An Acoustic Communication Model in Plants

TL;DR

This paper introduces the first quantitative acoustic communication model for plants, analyzing how sound waves influence plant responses and enabling new bio-inspired applications in agriculture and plant science.

Contribution

It develops the first end-to-end biological and mathematical framework for plant acoustic communication, bridging biology and information theory.

Findings

A 200 Hz sound stimulus increases cytosolic Ca2+ levels in plants.

Simulations show sound can induce physiological responses like root bending.

The model enables quantitative analysis of plant responses to sound stimuli.

Abstract

Molecular communication (MC) studies biological signals that are found in nature. Most MC literature focuses on particle properties, even though many natural phenomena exhibit wave-like behavior. One such signal is sound waves. Understanding how sound waves are used in nature can help us better utilize this signal in our interactions with our environment. To take a step in this direction, in this paper, we examine how plants process incoming sound waves and take informed actions. Indeed, plants respond to sound, yet no quantitative communication-theoretic model currently explains this behavior. This study develops the first end-to-end acoustic communication framework for plants. The model is formed following the biological steps of the incoming signal, and a mathematical description is constructed at each step following basic biological models. The resulting end-to-end communication-theoretic model is analyzed using MATLAB. Simulations show that a $200$ $Hz$, $20$ $mu Pa$ stimulus elevates cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ from $150$ $nM$ to $230 \pm 10$ $nM$ within $50$ seconds which can cause root bending in plants in the long run. This work establishes quantitative phytoacoustics, enabling bio-inspired acoustic connections for precision agriculture and plant signaling research.