End-to-End Mathematical Modeling of Stress Communication Between Plants

TL;DR

This paper develops the first end-to-end mathematical model of stress communication between plants via BVOCs, revealing how plants encode and transmit stress signals, with implications for understanding plant interactions and communication.

Contribution

It introduces a novel comprehensive model of plant stress communication using molecular communication principles, integrating biological data and modulation techniques.

Findings

Continuous gene regulation approximates BVOC emissions.

Ratio Shift Keying enables multiple access and security.

Model accurately predicts BVOC emissions under stress.

Abstract

Molecular Communication (MC) is an important communication paradigm found in nature. Odor-based Molecular Communication (OMC) is a specific type of MC with promising potential and a wide range of applications. In this paper, we examine OMC communication between plants in the context of stress communication. Specifically, we explore how plants use Biological Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) to convey information about the stresses they are experiencing to neighboring plants. We constructed an end-to-end mathematical model that discovers the underlying physical and biological phenomena affecting stress communication. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to model this end-to-end stress communication. We numerically analyzed our system under different scenarios using MATLAB. Using experimental data from the literature, we demonstrated that continuous gene regulation can approximate BVOC emissions in plants under different stress conditions. Consequently, we applied this model to these stressors and plants to accurately approximate BVOC emissions. We also investigated a modulation method that plants use to send their messages, namely Ratio Shift Keying. Upon analyzing this method, we found that it benefits plants by both enabling a multiple access channel and preventing competitor plants from obtaining the information.