How do plants hear sound?
Dr Samarth (Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha the University of Canterbury) and collaborators from Rangahau Ahumāra Kai Plant & Food Research will investigate how plants can sense sound vibrations through tiny hair-like structures on leaf surfaces. This research will lead to a better understanding of sound perception in plants and plant-environment interactions such as insect pollination
Published on 7 Whiringa-ā-rangi November 2024
Plants can detect sound vibrations from the environment and respond in ways that enable pollination, locate underground water, promote defence responses, and help adapt to stresses. But how do plants “hear” sound without ears? And how to they respond to different types of sounds?
In this Marsden Fast-Start project, Dr Samarth will investigate whether tiny hair-like structures - or ‘trichomes’ - on plant leaves can sense sound vibrations and transmit signals from the leaf surface to inside the plant cells. Using a variety of imaging, molecular and electrophysiological techniques, Dr Samarth will compare responses to sound vibrations in leaves that have trichomes with those that lack them in the model plant Arabidopsis. They will also investigate if plants respond differently to sound vibrations produced by insects that impact them in distinct ways (for example, bees buzzing and caterpillars chewing).
Understanding how plants ‘listen’ will improve our fundamental understanding of plant biology and ecology, but could also have practical benefits for agriculture. The research may reveal chemical-free ways of managing stress, optimising growth or promoting pollination of crop plants by providing specific auditory cues or manipulating plants’ auditory pathways.
Dr Samarth in the laboratory (photo credit Zhū Creative | Ricky Situ)