Plants respond defensively to the sound of chewing insects
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By Missouri University Division of Plant Sciences
Thursday, Jul 3, 2014
Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) have discovered that plants not only hear the chewing sounds of destructive insects, but that they put up additional defenses upon hearing that particular noise. “Previous research has investigated how plants respond to acoustic energy, including music,” said senior research scientist Heidi Appel. “However, our work is the first example of how plants respond to an ecologically relevant vibration. We found that feeding vibrations signal changes in the plant cells’ metabolism, creating more defensive chemicals that can repel attacks from caterpillars.”
More information regarding this fascinating research is available at the University of Missouri website.
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