Plant tropisms as a window on plant computational processes

Abstract

Plants are living information-processing organisms with highly adaptive behavior, allowing them to prosper in a harsh and fluctuating environment in spite of being sessile. Lacking a central nervous system, plants are distributed systems orchestrating complex computational processes performed at the tissue level. Here I consider plant tropisms as a useful input–output system boasting a robust mathematical description, naturally permitting a dialogue between mathematical modeling and biological observations. I propose tropisms as an ideal framework for the study of plant computational processes, allowing us to infer the relationship between observed tropic responses and known stimuli. I concentrate on macroscopic models, and elucidate this approach by presenting recent examples focusing on computational processes involved at different hierarchical levels of interactions: a plant's interaction with itself and its internal state, with the abiotic environment, and with neighboring plants.