Bending and squeezing: gradual electric potentials encode mechanical stimuli in poplar.

Gradual potentials in poplar trees encode mechanical stimuli with propagation distances strongly influenced by stimulus speed and intensity.

• Why it matters: Understanding how plants transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical signals is crucial for revealing their response mechanisms to environmental forces like wind, which remain poorly understood.
• What they did: Researchers applied controlled stem bending and root pressurization to young poplar trees, recording a distinct GP whose attenuation and propagation depended on stimulus parameters, with key features inconsistent with hydraulic diffusion alone.
• The result: Findings suggest a nonlinear transduction process underlying electrical signaling in trees, providing a framework for future studies on their physiological responses to mechanical stimuli.