surroundings are, the plants are not able to say "it's a bit closer", and you can't freely move to the place, "It's more vacant!"。

According to the latest research published in PLOS ONE, plants can send a warning signal just to say "change the growth pattern" to nearby seedlings.

The fact that plants can communicate through chemical signals in the soil have already been revealed by pre -research.However, it was not yet understood whether these chemical signals were influenced by physical events on the ground.

In the latest research, Velemir Ninkovic and others at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have conducted an experiment to lightly rub the growing by rubbing the leaves of corn seedlings grown in the growth solution.When the leaves are rubbed, it seems that plants that are sensitive to contact and stimulation are crowded with the surrounding trees.

As a result, the seedlings that misunderstand that "my space is narrowing!" Secretes chemical signals from the roots in the growth solution.Using this solution, a new seedling grown and comparing the two, and the new seedlings were grown in a small root and more leaves.

In order to show that this is not a random observation result, the research team conducted new experiments under the following conditions:

Two kinds of growth solutions (including chemical signals of seedlings that are stressed by lightly rubbing leaves and stress) are prepared as shown in the following image and observed corn growth, which is given stress.The result is that the initial roots grow towards the non -solution.

What does the signature of the plant mean from an evolutionary perspective?

One is an altruistic factor.It helps to avoid crowded places so that the same friend's race can secure the sunshine without being disturbed by the surrounding environment.

On the other hand, there is also a selfish aspect that "I don't come anymore because my space is narrowed."

The results of this study showed that environmental stress that occurred on the ground, which lightly rubs leaves, can be transmitted to friends through communication under the ground, resulting in a change in growing patterns.

In the dissertation, "the reaction to the adjacent plants is considered to be significantly affected by physical conditions, which means that the irritation on the ground changes the communication between plants under the ground.You are. "

In the future, research at the more complex level of how plants communicate with their surrounding friends will be required.

Image: Matkub2499/Shutterstock.Comsource: Plos ONEGEORGE DVORSKY --Gizmodo US [Original] (RINA FUKAZU)