A new study has revealed that many plants are able to use their sense of touch to protect themselves against some threats. When something is touching these plants, they assume that it is an herbivorous insect and other threats like this. Its reaction consists in activating certain chemical defenses that help them to protect themselves from insects and fungi.
The study has shown that touching a plant causes it to put on guard and raise their levels of chemical defenses.
In the new research was used as a model plant the Arabidopsis thaliana, very common in plant’s studies to verify the idea that the alteration in growth induced by touch was regulated by a plant hormone called jasmonate.
In my opinion, finally animals and plants are just like human. When we fell insecure that in danger, we try to protect ourselves. Humans do it in a way and plants in another way… but at the end it’s more or less the same. I really enjoyed this new, it’s so interesting!