Remarkable discovery of human-like plant ‘brain’

A recent study discovered that the process of seed development in a plant is controlled by a plant ‘brain’ – a group of plant embryo that operates in similar way to human brain.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham revealed the trade-off between the speed and accuracy of the plant’s germination: too early might lead to damage by harsh weather and too late might lead to the plant being outcompeted by others.

In their research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), disclosed that this ‘brain’ in plants or its ‘decision-making centre’ is labeled as Arabidopsis or thale cress. It basically consists of two kinds of cells: one supports seed dormancy, another one supports germination. Their communication takes place via movement of hormones; a process that exists in human brains.

Through mathematical modeling, the scientists demonstrated the communication among the separated elements is responsible for the plant’s sensitivity to its atmosphere. Keeping in view this hypothesis, the scientists made use of a mutant plant where cells were more chemically linked (effectively improving the communication between circuit elements) to illustrate that the germination timings is dependent upon these intra-region signals, informed Science Daily.

Professor George Bassel, the lead author exclaimed, “Our work reveals a crucial separation between the components within a plant decision-making centre. 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.”

Dr. Iain Johnston, another scientist involved in the study also explained, “The separation of circuit elements allows a wider palette of responses to environmental stimuli. It's like the difference between reading one critic's review of a film four times over, or amalgamating four different critics' views before deciding to go to the cinema.”

Another theory which the scientists experimented and proved to be true was that the brain’s function showed that more seeds would germinate when they are exposed to fluctuating surroundings rather than steady atmospheres, confirmed Phys.org.

Professor Bassel concluded, “Our work has important implications for understanding how crops and weeds grow. There is now potential to apply this knowledge to commercial plants in order to enhance and synchronize germination, increasing crop yields and decreasing herbicide use.”