The science of discovering plants also knows 'pain' when we eat

A new study shows that plants are recognizable when they are eaten and do not like it at all.

According to Business Insider, plants with intelligence to a certain extent are not too new knowledge. However, according to a study by scientists from the University of Missouri (USA), plants can also identify when they are eaten and launch a defense mechanism to prevent it from happening.

The study was conducted on a plant belonging to the cruciferous family whose scientific name is Arabidopsis . This is a tree with relatives close to green mustard, kale, green mustard and many of the familiar family plants. Scientists often use this plant to conduct experiments because it is the first plant to be genetically decoded successfully and know quite well about it.

Picture 1 of The science of discovering plants also knows 'pain' when we eat
Plants can also be identified when they are eaten and launch a defense mechanism to prevent it from happening.

To answer the question of whether the plant has a "sense" when it is eaten, scientists have correctly recorded the vibrations produced by a caterpillar when eating Arabidopsis leaves. . If the hypothesis is correct, Arabidopsis will be able to perceive or hear the vibrations of the caterpillar in some way.

To control the experiment, scientists also created vibrations that simulate other natural sounds like the wind blowing.

Result? Scientists have discovered that Arabidopsis will produce a mild toxic mustard oil when eaten and transferred to the leaves to chase off the attackers. In addition, when noticing or hearing the vibrations generated by the caterpillar, the amount of mustard oil delivered to the leaves increased significantly. However, for other types of vibrations, Arabidopsis has no reaction.

"Previous studies only examined how plants respond to sound, including music," said Heidi Appel, senior researcher at the University of Missouri, "However, their research I was the first example of how plants would react to vibrations in the ecological environment, and we found that when we sensed vibrations caused by eating, some of the substance changes would take place. inside plant cells and help them create chemical defense mechanisms to repel caterpillar attacks. "