Plant Bioelectronics for Decoding and Stimulating Plant Signalling

The climate change and growing population call for plants with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress and for plants with higher productivity. In my talk I will present our recent advancements on interfacing bioelectronic tools with model plant systems with the aim to overcome limitations of conventional methods used in plant science but also to enable new possibilities for plant interface. Electrical signals in plants are mediators of long-distance signalling and correlate with plant movements and responses to stress. These signals are studied with single surface electrodes that cannot resolve signal propagation and integration, thus impeding their decoding and link to function. We developed conformable multielectrode arrays based on organic electronics for large-scale and high-resolution plant electrophysiology. This technology enabled us to performed precise spatiotemporal mapping of the action potential in Venus flytrap, a model system for fast electrical signalling, and to reveal key properties of the AP. Currently we are extending the application of this technology to other plant species with the aim to contribute to the mechanistic understanding of long-distance responses in plants particularly related to environmental stress. Apart from monitoring electrical signals we also used electric field to stimulate plants. We developed a bioelectronic platform that stimulates the growth of plants in hydroponics culture. We demonstrated that Barley, one of the most important crops, grows well within the bioelectronic platform and when stimulated, the biomass increased by 50%. Our work opens the pathway for enhancing plant growth in hydroponics using materials science and bioelectronics that may result in more sustainable food production.