I have learned that there are things like root exudates and mycorrhizal networks on plants, how do they communicate with each other through this?
In: Biology
I am not an expert in this field.
Communication can be really simple. It takes 3 things:
1. A stimulus that can be sensed
2. An outcome related to the stimulus which can also be sensed
3. A feedback system between the stimulus and outcome
That’s it.
A feedback system can be as simple as:
*root comes into contact with nutrient, root grows towards nutrient*
Over time, these feedback responses can grow more and more complex. For example, say that when nutrient A is abundant, a fungus gives off chemical B. If a plant seeks nutrient A, and has gets chemical B whenever it gets nutrient A, evolution might drive a feedback loop which “associates” nutrient A with chemical B. So eventually, when the plant senses chemical B, it will grow towards nutrient A. This particular feedback loop is that plants which associate A and B will be healthier and reproduce more abundantly.
Over millennia, these kinds of relationships become more and more complex, which begins to resemble a kind of communication network.
Plants are really really much complicated as I thought of them, so fascinating
Hi. There is an interesting Radiolab episode on this topic. http://www.wnycstudios.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/
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