Plant Bioelectronics for High Resolution Monitoring and Electronic Control of Plant Processes

The climate change and growing population calls for plants with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress and plants with higher productivity. In my group we are developing organic bioelectronic technologies for sensing and actuation in plants that overcome limitations of conventional methods used in plant science but also enable new possibilities for plant interface. In my talk I will present our recent advancements of interfacing bioelectronic tools with plant model systems. With miniaturized OECTs and polymeric electrodes we monitor with high resolution sugar dynamics in trees and stress induced responses in Arabidopsis plants. Furthermore, we developed a flexible organic electronic ion pump for controlled delivery of phytohormones in the vasculature enabling activation of long distance responses related to stress tolerance. Finally, I will present a novel bioelectronic platform for stimulation of plant growth. Our results highlight the potential of bioelectronics in elucidating and enhancing plant processes but also for their application in agriculture.