Odor Communication with Green Leaf Volatiles for Stress Signalling in the Internet of Plants

TL;DR

This paper presents a model for plant stress signaling via odor communication using Green Leaf Volatiles, highlighting the biochemical and diffusion processes involved in inter-plant signaling.

Contribution

It introduces an end-to-end model combining odor propagation and biochemical response, advancing understanding of plant communication mechanisms.

Findings

(Z)-3-hexenol is the primary signaling driver

Plant perception operates in a non-linear region

Framework aids in precision farming development

Abstract

This paper develops an end-to-end odor communication model for stress signaling between plants using Green Leaf Volatiles (GLV). A damaged transmitter plant emits (Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, which propagate through a time-varying diffusion-advection channel and undergo multiplicative loss at the receiver. The sink plant is modeled with a biochemical receiver network that converts the received GLVs into the defensive metabolite (Z)-3-hexenyl $\beta$-vicianoside, and an alarm decision is defined based on its concentration level. Numerical results show that (Z)-3-hexenol is the primary driver of the system and that plant perception generally operates in a non-linear region. These findings provide a framework for understanding the evolution of plant-plant communication and for developing next-generation precision farming technologies.