Long-Distance Signal Transmission in Trees - Communication in Plants: Neuronal Aspects of Plant Life - page 334

like the electrical and hydraulic ones, whose importance is today increas-
inglyconfirmedbyexperimentalresultsasiswidelyillustratedinmany
chapters of this topic.
Trees may also transmit a multiplicity of signals to neighbouring or-
ganisms. These comprise the myriad of fatty acid derivatives, benzenoids,
terpenoids and other scented substances emitted from flowers mainly to
attract pollinators (Knudsen et al. 1993), but also the emission of isoprene
(Loreto and Velikova 2001) or other volatiles from foliage or other vegeta-
tive parts of the trees (Paré and Tumlinson 1999). In the following pages,
five different potential mechanisms for long-distance signalling in plants
will be discussed:
1. Transmission of chemicals
2. Hydraulic signals
3. Electrical signals
4. Airborne flow of volatile messengers
5. Colour signals
23.2
Transmission of Chemicals
The roots of higher plants comprise a metabolically active and largely
unexplored biological frontier. Their prime features include the ability to
synthesize a remarkably diverse group of metabolites, and to adjust their
metabolic activities in response to different abiotic and biotic stresses.
Various experiments have shown that stomatal responses are often more
closely linked to soil moisture content than to leaf water status, indicating
a likely role of root-sourced chemical signals (e.g. abscisic acid, ABA) in
the regulation of stomatal conductance in response to soil drying. Much is
known about the role of ABA in closing stomata, as well as its production
in dehydrating roots and its circulation in herbaceous species (Chaves et al.
2002). It is unclear, however, whether this is also true in mature trees, where
long-distance transport of chemical signals from the roots to the shoots
would be required (Jackson et al. 1995). In many instances the dynamics of
ABA in trees is linked to changes in stomatal conductance (Blake and Ferrell
1977; Khalil and Grace 1993; Liang et al. 1997; Loewenstein and Pallardy
1998a,b; Maurel et al. 2004), but these results derive mostly from works
with potted plants and/or in controlled conditions, and are species-specific
(Wartinger et al. 1990; Tenhunen et al. 1994; Correia et al. 1995; Triboulot
et al. 1996; Sturm et al. 1998; Niinemets et al. 1999). Particularly important