CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

ELECTRIC TOMATOES
By:Sean Henahan, Access Excellence RALEIGH, NC (June 26, 1997) The surprising discovery that tomatoes utilize electrical signals to signal gene expression provides a new research avenue for helping commercial crops fight off insect attackers.

In a recent study a North Carolina State University botanist demonstrated for the first time that electrical signals can trigger rapid gene expression in plants. The experiments showed that when an electric stimulus is used to wound a tomato leaf, bioelectrical signals are rapidly transmitted from the injured cells to other cells throughout the plant. These signals, known as action potentials, alert the cells to increase their production of naturally occurring chemicals called proteinase inhibitors (pin), which boost the plant's resistance to insect feeding. First reports of the tomatoes natural defense system came more than 20 years ago. However, until recently,most plant physiologists believed the intercellular warning signals were chemical in nature. "Proving that a genuine electrical signal can turn on genes is important because it raises the possibility that we may be able to use electrical stimulation as an environmentally sound means for increasing crop resistance to pests," says Dr. Eric Davies, professor and head of NC State's Department of Botany. Davies and colleagues coauthor found that pin levels rose three- to five-fold throughout the plant within 15 minutes of an electrical stimulation, and up to 15-fold within a hour. Levels began to revert within two hours. The researchers found that wounding a leaf with a low flame also could spur large, rapid increases in temporary pin production. However, this seemed to occur via a separate signaling mechanism. The sudden loss of hydraulic tension in the dead tissue of the burned cells causes a plant-wide hydraulic pressure surge which triggers an electrical reaction -- called a variation potential -- in adjacent living cells. Unlike action potentials, which spur uniform pin production plant-wide, variation potentials were found to promote varying levels of pin production, with the highest levels occurring in cells nearest the wound.

The researchers also found that variation potentials may spur systemic expression of calmodulin, a gene that plays a key role in initiating many information processes in plants, including their responses to cold and heat, gravity and touch. To rule out the possibility the signals were chemical in nature, researchers attached a cooling ring to leaf petioles prior to wounding them. This prevented the leaves from transmitting chemicals out through their phloem, or vascular system. The researchers also analyzed the electrical signals transmitted from the wounded leaf. "We found that if you cut the leaf off before the electrical signal was transmitted, there was no change in gene expression outside the wounded leaf itself. But if we cut it off after the transmission of the signal it made no difference. Gene expression throughout the plant was neither stopped nor reduced," Davies says. In the short term, the findings are likely to increase understanding of the fundamental intercellular communication processes used by plants. In the longer term plant biologists will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of electrically stimulated gene expression as a means of strengthening crop resistance to pests. "By proving that both electrical and hydraulic signals can trigger gene-specific expression, we show that plants are a bit more complex than we once thought. They can distinguish between various environmental stimuli and respond with the most appropriate type of intercellular signaling mechanism -- be it chemical, electrical, hydraulic or a combination thereof," he said, adding: "We need to broaden the scope of our investigations and give these so-called 'lower life forms' a bit more respect. It's only when we recognize and understand the full range of sophisticated intercellular communication processes employed by plants that we will best understand how to manipulate and modify them." The study appears in the June 1997 issue of the the European science journal Planta. While pure (distilled) water is not a terribly good conductor, the acid in the tomato juice will partially ionize the water in it. The result is a "fairly" good conductor, but still nowhere near as good as copper, silver, aluminum, etc. So, yes, you easily get enough current to flow through tomato juice to give you a nasty shock or light a small bulb, but over any large distances, most of the electrical energy will be lost as heat due to resistance. While pure (distilled) water is not a terribly good conductor, the acid in the tomato juice will partially ionize the water in it. The result is a "fairly" good conductor, but still nowhere near as good as copper, silver, aluminum, etc.

So, yes, you easily get enough current to flow through tomato juice to give you a nasty shock or light a small bulb, but over any large distances, most of the electrical energy will be lost as heat due to resistance.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENTS USED:

medium to large green or red tomato Knife and cutting board Spoon 2 copper electrodes or 4-inches of copper wire 2 zinc electrodes or large paper clips 2 beakers or short glasses 4 alligator clip leads 2 nails Vinegar Water

PROCEDURE
Cut tomato into slices and then cut into smaller pieces. Split the amount of the chopped tomato, including seeds and juice, and place in two beakers Continue to process the tomato by mashing it with a spoon. Place one copper and zinc electrode into each beaker making sure they do not touch. Place one of the beakers to the side. In the remaining beaker, clip on of the wire leads to the zinc electrode and the other lead on the copper electrode. Repeat the process with the other beaker. Hook one set of electrodes to one piece of copper and one piece of zinc. If the volt is unstable, add some vinegar and water and also place the copper wire, the zinc electrode and the copper electrode properly. Connect the alligator clip on the volt meter. Lets try if the calculations are correct. If we can light the LED light bulb which has a low volt. This project can be extended to power small electronic devices, a small light bulb or even a buzzer. To do this create more beakers with tomatoes, as described above, and connect them into a complete circuit.