Electrophysiology and Phototropism - Communication in Plants: Neuronal Aspects of Plant Life - page 365

Fig. 24.10. Mechanism of biosignaling in green plants
All processes of life have been found to generate electrical fields in every
organism that has been examined with suitable and sufficiently sensitive
measuring techniques. The conduction of electrochemical excitation must
be regarded as one of the most universal properties of living organisms.
It arose in connection with the need for the transmission of a signal to
an external influence from one part of a biological system to another. The
study of the nature of regulatory relations of the plant organism with the
environment is a basic bioelectrochemical problem, one that has a direct
bearing on tasks of controlling the growth and development of plants.
Figure 24.10 illustrates the mechanism of biosignaling in green plants.
Vo l t a g e - g a t e d C a 2+ and K + ionic channels of green plants can function
as biological nanopotentiostats. The study of their electrical activity has
tremendous medical and biological applications. Green plants are a unique
canvas for studying signal transduction. It is the foundation to discover-
ing and improving biosensors for monitoring the environment, detecting
effects of pollutants, pesticides, and defoliants, predicting and monitor-
ing climate changes, agriculture, and directing and quickly controlling the
conditions influencing the harvest.
References
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