A team from Lund University has discovered the molecular signalling pathway that allows plants to respond to mechanical stimuli such as touch, wind or injury. The work was carried out on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and published in the journal Nature Communications.
According to the study, three groups of proteins known as MAP kinases are activated within a minute of the stimulus and go on to influence the activity of hundreds of genes. The same pathway also affects how repeated mechanical stress, for example from wind or herbivores, changes the plant’s growth, shape and defences.
Researcher Olivier van Aken points out that it has been known for more than 25 years that mechanical stimulation activates these proteins, but a crucial piece of the puzzle had been missing. The authors stress that this is fundamental research and that any applications in agriculture will require further study.
