Sometimes plants react like closing or opening their leaves when touched, have you ever wondered why? This 30-year-old genetic mystery has finally been solved. It has been known for a long time that touch can trigger stress reactions in plants, but the researchers’ work to explain the reason for this reaction was inconclusive.
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden, in their experiments, found genetic codes that explain how plants respond so strongly to mechanical stimuli such as touch. So how can solving this mystery and cracking the genetic codes benefit us?
In this way, plants can be enabled to flower and bear fruit much faster
Unlike humans, plants cannot feel pain, but mechanically, such as human touch, animal touch, wind and rain, plants cannot feel pain. They react strongly to stimuli. These external factors lead to the rapid activation of the plant’s molecular defense system, which causes the plants to become more resistant and bloom later.
Although this event has been known since Darwin, there are still many question marks on the subject. A recent article (the research we mentioned above) published in the journal Science Advances examined the complex regulatory networks that influence how the plant’s defenses are strengthened by external influences and revealed its genetic codes.
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden say: “We stimulated plant cress with gentle brush strokes, then thousands of genes were activated and stress hormones were released. Then we found the genes responsible for this process. Our results solve a scientific mystery that has eluded the world’s molecular biologists for 30 years
We have identified an entirely new signaling pathway that controls a plant’s response to physical contact and touch. “Given the conditions and pathogenic infections, it is extremely important to find new ways to increase crop productivity and resilience to maintain the ecological balance.”
If researchers can break this code and reverse the defensive effect, it could help provide higher yields and improved stress resistance in future crops, which could be one of the most powerful countermeasures to famine. What do you think? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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