An amazing discovery has been made by a group of Japanese scientists who have managed to record live footage of plants “talking” to one another. Plants use the fine mist of airborne compounds that surrounds them for communication, according to Science Alert. These substances alert nearby plants to danger in a manner similar to scents. Plants’ reactions to these aerial alarms are seen in the Japanese scientists’ video footage. The noteworthy accomplishment, spearheaded by Saitama University’s Masatsugu Toyota, a molecular biologist, was released in the journal Nature Communications.

The group studied the reaction of a healthy plant to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants that were harmed by insects or other external factors.

When nearby plants are mechanically or herbivorously damaged, plants detect the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and mount a variety of defense mechanisms. According to the study’s authors, this kind of interplant communication shields plants from environmental dangers.

These researchers employed an air pump attached to a container containing leaves and caterpillars as well as another box containing the common mustard weed Arabidopsis thaliana in order to record the communication.

According to Science Alert, caterpillars were given chopped leaves from tomato plants and Arabidopsis thaliana, and the researchers recorded how one intact, insect-free Arabidopsis plant reacted to those cues of danger.

A biosensor that the researchers had added detected calcium ions and glowed green. Communication between human cells also occurs through calcium signaling.

The video depicts how the unharmed plants sensed the signals from their injured neighbors and responded by sending out bursts of calcium signaling across their outstretched leaves.