A team of scientists from IISER Pune has made an exciting discovery that sheds light on how plants heal and regrow with remarkable precision after injury. Their findings, published in Current Biology, reveal that plants don’t just regrow missing parts, but they restore them with an incredible level of accuracy, ensuring the original shape and function are preserved.
While plants have always been known for their ability to regenerate, what makes this research special is the level of detail the scientists uncovered. A plant’s root tip, is crucial for its survival. If the tip gets damaged, the plant needs to regenerate it in a very specific shape, a tapered point, to continue efficiently absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. Without this taper, survival would be much harder.
Dr Kalika Prasad, who led the research at IISER Pune, explained, “This isn’t just about healing; it’s about restoring function. When a plant regrows, it doesn’t just heal the wound; it makes sure the root tip comes back exactly as it was, to do its job properly.”
The study found that when a root tip is injured, the cells around the wound don’t just divide randomly. Instead, they undergo a dramatic change. They shift from their usual cuboidal shape into something more angular, almost like a diamond. This change helps the cells divide in a way that guides the regrowth along a slanted path, ultimately recreating the original, pointed shape of the root.
The breakthrough didn’t just come from observing plant cells. The team worked with mathematicians and physicists from across the world, including the Netherlands and the UK, to model the forces behind this process. What they discovered was that internal mechanical tension, a kind of natural stress, is what guides the plant cells to change shape and divide in the right direction.
Mabel Mathew, a PhD student at IISER Pune and the study’s first author, highlighted the importance of this discovery beyond just plant biology. “We often think of genes as the driving force in biology, but our study shows that physical forces, like how cells change under stress, can be just as important,” she said.
This discovery could have broader implications for medicine. As scientists explore new ways to heal tissues in humans, understanding how cells shape themselves under stress could lead to breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, such as better treatments for injuries and even conditions like spinal cord damage.
The research was funded by the Department of Biotechnology and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), and has put Pune on the map as a key player in groundbreaking biological research.
This is just one example of how Pune’s scientific community is making strides on the global stage, and it’s a reminder that sometimes the answers to big questions lie in the smallest and most unexpected places like the tips of a plant’s roots.
