Scientists at the University of Helsinki have found that plants use gas movement to heal their protective outer layers.
When a plant’s outer cork layer gets damaged, gases shift. Ethylene escapes while oxygen flows in through the wound. This simple gas exchange tells the plant to start repairs.
The protective cork layer, called the periderm, normally blocks gases from moving in or out, which creates conditions where ethylene (a plant hormone) builds up inside while oxygen levels drop due to the plant’s natural growth processes.
When damage occurs, this balance gets disrupted.
“Gas diffusion through a wound isn’t just a consequence of injury — it’s the signal that initiates healing,” explained Dr. Hiroyuki Iida, the lead scientist on the project.
The team first noticed ethylene’s role in healing, then worked with University of Oxford Professor Francesco Licausi to confirm oxygen’s importance, too.
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Once repairs finish and the barrier seals back up, gases again accumulate inside the plant, which signals that healing can stop and normal growth can resume. This elegant detection system works without complex sensors, using basic physics to monitor barrier integrity.
This discovery holds promise for the future of food waste and crop resilience. Potatoes, carrots, fruits, and other produce with damaged outer layers tend to lose water and become more susceptible to disease, ultimately leading to spoilage.
By studying and improving this natural repair system, farmers might grow plants that handle dry conditions better, while picked produce could stay fresh for longer in stores.
With warming temperatures and growing populations putting pressure on global food systems, this finding creates promising paths for more sustainable farming. Improving how plants heal could help feed more people while cutting waste throughout the food supply chain.
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Researchers are now exploring practical uses that could reach farms and food storage facilities within the next few years.
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