Scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University are developing a light-based communication system to interact with plants. Using a new optogenetics tool called Highlighter, they aim to activate specific genes in plants to trigger their defense mechanisms or adjust growth patterns.
This could revolutionize agriculture by enabling humans to warn plants of pest attacks or extreme weather, reducing the need for chemicals. The system uses minimally invasive light signals and offers precise control, advancing the field of optogenetics in plants.
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Previously, the same research group had engineered biosensors like ABACUS2 and GPS1 to monitor real-time changes in plant cells using fluorescent light. These biosensors could detect shifts in critical plant hormones, effectively letting plants "talk" to humans by revealing how they respond to environmental stressors. The latest development with Highlighter represents the other half of this communication loop—enabling humans to send actionable signals back to the plants.
Optogenetics has already revolutionized neuroscience, but applying it to plants presented unique challenges. Plants naturally possess a variety of photoreceptors and respond to a broad spectrum of light, making it complex to isolate and activate individual cellular processes. The Highlighter system circumvents these challenges by using minimally invasive light signals that do not interfere with a plant's native photoreceptors. This ensures that the communication is one-way, from the device to the plant, without any 'crosstalk' that could complicate the signal.
The current Highlighter system operates under specific light conditions—it is inactive under blue light but becomes active in the dark or under white, green, and surprisingly, red light. The team continues to refine the tool to further its development and applications. Dr. Jones sees great potential in the high-resolution gene control afforded by Highlighter, which could be applied to fundamental questions in plant biology and open doors for crop improvement. For example, different light conditions could be used to prompt an immune response in plants, or to precisely time natural processes like flowering or ripening.
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Overall, the research marks a significant advance in the development of optogenetic tools tailored for plants. By creating a system for bidirectional communication—plants to humans and humans to plants—through light signals, the researchers are not only enhancing our understanding of plant biology but also taking steps toward a future where humans could have a more interactive and sustainable relationship with the agricultural environment.
If you are interested in more details about the study, be sure to check out the paper published in the peer-reviewed science journal PLOS Biology, listed below this article.
Sources and further reading:
Highlighter is an optogenetic actuator for light-mediated, high resolution gene expression control in plants (PLOS Biology
Plants communicate via scents, can we decipher their messages? (Universal-Sci)
The Future of Farming: Scientists developed a patch for plants that can detect diseases at an early stage (Universal-Sci)
How do plants erase their 'memory'? (Universal-Sci)
Why plants don’t die from cancer (Universal-Sci)
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