Plants have memory and pass it on from parent to child through the DNA of the germ cells.. For example, they have the ability to ‘remember’ the cold of winter so as not to bloom early and wait for the arrival of spring. They can sense, perceive, remember, rework, respond and transmit information to their offspring to more efficiently adapt to climate change.. Moreover They have the ability to ‘forget’.
A recent international scientific study has shed light on the distinctive species. plant intelligencewho developed complex molecular networks that allow them to “remember, choose, and make decisions” based on the stressful stimulusalthough they lack the nervous system.
Plants that depend on the substrate are constantly exposed to changes in temperature, light intensity, nutrients, water availability and pathogens. But for this reason, they can also leverage their molecular networks to profitably optimize resources and maximize their suitability in response to multiple environmental pressures.
Even more interesting, according to the researchers, the ability to pass on all this experience to the next generation through epigenetic modifications added to classical genetic inheritance.
“Although plants lack cognitive abilities, can learn, communicate, memorize and improve decision-making circuits in a stimulus-dependent manner,” the researchers say.
a) Yes, plants can change their behavior in the face of adverse environments such as climate change. They respond to environmental stress that can be caused by drought, heat, cold, high levels of salt, or pathogen attacks.
Moreover: they can adapt and adapt to an ever-changing environment to optimize their physical condition. This learning ability’ It is based on the development of precise memory mechanisms.
Evidence of lasting memories
Unlike animals that have cognitive abilities based on nervous structures and mechanisms, plant memory relies solely on cellular, molecular and biochemical networks (metabolic, genetic, and epigenetic memories) scientists emphasize that it allows “information to be stored, retrieved, remembered, and ultimately deleted.”
“Plants have a somatic memory that can persist for a period of time throughout an individual’s life and is maintained through mitosis, but also There is increasing evidence that long-term memories exist with information passed down to one or more subsequent generations.“, say the authors of the paper published in the journal ‘Trends in Plant Science’
plants too detects and responds to changes in the quality, intensity and periodicity of light through specialized photoreceptor systems and light-signaling components. Some act as thermosensors. Thermal sensing is one of the best examples of this. air conditioning plants to both extreme cold and high temperatures.
Scientists have confirmed that Plants can distinguish between short cold periods and those that respond specifically to long cold periods due to temperature fluctuations.its completion ‘reminds’ them that winter has passed and it’s time to bloom.
It has also been shown that plants respond faster and more vigorously to the second attack of a pathogen than the first. Again in this case, memory increases the chances of survival.
In addition, being able to transfer this ‘knowledge’ to their offspring ensures that they are prepared for possible stress scenarios and contributes to their “development”. long-term adaptation of plants to climate change“According to the authors of the article, which included scientists from France, Malta, Greece, Hungary, England and Italy.
‘Forget’ ability
switch plant intelligence It appears to lie in chromatin, and more specifically histones (essential proteins), which generate and transmit responses to external factors. attribution ability to ‘forget’ The scientists explain that this is similar to deleting and formatting data on a hard drive.
‘Forgetting’ is also essential for plant survival. It is registered in the seeds and has its raison d’etre: Pollen can spread over long distances and external conditions can be very different from those of the parent.
But ‘forget’ is selective, because part of the memory is transmitted to the offspring. The father’s memory is ‘forgotten’, the mother’s memory is preserved because the child is more likely to spread and grow up with the mother. Inherited parts include important data for coping with stressful situations.For example, those caused by global warming.
The study authors say the molecular mechanisms underlying plant intelligence are “far from fully understood” and that deep debates in the scientific communityThey therefore underline the need for continued research in this area.
The results of the study match up with another that was carried out recently. University of Oviedobut in this case centered TreesHe they learn to survive in adverse conditions and pass this wisdom on to their children..
This memory also enables trees to remember adverse environmental situations.such as heat waves or drought periods, and by increasingly responding better to these adverse events, reducing potential damage. The study has been published in ‘The Plant Journal’ and ‘Environmental and Experimental Botany’.
Reference article: https://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/fulltext/S1360-1385(22)00266-7#%20
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