Characterizing Information Propagation in Plants

IEEE Trans.on Nanobioscience

Wallbridge³

et al. 2019

Self Cite

Many plants, such as Mimosa pudica (the "sensitive plant"), employ electrochemical signals known as action potentials (APs) for rapid intercellular communication. In this paper, we consider a reaction-diffusion model of individual AP signals to analyze APs from a communication-and information-theoretic perspective. We use concepts from molecular communication to explain the underlying process of information transfer in a plant for a single AP pulse that is shared with one or more receiver cells. We also use the chemical Langevin equation to accommodate the deterministic as well as stochastic component of the system. Finally we present an information-theoretic analysis of single action potentials, obtaining achievable information rates for these signals. We show that, in general, the presence of an AP signal can increase the mutual information and information propagation speed among neighboring cells with receivers in different settings.

Section: System Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication and Information Theory of Single Action Potential Signals in Plants

IEEE Trans.on Nanobioscience

Wallbridge³

et al. 2019

Self Cite

“…where E m (which depends on p o and other parameters) is given by Equation (6). Note that this U (t) acts as the system input.…”

Section: A Model For Electro-chemical Ap Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our previous works [4]- [6] presented a model for the generation and propagation of both the electro-chemical AP signals as well as the mechanosensitive activation signals. It is clear from the models in [1], [7], [8] that understanding of action potentials as well as mechanosensitive activation signals (generated by a mechanical stimulus) in plants is informed by molecular communication [9], [10], a communication paradigm inspired by the communication between living cells [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Theoretic Based Comparative Analysis of Different Communication Signals in Plants

Wallbridge³

et al. 2019

IEEE Access

Self Cite

This paper compares the information-theoretic aspects of different communication signals in plants. To be specific, we consider two signals responsible for the inter-cellular communication in plants: electro-chemical and mechanosensitive signals. There is a need for a comprehensive comparison of the communication properties of these different signals in plants for different configurations of receiver cells. In this work we address this research problem using molecular communication theory. We compare the mutual information and the information propagation speed for these communication signals. In addition we compare the impact of refractory period on the mutual information and information propagation speed for these signals in plants. The key result of this paper is that, based on the propagation mechanism, better communication performance can be achieved by electro-chemical signals as compared to mechanosensitive signals. We further find that a short refractory period leads to higher mutual information and propagation speeds.

“…The paradigm of molecular communication is inspired by the communication among living cells as suggested in [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]. In previous works [4], [19], [20], [21] we have used molecular communication theory to study the communication properties of different signals in plants with different configurations of receiver cells. A key characteristic of molecular communication is the use of molecules to transmit information (in AP and mechanosensitive signals) from the transmitter to the receivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication in Plants: Comparison of Multiple Action Potential and Mechanosensitive Signals With Experiments

Zeid

IEEE Trans.on Nanobioscience

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Both action potentials and mechanosensitive signalling are an important communication mechanisms in plants. Considering an information-theoretic framework, this paper explores the effective range of multiple action potentials for a long chain of cells (i.e., up to 100) in different configurations, and introduces the study of multiple mechanosensitive activation signals (generated due to a mechanical stimulus) in plants. For both these signals, we find that the mutual information per cell and information propagation speed tends to increase up to a certain number of receiver cells. However, as the number of cells increase beyond 10 to 12, the mutual information per cell starts to decrease. To validate our model and results, we include an experimental verification of the theoretical model, using a PhytlSigns biosignal amplifier, allowing us to measure the magnitude of the voltage associated with the multiple AP's and mechanosensitive activation signals induced by different stimulus in plants. Experimental data is used to calculate the mutual information and information propagation speed, which is compared with corresponding numerical results. Since these signals are used for a variety of important tasks within the plant, understanding them may lead to new bioengineering methods for plants.