On March 3, Assistant Professor Yuya Fukano of the Ecological Harmony Agricultural Organization, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, said that the tendrils of Cayratia japonicum, a vine of the vine family, have the same ability as the "taste" of animals, and leaves of the same species. Announced that it has found to avoid wrapping around with.
The quick wrapping movement of tendrils is said to have been studied since Darwin's time.However, it was completely unknown that the tendrils identified the object they were in contact with and chose the person to wrap around.
In this study, we examined the chemical discrimination ability and distinguishing substances of tendrils of Cayratia japonicum.As a result, it was found that Cayratia japonicum distinguishes between leaves of the same species and leaves of other species, and strongly avoids wrapping around leaves of the same species.We also found that the substance identified by Cayratia japonicum may be an oxalic acid compound.
In the future, it is expected that by comprehensively elucidating the universality and mechanism of contact chemical identification in tendrils and the substances being identified, it will be possible to freely control the wrapping of vines.The property of avoiding the same species may affect the spatial structure of vines and the interactions between organisms.
