Electrical signalling and plant response to herbivory: A short review

ABSTRACT

For a long time, electrical signaling was neglected at the expense of signaling studies in plants being concentrated with chemical and hydraulic signals. Studies conducted in recent years have revealed that plants are capable of emitting, processing, and transmitting bioelectrical signals to regulate a wide variety of physiological functions. Many important biological and physiological phenomena are accompanied by these cellular electrical manifestations, which supports the hypothesis about the importance of bioelectricity as a fundamental ‘model’ for response the stresses environmental and for activities regeneration of these organisms. Electrical signals have also been characterized and discriminated against in genetically modified plants under stress mediated by sucking insects and/or by the application of systemic insecticides. Such results can guide future studies that aim to elucidate the factors involved in the processes of resistance to stress and plant defense, thus aiding in the development of successful strategies in integrated pest management. Therefore, this mini review includes the results of studies aimed at electrical signaling in response to biotic stress. We also demonstrated how the generation and propagation of electrical signals takes place and included a description of how these electrical potentials are measured.

KEYWORDS:

• electrical signals
• stress response
• herbivory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [process number: 88882.328551/2019-01]; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo [2018/20435-5].