Can plants talk to each other? - Richard Karban

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Senzos Osijek

Can plants talk to each other?

Mogu li biljke razgovarati jedne s drugima?

It certainly doesn't seem that way.

Zaista se ne čini tako.

Plants don't have complex sensory or nervous systems like animals do,

Biljke nemaju složeni osjetilni ili nervni sustav kao životinje,

and they look pretty passive,

i zaista izgledaju pasivno,

basking in the sun,

i kupaju se u suncu,

and responding instinctively to inputs like light and water.

i instinktivno odgovaraju inputima kao što su voda i svjetlo.

But odd as it sounds, plants can communicate with each other.

Ali čudno kako zvuči, biljke mogu komunicirati jedne s drugima.

Just like animals, plants produce all kinds of chemical signals

Kao životinje, biljke proizvode svakakve kemijske signale

in response to their environments,

u odgovoru na svoj okoliš,

and they can share those signals with each other,

i oni mogu dijeliti signale jedni s drugima,

especially when they're under attack.

posebno kada su napadnute.

These signals take two routes:

Ovi signali imaju dvije rute:

through the air,

kroz zrak,

and through the soil.

i kroz zemlju.

When plant leaves get damaged,

Kada se listovi biljke oštete,

whether by hungry insects or an invading lawn mower,

bilo od gladnih insekata ili napada kosilice,

they release plumes of volatile chemicals.

one otpuštaju oblake promjenjivih kemikalija.

They're what's responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass.

One su odgovorne za miris svježe rezane trave.

Certain kinds of plants, like sagebrush and lima beans,

Određene biljke kao kadulja ili grah

are able to pick up on those airborne messages

mogu uhvatiti te zračne signale

and adjust their own internal chemistry accordingly.

i prilagoditi vlastite unutarnje kemikalije prema tome.

In one experiment, sagebrush leaves were deliberately damaged by insects

U jednom pokusu lišće kadulje namjerno su oštećivali insekti

or scissor-wielding scientists.

ili znanstvenici sa škarama.

Throughout the summer,

Kroz ljeto,

other branches on the same sagebrush plant

druge grane iste biljke kadulje

got eaten less by insects wandering through,

manje su pojedene od insekata koji su prolazili,

and so did branches on neighboring bushes,

kao i grane susjednih grmova,

suggesting that they had beefed up their anti-insect defenses.

implicirajući da su pojačali svoje obrane od insekata.

Even moving the air from above a clipped plant to another one

Čak micanje zraka iznad oštećene biljke do druge

made the second plant more insect-resistant.

učinilo je da druga biljka bude otpornija na insekte.

These airborne cues increase the likelihood of seedling survival,

Ovi znakovi prenošeni zrakom povećavaju izglede za preživljavanje sadnica,

and made adult plants produce more new branches and flowers.

i čine da odrasle biljke proizvode više novih grana i cvjetova.

But why would a plant warn its neighbors of danger,

Ali zašto bi biljka upozorila susjeda na opasnost,

especially if they're competing for resources?

osobito ako se natječu za resurse?

Well, it might be an accidental consequence of a self-defense mechanism.

Možda je to nenamjerna posljedica mehanizma samoobrane.

Plants can't move information through their bodies as easily as we can,

Biljke ne mogu slati informacije kroz svoja tijela kao mi,

especially if water is scarce.

osobito ako je voda oskudna.

So plants may rely on those airborne chemicals

Tako da se biljke oslanjaju na te kemikalije prenošene zrakom

to get messages from one part of a plant to another.

da bi poruke poslali od jedne biljke k drugoj.

Nearby plants can eavesdrop on those signals,

Obližnje biljke mogu prislškivati te signale,

like overhearing your neighbor sneeze and stocking up on cold medicine.

kao što čujete kad susjed kiše i pripremite se za prehladu.

Different plants convey those warnings using different chemical languages.

Različite biljke prenose ta upozorenja na raznim kemijskim jezicima.

Individual sagebrush plants in the same meadow

Pojedine biljke kadulje na istoj livadi

release slightly different sets of alarm chemicals.

ispuštaju različi8te setove upozoravajućih kemikalija.

The makeup of that cocktail influences the effectiveness of communication.

Sastav tog koktela utječe na učinkovitost komunikacije.

The more similar two plants' chemical fingerprints are,

Što su sličniji kemijski otisci prsta dvije biljke,

the more fluently they can communicate.

to lakše komuniciraju.

A plant will be most sensitive to the cues emitted by its own leaves.

Biljka će biti najosjetljivija na znakove emitirane iz vlastitih listova.

But because these chemicals seem to be inherited,

Ali zato što su te kemikalije nasljedne,

like human blood types,

kao krvne grupe u ljudi,

sagebrush plants communicate more effectively

kadulja učinkovitije komunicira

with relatives than with strangers.

s rođacima, nego sa strancima.

But sometimes, even other species can benefit.

Ali ponekad, čak i druge vrste mogu osjetiti blagodati.

Tomato and tobacco plants can both decipher sagebrush warning signals.

Rajčica i duhan mogu dešifrirati signale upozorenja kadulje.

Plants don't have to rely solely on those airborne broadcasts.

Biljke se ne oslanjaju samo na te signale odaslane zrakom.

Signals can travel below the soil surface, too.

Signali mogu putovati ispod površine tla, također.

Most plants have a symbiotic relationship with fungi,

Većina biljaka ima simbiotski odnos sa gljivicama,

which colonize the plants' roots and help them absorb water and nutrients.

koje koloniziraju korijenje biljaka i pomažu im absorbirati vodu i hranjive tvari.

These fungal filaments form extensive networks

Ove gljivice tvore složene mreže

that can connect separate plants,

koje mogu povezati odvojene biljke,

creating an underground super highway for chemical messages.

stvarajući super autocestu u podzemlju za kemijske poruke.

When a tomato plant responds to blight

Kada rajčica odgovara na bolest

by acitvating disease-fighting genes and enzymes,

aktivirajući gene i enzime potrebne za to,

signaling molecules produced by its immune system

signalizirajuće molekule koje proizvodi njen imunosni sustav

can travel to a healthy plant

mogu putovati do zdrave biljke

and prompt it to turn on its immune system, too.

i upozoriti je da aktivira vlastiti imunosni sustav.

These advance warnings increase the plants chance of survival.

Ova rana upozorenja povećavaju šanse za preživljavanje.

Bean plants also eavesdrop on each other's health

Grah također prisluškuje zdravlje susjeda

through these fungal conduits.

kroz ove gljivične vodiče.

An aphid investation in one plant

Napad uši na jednoj biljci

triggers its neighbor to ramp up production of compounds that repel aphids

pokreće susjeda da pojača proizvodnju spojeva koji tjeraju uši

and attract aphid-eating wasps.

i privlače ose koje jedu uši.

If you think of communication as an exchange of information,

Ako gledate na komunikaciju kao razmjenu informacija,

then plants seem to be active communicators.

čini se da biljke aktivno komuniciraju.

They're sending, receiving, and responding to signals

Šalju, primaju i odgovaraju na signale

without making a sound,

bez ikakvog zvuka,

and without brains, noses, dictionaries, or the Internet.

bez mozga, noseva, riječnika ili Interneta.

And if we can learn to speak to them on their terms,

I ako naučimo pričati s njima po njihovim uvjetima,

we may gain a powerful new tool to protect crops and other valuable species.

možemo dobiti novi moćan alat za zaštitu usjeva i drugih vrsta.

It all makes you wonder what else are we missing?

Zapitamo se što drugo propuštamo?