Plants Can Distinguish When Touch Begins And Ends, Says New Study
NDTV
In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells.
Plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, even without nerves, according to a study led by Washington State University.
In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that pressure was released, they sent much more rapid waves. While scientists have known that plants can respond to touch, this study shows that plant cells send different signals when touch is initiated and ended.
"It is quite surprising how finely sensitive plants cells are--that they can discriminate when something is touching them. They sense the pressure, and when it is released, they sense the drop in pressure," said Michael Knoblauch, WSU biological sciences professor and senior author of the study in the journal Nature Plants.
"It's surprising that plants can do this in a very different way than animals, without nerve cells and at a really fine level."
