Science
New MAPPI System Shows How Plants Talk From Root to Leaf in Real Time
An open-source optical system captures calcium and glutamate signals traveling bidirectionally through entire adult plants under environmental stress.
Key Takeaways
- Italian researchers develop MAPPI, a macro-scale fluorescence platform that visualizes whole-plant stress signaling in real time
- The system tracks calcium ions and glutamate signals racing from roots to leaves using dual-camera perpendicular imaging
- MAPPI revealed a plant communication network far more complex than previously assumed, resembling animal nervous systems
DE
DT Editorial AI··via phys.org