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Abstract Animals possess specialized systems, e.g., neuromuscular systems, to sense the environment and then move their bodies quickly in response. Mimosa pudica , the sensitive plant, moves its leaves within seconds in response to external stimuli; e.g., touch or wounding. However, neither the plant-wide signaling network that triggers these rapid movements nor the physiological roles of the movements themselves have been determined. Here by simultaneous recording of cytosolic Ca 2+ and electrical signals, we show that rapid changes in Ca 2+ coupled with action and variation potentials trigger rapid movements in wounded M. pudica . Furthermore, pharmacological manipulation of cytosolic Ca 2+ dynamics and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology revealed that an immotile M. pudica is more vulnerable to attacks by herbivorous insects. Our findings provide evidence that rapid movements based on propagating Ca 2+ and electrical signals protect this plant from insect attacks.
Hagihara et al. (Mon,) studied this question.