Mechanodetection of neighbor plants elicits adaptive leaf movements through calcium dynamics

Chrysoula K. Pantazopoulou (), Sara Buti, Chi Tam Nguyen, Lisa Oskam, Daan A. Weits, Edward E. Farmer, Kaisa Kajala and Ronald Pierik ()
Additional contact information
Chrysoula K. Pantazopoulou: Utrecht University
Sara Buti: Utrecht University
Chi Tam Nguyen: University of Lausanne
Lisa Oskam: Utrecht University
Daan A. Weits: Utrecht University
Edward E. Farmer: University of Lausanne
Kaisa Kajala: Utrecht University
Ronald Pierik: Utrecht University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Plants detect their neighbors via various cues, including reflected light and touching of leaf tips, which elicit upward leaf movement (hyponasty). It is currently unknown how touch is sensed and how the signal is transferred from the leaf tip to the petiole base that drives hyponasty. Here, we show that touch-induced hyponasty involves a signal transduction pathway that is distinct from light-mediated hyponasty. We found that mechanostimulation of the leaf tip upon touching causes cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]cyt induction in leaf tip trichomes that spreads towards the petiole. Both perturbation of the calcium response and the absence of trichomes reduce touch-induced hyponasty. Finally, using plant competition assays, we show that touch-induced hyponasty is adaptive in dense stands of Arabidopsis. We thus establish a novel, adaptive mechanism regulating hyponastic leaf movement in response to mechanostimulation by neighbors in dense vegetation.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41530-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-41530-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41530-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().