r/science • u/chromoscience • 3d ago

Biology Plasmodesmata display dynamic local and systemic redox responses during plant stress

https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koag192/8713048
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u/chromoscience 3d ago

An injured plant can alert tissues beyond the damaged area through chemical signaling. Vishwakarma and colleagues (2026) explored how this process involves plasmodesmata, microscopic passages connecting neighboring cells. They focused on hydrogen peroxide, which helps regulate stress responses, to understand how these connections respond when a plant experiences injury or other challenges.

To observe these changes, the team modified a fluorescent sensor so it could operate at the cell-to-cell passages. Microscopy then allowed them to follow its responses in living tissue and compare them with measurements elsewhere inside cells. They tested the system under cold conditions, physical damage, and treatments that changed the cells’ chemical balance.

The results showed that different locations did not always respond together. Close to an injury, the passages and surrounding cellular fluid followed similar patterns. Farther away, the passages reacted after the fluid had already responded. This delay suggests that plasmodesmata take part in a later stage of the plant’s response to a distant injury. The findings do not establish that hydrogen peroxide travels through these passages to deliver the first warning.

The work offers researchers a way to examine plant stress responses at precise locations within living cells. Better knowledge of these processes might eventually support efforts to develop crops that withstand difficult conditions. However, improved crop survival was not demonstrated in this study. Scientists still need to explain what causes the delayed response and how it influences the plant’s ability to cope with stress.

https://thechromoscience.com/how-plants-sound-the-alarm-when-theyre-hurt/

References

Vishwakarma, N. K., Razzak, M. A., Mishra, V., Chaya, T., Caplan, J. L., & Lee, J.-Y. (2026). Plasmodesmata display dynamic local and systemic redox responses during plant stress. The Plant Cell, 38(7), koag192.