6 ms·

I'm wondering what the rest of the plant supposed to do with that warning? Remain perfectly still like Drax so it doesn't see us? Try to taste bad?

988747 5y ago
Probably the latter: Taste bad, and possibly become more poisonous for catepilars. It is quite possible to use that electric signal to trigger some chemical reaction that would accomplish this.
vages 5y ago
Perhaps it’s just a side effect of some other system in the plant, like an electrical pulse to communicate “the way this branch is growing has little/much sunlight”.
- wyldfire 5y ago
  That's a 'phototropism' IIRC and it's not caused by electrical signals but instead by growth hormones called auxins. This is what little I recall from high school biology, anyways. IIRC the auxins inhibit cell division and different ones cause different tropism phenomena.
vikramkr 5y ago
Plants have all sorts of defense mechanisms, toxins etc, that they've evolved (since they're sitting ducks). Its a reasonable hypothesis that some energetically intensive to produce toxin could have its production induced, for example (the plant wouldn't want to waste energy on producing the toxins when not needed). I believe there are also plants that have been shown to release compounds that attract parasitic wasps to kill the pest. That could also be triggered here, another reasonable hypothesis.
- sundvor 5y ago
  I wanted to share the Hidden life Of Trees book, for anyone finding the above fascinating. The author explores the idea that trees use fungal networks to communicate, which is further to what we see about the plants here. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life-of-trees https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life... (I can recommend the Audible version.)
  - anon_cow1111 5y ago
    I'll hijack you to drop the radiolab episode on this while I'm here, I remember it being fairly interesting. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/from-tree-to-shining-tree https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/from-...
    - sundvor 5y ago
      Oh, thanks! Appreciated.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    Great book
- kristopolous 5y ago
  Sorry for my stupidity but isn't a tomato plant planning on being eaten? I honestly have no idea and I'd love to know more
  - aendruk 5y ago
    Not by caterpillars, but by something larger that would distribute the seeds.
    - PostThisTooFast 5y ago
      Like a civet.
hirundo 5y ago
> In addition, the authors measured the biochemical responses, such as defensive chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, across other parts of the plant. This showed that these defenses were triggered even in parts of the plant that were far away from the damage caused by the caterpillars.
aszantu 5y ago
Anti nutrients :(
malwarebytess 5y ago
Plants can do amazing things. Think about how our own bodies respond to extreme temperature or to shock. We withdraw vital fluids to the core, or bring certain resources to the site of irritation. Plants certainly do things like this. The research paper's abstract says this: >The results show with 90% of accuracy that the electrome registered in the fruit's peduncle before herbivory is different from the electrome during predation on the fruits. Interestingly, there was also a sharp difference in the electrome of the green and ripe fruits' peduncles before, but not during, the herbivory, which demonstrates that the signals generated by the herbivory stand over the others. Biochemical analysis showed that herbivory in the fruit triggered an oxidative response in other parts of the plant. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.657401/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.6574... e: side note, this is the software they used for the computation, including Machine Learning. >The code libraries used were: Numpy and Pandas for data manipulation; Scipy, Obspy and Math for mathematical calculations; Matplotlib for creating graphics; Sklearn and Statsmodels for machine learning.
- dariusj18 5y ago
  > oxidative response does that mean it makes itself more cancerous?
  - grawprog 5y ago
    I'm not sure if this paper is talking about the same thing but it discusses the effect of reactive oxides and antioxident balances in plants and their effects. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfs/2020/8817778/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfs/2020/8817778/
dmix 5y ago
The article mentions releasing hydrogen peroxide. Not just in the one fruit being attacked but the other fruit on the plant also released more chemicals.
pvaldes 5y ago
Fear the creators of Nicotine, Rape drug and lava-hot chilly. They know how to make an animal cry.

988747 5y ago

Probably the latter: Taste bad, and possibly become more poisonous for catepilars. It is quite possible to use that electric signal to trigger some chemical reaction that would accomplish this.

vages 5y ago

Perhaps it’s just a side effect of some other system in the plant, like an electrical pulse to communicate “the way this branch is growing has little/much sunlight”.

wyldfire 5y ago
That's a 'phototropism' IIRC and it's not caused by electrical signals but instead by growth hormones called auxins. This is what little I recall from high school biology, anyways. IIRC the auxins inhibit cell division and different ones cause different tropism phenomena.

vikramkr 5y ago

Plants have all sorts of defense mechanisms, toxins etc, that they've evolved (since they're sitting ducks). Its a reasonable hypothesis that some energetically intensive to produce toxin could have its production induced, for example (the plant wouldn't want to waste energy on producing the toxins when not needed). I believe there are also plants that have been shown to release compounds that attract parasitic wasps to kill the pest. That could also be triggered here, another reasonable hypothesis.

sundvor 5y ago
I wanted to share the Hidden life Of Trees book, for anyone finding the above fascinating. The author explores the idea that trees use fungal networks to communicate, which is further to what we see about the plants here. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life-of-trees https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28256439-the-hidden-life... (I can recommend the Audible version.)
- anon_cow1111 5y ago
  I'll hijack you to drop the radiolab episode on this while I'm here, I remember it being fairly interesting. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/from-tree-to-shining-tree https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/from-...
  - sundvor 5y ago
    Oh, thanks! Appreciated.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  Great book
kristopolous 5y ago
Sorry for my stupidity but isn't a tomato plant planning on being eaten? I honestly have no idea and I'd love to know more
- aendruk 5y ago
  Not by caterpillars, but by something larger that would distribute the seeds.
  - PostThisTooFast 5y ago
    Like a civet.

hirundo 5y ago

> In addition, the authors measured the biochemical responses, such as defensive chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, across other parts of the plant. This showed that these defenses were triggered even in parts of the plant that were far away from the damage caused by the caterpillars.

aszantu 5y ago

Anti nutrients :(

malwarebytess 5y ago

Plants can do amazing things. Think about how our own bodies respond to extreme temperature or to shock. We withdraw vital fluids to the core, or bring certain resources to the site of irritation. Plants certainly do things like this. The research paper's abstract says this: >The results show with 90% of accuracy that the electrome registered in the fruit's peduncle before herbivory is different from the electrome during predation on the fruits. Interestingly, there was also a sharp difference in the electrome of the green and ripe fruits' peduncles before, but not during, the herbivory, which demonstrates that the signals generated by the herbivory stand over the others. Biochemical analysis showed that herbivory in the fruit triggered an oxidative response in other parts of the plant. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.657401/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.6574... e: side note, this is the software they used for the computation, including Machine Learning. >The code libraries used were: Numpy and Pandas for data manipulation; Scipy, Obspy and Math for mathematical calculations; Matplotlib for creating graphics; Sklearn and Statsmodels for machine learning.

dariusj18 5y ago
> oxidative response does that mean it makes itself more cancerous?
- grawprog 5y ago
  I'm not sure if this paper is talking about the same thing but it discusses the effect of reactive oxides and antioxident balances in plants and their effects. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfs/2020/8817778/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfs/2020/8817778/

dmix 5y ago

The article mentions releasing hydrogen peroxide. Not just in the one fruit being attacked but the other fruit on the plant also released more chemicals.

pvaldes 5y ago

Fear the creators of Nicotine, Rape drug and lava-hot chilly. They know how to make an animal cry.