How Plants 'See': Scientists Discover How a Plant Detects the Type of Shade

Plants turn toward the sun in order to receive the most light. But how do plants "see?" Scientists have taken a closer look at plants and how they assess the quality of the shade that they may happen to be in.

Plants have light sensors that can set off an internal alarm when threatened by the shade of other plants. Their sensors can detect the depletion of red and blue light to distinguish between an aggressive nearby plant from a passing cloud.

In this latest study, the researchers discovered a way by which plants assess the quality of shade in order to outgrow menacing neighbors, which is a finding that could be used to improve the productivity of crops.

In this case, the researchers looked at cryptochromes, which are blue light-sensitive sensors that are responsible for telling a plant when to grow and when to flower. Cryptochromes were first identified in plants and later found in animals. In both organisms, they are associated with circadian rhythm. The protein's role in sensing depletion of blue light had been known, but this study is the first to show how cryptochromes promote growth in a shaded environment.

"We found that cryptochromes contact these transcription factors on DNA, activating genes completely different than what other photoreceptors activate," said Ullas Pedmale, first author of the new study, in a news release. "This is also a very short pathway so plants can rapidly respond to their light environment."

The findings reveal a bit more about how plants sense light. This, in turn, may help researchers increase yield in shaded environments.

The findings are published in the journal Cell.

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