Biological complexity: seed brains? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, June 06, 2017, 14:20 (2727 days ago) @ David Turell

Seeds have two sets of cells which control grow now or wait to germinate. Both must have sensory input which is not yet described. The need for seeds to have these controls is obvious:

https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/do-plant-seeds-have-brains

"Scientists from the University of Birmingham have discovered that the plants themselves determine when to germinate, effectively making a decision through the interaction of two groups of cells that constitute an analogue of a brain.

"The scientists, led by George Bassel of the university’s School of Biosciences, discovered two types of cell operating in concert in the embryos of a plant called Arabidopsis, or thale cress. One group of cells promotes seed dormancy, while the other drives germination.

"Bassel’s team discovered tat the two groups collectively function as a decision-making centre by moving hormones from one to the other.

"Using a genetically modified variety of the thale cress that amplified chemical signaling, the researchers found that the two exchange hormones between the two cell groups effectively led to a decision of when to trigger germination.

"The interaction between the cells permitted greater control of the timing of germination, ensuring that the process didn’t start too early – when cold conditions might kill the young plant – or too late, when higher levels of competition might starve it.

“'Our work reveals a crucial separation between the components within a plant decision-making centre,” explains Bassel.

“'In the human brain, this separation is thought to introduce a time delay, smoothing out noisy signals from the environment and increasing the accuracy with which we make decisions. The separation of these parts in the seed ‘brain’ also appears to be central to how it functions.'”

Comment: This pattern of divided control is seen all over cellular controls in animals. It is not surprising to see it is seeds, which to evaluate soil temperature and moisture. The specialized cells can evaluate the information received, and obviously run on information contained in the cell. The responses are automatic once the information is received.