A groundbreaking discovery in plant biology has led to the development of a bacteria-based ‘band-aid’ for plants, significantly boosting healing and regeneration.
Researchers have discovered that bacterial cellulose can act as a plant bandage, significantly boosting healing and regeneration in plants. This finding has potential implications for agriculture and plant research.
Bacterial cellulose is a biopolymer produced by certain bacteria, such as Acetobacter xylinum.
It is a pure form of cellulose, composed entirely of glucose molecules.
This natural polymer has unique properties, including high water-holding capacity and excellent mechanical strength.
Bacterial cellulose is used in various applications, including wound dressings, food packaging, and biomedical devices.
Its biodegradable nature makes it an attractive alternative to synthetic materials.
Unlike animals, plants cannot escape danger and instead rely on remarkable regenerative abilities. Bacterial cellulose, which is already used in human medicine to treat wounds and burns due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high water retention, has now been found to enhance plant healing as well.
Plant regeneration is a complex process where plants repair and restore damaged tissues, organs, or entire organisms.
This phenomenon has fascinated scientists for centuries, with many species exhibiting remarkable regenerative abilities.
For instance, the liverwort, a small plant, can regenerate its entire body from a single cell.
Similarly, some species of mosses and ferns can regrow lost limbs.
Research on plant regeneration has led to insights into human tissue engineering and cancer treatment.
The Science Behind the Band-Aid
Plant biologist Núria Sánchez Coll and her team were testing bacterial cellulose patches embedded with silver nanoparticles to prevent infections in wounded plants. They soon noticed that wounds treated with the patches healed better and faster. ‘This made us interested in finding the molecular cause of this process,‘ says Sánchez Coll.
To test the effectiveness of the patches as healing devices, the scientists made small cuts in the leaves of two common lab plants, Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana, applying the ‘Band-Aids’ to half the wounds. After one week, more than 80 percent of the treated wounds had healed completely, compared with less than 20 percent of the untreated ones.
Plant healing, also known as phytoremediation, is a process where plants are used to remove pollutants and toxins from the environment.
Plants absorb heavy metals and other contaminants through their roots, storing them in their tissues.
This natural process has been used for centuries to clean contaminated soil and water.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), phytoremediation can be up to 90% effective in removing pollutants.
The most commonly used plants for phytoremediation include Indian mustard, sunflowers, and alfalfa.
A New Tool for Agriculture
The team also discovered that the patches significantly enhance plant regeneration, particularly in cloning experiments. Many plants reproduce asexually through vegetative propagation, a process used in research and agriculture to grow a genetically identical new plant from a piece of another. When bacterial cellulose patches were added to cuttings in petri dishes, the plants regenerated faster, developing roots and leaves more quickly than untreated cuttings.
Intriguingly, patches made from plant-produced cellulose did not have the same effect. A chemical analysis revealed that the bacterial cellulose contained plant hormones, probably produced by the bacteria responsible for its synthesis. Bacteria have coevolved with plants for millions of years, producing hormones that influence plant behavior for the bacteria’s benefit.
Potential Applications
The findings suggest potential applications in agriculture, such as facilitating grafting, preserving cut plant material, or serving as a growth medium in laboratories. Other research groups are already looking at these findings at the molecular level, trying to determine if they apply to other regeneration processes that aren’t yet fully understood.
- sciencenews.org | A bacteria based Band Aid helps plants heal their wounds
