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plant_neurobiology [2011-08-10 14:12] – nik | plant_neurobiology [2013-04-05 12:12] (current) – [Plant Neurobiology] nik | ||
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- | ===Plant Neurobiology=== | + | ====Plant Neurobiology==== |
- | | + | ===Definition and origin |
- | “plants | + | Plant neurobiology studies how plants |
+ | The term 'plant neurobiology', | ||
+ | For this reason, some authors consider this terminology as illegitimate, | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is now largely accepted that electrical signals are transmitted via the plant' | ||
+ | |||
+ | « Phloem is an electrical conductor of bioelectrochemical impulses over long distances . . . structures of phloem and axon can be pictured as hollow tubes filled with electrolyte solutions » (Volkov, 2000) | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Some keywords === | ||
+ | |||
+ | from wikipedia | ||
+ | * [[w> | ||
+ | * [[w> | ||
+ | * [[w> | ||
+ | * [[w> | ||
+ | * [[w> | ||
+ | |||
+ | other pages on the libarynth >> [[plant perception]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Electrical signals in plants=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Plants use a lot of chemical signals to regulate their growth, metabolisms and to adapt to external constraints. In the last decades, the study of the key molecules such as auxins, growth regulators, morphogens and other plant hormones has shown a lot of similarities with the animal' | ||
+ | |||
+ | It has been shown that the vascular tissues of plants (phloem and xylem) plays a central role in the plant' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Types of electrical signals== | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are two types of electrical impulses in the plant : | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The //action potentials// | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The //slow wave potentials// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Action potentials in plants== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The action potentials are largely documented in the scientific literature and the most famous manifestation of it is the rapid reaction of ' | ||
+ | Just as in animal' | ||
+ | The sensory systems of plants also allow the summation of subthreshold stimuli, that finally induce an internal signal when the threshold is reached. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Recently, the Netherlands-based artist Ivan Enriques made use of the action potentials in his ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Origin of the electrical signals== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The protoplasm (the liquid content of each plant' | ||
+ | |||
+ | * a change in light intensity | ||
+ | * a change in osmotic pressure or water availability | ||
+ | * the presence of a certain chemical compound | ||
+ | * a change in temperature | ||
+ | * a mechanical stimulation | ||
+ | * cutting or wounding | ||
+ | * ... | ||
+ | |||
+ | Additionnaly to local Those factors induce of course local responses but also responses in distant parts of the plant. | ||
+ | Effects of the electrical signals | ||
+ | The speed of propagation of the action potentials in plants depends highly on the species that is studied and on the type of stimulus that induced the signal. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Origin of the similarities between the signalling systems in plants and animals=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Between two living organisms, a similarity can be explained by a process of convergent evolution (in that case we speak about an homoplasy) or by the existence of a common ancestor that already presented that certain feature. | ||
+ | A question that arise here is wheter the ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | “Plants may be more sophisticated and share more in common with animals in their non-cognitive behaviours than previously thought” (Gersani et al., 2001) | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Use of plants as biosensors=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some authors (Volkov & Brown, 2004) suggest that the precise measurement and interpretation of electrical signals in plants could allow to use plants as efficient and cheap bio-sensors. Indeed, the plants are able to detect very tiny amounts of certain volatile compounds, or subtle variations in light intensity, moisture, etc. and to convert those informations into electrical signals. By just measuring the electrical signal geneated by the plant, and then converting it back to environmental data, it would be like using the plant as a living measure tool. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Main References=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Barlow, P. W. (2008) Reflections on ‘plant neurobiology’, | ||
+ | * Volkov A. G. & Brown C. L. (2004) Electrochemistry of plant life, http:// | ||
+ | * Henriques I. (2011) Jurema Action Plant, http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | note: The International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV), in Florence, is the research group of F. Baluska and S. Mancuso, two prominent figures in plant neurobiology. A serie of publications are freely available on the website of LINV: http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Other refereces=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Gersani, M., Brown, J.S., O’Brien, E.E., Maina, G.M., Abramsky, Z. (2001) Tragedy of the commons as a result of root competition, | ||
+ | * Meyerowitz, E.M. (2002) Plants compared to animals: the broadest comparative study of development. Science 295, pp. 1482–1485. | ||
+ | * Volkov, A.G. (2000) Green plants: electrochemical interfaces, J. Electroanal. Chem. 483, pp. 150–156. | ||
- | ===References=== | ||
- | * Peter W. Barlow (2008) // | ||
- | * Volkov, A.G. (2000) //Green plants: electrochemical interfaces//, | ||
- | * Gersani, M., Brown, J.S., O’Brien, E.E., Maina, G.M., Abramsky, Z. (2001) //Tragedy of the commons as a result of root competition//, | ||
related: [[project groworld]], [[category biology]] | related: [[project groworld]], [[category biology]] | ||