Plants in proximity team up to survive stressors

The ability to communicate is essential to the survival and success of most living organisms. But what about plants? How can plants, organisms that have no way of orally speaking, communicate? Interestingly, there has been evidence (1) that shows plants are actually communicating with each other to combat stressors from their environments, such as overabundance of sunlight and threats of animal predation. In fact, plants are able to send messages to each other in very innovative ways. Whether it be through their roots or via electrical signals through their leaves, plants are working together to become stronger in the face of stressors. 

Biologist Ron Mittler decided to test this phenomenon. He ran experiments on a plant species called thale cress, growing some seeds in isolation and others in a group setting with many seeds. He then exposed both groups to excess sunlight and observed the plant's gene expressions to determine their reaction to the stressor. As expected, Mittler found that the plants in the group “activated over 2,000 stress-response genes” that help them survive in harsh environmental conditions. Conversely, the isolated plants displayed greater signs of stress. The plants in the group were able to mitigate the effect of the excess sunlight by “warning” each other, whereas the isolated plants were left to fend for themselves. 

Moreover, Mittler's findings can be applied to real world situations. Mittler describes how growing crops in close proximity can help them survive environmental stressors, and therefore overcome issues posed by climate change such as warming temperatures. 

(1) www.sciencenews.org/article/plants-touching-stress-resilient

This article was adapted from from Science News’ Plants packed close enough to touch are more resilient to stress by Richard Kemeny 

Kemeny, Richard. “Plants Packed Close Enough to Touch Are More Resilient to Stress.” Science News, 14 Jan. 2026, www.sciencenews.org/article/plants-touching-stress-resilient.