Both action potentials and mechanosensitive signalling are an important
communication mechanisms in plants. Considering an information theoretic
framework, this paper explores the effective range of multiple action
potentials for a long chain of cells (i.e., up to 100) in different
configurations, and introduces the study of multiple mechanosensitive
activation signals (generated due to a mechanical stimulus) in plants. For both
these signals, we find that the mutual information per cell and information
propagation speed tends to increase up to a certain number of receiver cells.
However, as the number of cells increase beyond 10 to 12, the mutual
information per cell starts to decrease. To validate our model and results, we
include an experimental verification of the theoretical model, using a
PhytlSigns biosignal amplifier, allowing us to measure the magnitude of the
voltage associated with the multiple AP and mechanosensitive activation signals
induced by different stimulus in plants. Experimental data is used to calculate
the mutual information and information propagation speed, which is compared
with corresponding numerical results. Since these signals are used for a
variety of important tasks within the plant, understanding them may lead to new
bioengineering methods for plants.
arXiv Quantitative Biology
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