- More than just a pleasant sensation, the scent of newly cut grass is part of a sophisticated plant communication system including Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs).
- These GLVs are critical signals for plants, alerting them to impending risks such as herbivore assaults.
Plant Eavesdropping Inter-Plant Communication Concept:
- Plants have an amazing capacity to ‘eavesdrop’ on their neighbours’ distress signals, preparing themselves for comparable threats.
- Implications for Agriculture: Understanding this natural warning system has the potential to revolutionise pest control in agriculture, thereby eliminating the demand for toxic chemicals.
Plant Defence Mechanisms: An Overview
- Calcium is important in plant defence, according to research on mustard plants (Arabidopsis thaliana), with calcium levels increasing in response to harm.
- Researchers were able to visually follow plant reactions to physical injury and GLV exposure by using genetically engineered plants that glow in response to calcium surges.
- Experiments have shown that plants, as revealed by fluorescence in modified mustard plants, can detect and respond to GLVs generated by neighbouring plants.
- Among the GLVs, substances such as E-2-HAL and Z-3-HAL were discovered to cause substantial reactions in plants.
Response to Gene-Level Defence
- Activation of Defence Genes: Plants respond to GLVs by activating particular defense-related genes, suggesting that they perceive these volatiles as danger signals.
- Plant Protection Implications: Gene activation might be a critical stage in natural plant defence systems against herbivores.
Implications and Future Prospects
- Natural Pest management: The research opens the door to the use of GLVs in agricultural pest management, potentially lowering the need for chemical pesticides.
- Alternative Strategies: While promising, researchers are also considering alternative chemicals such as jasmonic acid for pest management while balancing plant growth and fruit output.
- Expanding Plant Sensory Research: The findings stimulate greater research into plant perception and response to external stimuli, particularly in natural contexts with more complicated signalling dynamics.
- Dilution of these chemicals in the open air is one of the major obstacles in researching plant volatile signalling in natural settings.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/plants-danger-green-leaf-volatiles-fluorescence-new-study/article67550984.ece