The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Topic started by: mystery-ak on October 25, 2014, 12:53:45 am
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http://www.businessinsider.com/plants-know-they-are-being-eaten-2014-10?utm_content=buffer75de8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer (http://www.businessinsider.com/plants-know-they-are-being-eaten-2014-10?utm_content=buffer75de8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer)
Researchers Have Found That Plants Know They Are Being Eaten
Inhabitat
COLIN PAYNE, INHABITAT
OCT. 23, 2014, 6:17 PM
Vegetarians and vegans pay heed: New research shows plants know when they're being eaten. And they don't like it.
That plants possess an intelligence is not new knowledge, but according to Modern Farmer, a new study from the University of Missouri shows plants can sense when they are being eaten and send out defense mechanisms to try to stop it from happening.
The study was carried out on thale cress, or Arabidopsis as it's known scientifically, which is closely related to broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and other siblings of the brassica family and is popular for science experiments. It is commonly used in experiments because it was the first plant to have its genome sequenced, and scientists are intimately familiar with how it works.
Going forward with the question of whether a plant knows it's being eaten, the University of Missouri researchers first took a precise audio recording of the vibrations a caterpillar makes as it eats the thale cress leaves, with the working theory that plants could feel or hear the vibrations in some way.
The researchers controlled the experiment by coming up with other vibrations that simulated other natural vibrations like wind noise that the plant might encounter.
The results? According to Modern Farmer, the thale cress produces mustard oils that are mildly toxic when eaten and sends them throughout its leaves to try to keep the predators away. The research also revealed that when the plants felt or heard "munching vibrations" from the caterpillar, they sent out extra mustard oils. But the plants didn't react when other vibrations were present.
"Previous research has investigated how plants respond to acoustic energy, including music," said Heidi Appel, senior research scientist in the Division of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Bond Life Sciences Center at MU.
"However, our work is the first example of how plants respond to an ecologically relevant vibration. We found that feeding vibrations signal changes in the plant cells' metabolism, creating more defensive chemicals that can repel attacks from caterpillars."
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So, I wasn't crazy...the broccoli was angrily staring back at me? :laugh:
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(http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/veggietales1.jpg)
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Interesting. Wonder what the actual mechanism is, it can't really be chemical in nature, unlike phototropism, since it is responding to movement. Possibly a modification of the geotropic mechanism?
I find plants fascinating - they are far more complex than most people believe, even showing something that could be (generously) called altruism.
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Interesting. Wonder what the actual mechanism is, it can't really be chemical in nature, unlike phototropism, since it is responding to movement. Possibly a modification of the geotropic mechanism?
I find plants fascinating - they are far more complex than most people believe, even showing something that could be (generously) called altruism.
So you're saying that some plants are more highly evolved than Obama voters?
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So you're saying that some plants are more highly evolved than Obama voters?
I wouldn't go that far. More evolved than Dem politicians is as far as I'll go. :whistle:
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I wouldn't go that far. More evolved than Dem politicians is as far as I'll go. :whistle:
You're just trying to be nice and not hurt their feelings!
**nononono*
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You're just trying to be nice and not hurt their feelings!
**nononono*
Of course I am! Plants do have feelings. :tongue2:
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Of course I am! Plants do have feelings. :tongue2:
I believe they 'show' happiness and contentment.
My plants love classical music. And sunlight and water.
...not necessarily in THAT order. :laugh:
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Define "sense" and "sending out defense mechanisms". The cells of the human body each do the same thing - emitting signals in response to damage - and I hardly think one is going to grant the epithet "intelligent" to individual human cells.
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The Vegans are screwed.
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The Vegans are screwed.
:beer:
Wonder what they think of a lawn mower, a chainsaw...
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I believe they 'show' happiness and contentment.
My plants love classical music. And sunlight and water.
...not necessarily in THAT order. :laugh:
I used to play a lot of Nirvana in my place before I got married.
The only things that used to survive in there were cacti.