Study Shows How Plants Activate Their Immune System Against Pathogens in Rain

While rain is essential for the survival of plants, it also contains bacteria and other pathogens that can cause them harm. So how do plants protect themselves from this threat? A recent study by Nagoya University (Japan) researchers and colleagues revealed that when plants are exposed to rain, hair-like structures on the leaf surface called trichomes recognize this rain as a risk factor for causing disease and activate their immune system to prevent infections. These findings, published on March 8, 2022 in the journal Nature Communications, could contribute to the development of methods to protect plants from infectious diseases caused by rain. The open-access article is titled “Mechanosensory Trichome Cells Evoke a Mechanical Stimuli-Induced Immune Response in Arabidopsis thaliana.”