Even Plants Use Their Brains !

Wait, what ? Plants have brains ?

Plants can feel, hear or see- this is not exactly brand new information. A study in 2007 has already brought forth the idea of how plants communicate with each other when is a threat nearby. Now, a study has revealed that plants can think for themselves too! Might not be as far-fetched as it sounds-

A study with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana carried out by a team of researchers at the University Of Birmingham, UK has revealed something incredible- there are two small groups of cells inside plant embryos that play a major role in deciding when the germination should begin, controlling the plant’s sensitivity to its environment. These cell groups are very much similar to a human brain with hormones moving between them. It is more like a tug of war between these two cell centers wherein one group promotes dormancy and the other, germination. Therefore, when the germination side wins, the seeds sprout. The scientists, encashing on this factor found that, by tweaking the hormonal interaction between the two centers, control over the process of germination can be obtained.

“Our work reveals a crucial separation between the components within a plant decision-making center. In the human brain, this separation is thought to introduce a time delay, smoothing out noisy signals from the environment and increasing the accuracy with which we make decisions. The separation of these parts in the seed ‘brain’ also appears to be central to how it functions.”

states Mr. George Bassel, a team member.

Through this, seeds can be made to sprout together or dormancy can be induced in the plants up to periods desired; this study can be of great importance and help a great deal while developing plants and crops in the future for a variety of uses.