Perhaps considered one of the most time-honored traditions of passing into middle age is a sudden appreciation for all things botanical. However, in the modern day, the passion for cultivating both indoor and outdoor plants, both indoors and outside, seems to be multi-generational, and it’s only growing in popularity. Indeed, tending to, fussing with, caring for, and even talking to plants is now a pretty standard practice, and for the latter, many individuals both young and old sporting green thumbs will happily discuss the various benefits of communicating with our leafy green friends on their growth and development.
That said, there is, of course, a pretty big barrier between human speech and how plants communicate — although it seems that with the advent of AI, we are closer than ever to understanding the very basis of plant language.
Talking to Plants in Their Language
In a breakthrough announcement in the peer-reviewed publication Eurekalert, it was revealed that plant researchers at the John Innes Centre and computer scientists at the University of Exeter had joined forces to create and launch a pioneering, first-of-its-kind AI model known as Plant RNA-FM. While it could have used some work in the naming department, the unique model has scientists and plant enthusiasts alike excited. Why? Plant RNA-FM can understand the structural patterns and sequences that form the genetic “language” of plants.
RNA — despite being the less famous relative of chemical DNA — is no wallflower (sorry), but rather a crucial molecule that plays a major role in all living organisms, carrying genetic instructions through its intricate sequences and structures. Indeed, its architectural genome building blocks — known as nucleotides — are arranged in much the same way that the alphabet combines to make words and phrases in spoken language.
At the John Innes Centre, Professor Yiliang Ding and his team had been decoding this genetic chatter, focusing on how RNA folds into elaborate shapes that control essential plant functions like growth and stress resilience. To further crack the code, they joined forces with Dr. Ke Li’s group at the University of Exeter to create the Plant RNA-FM model, (which followed the same methodology in which AI models, such as ChatGPT, are trained to understand human language).
The model was trained on a staggering 54 billion RNA data points from 1,124 plant species, and the result is a groundbreaking tool that speaks fluent RNA. The AI has learned to understand the grammar and logic of RNA sequences and structures, and by extension, it has essentially unlocked many secrets of plant biology.
Sowing the Seeds of a Better Future
So, does that mean we will be able to have little afternoon chats with our plants in the conservatory? Sadly, no — or, at least, not yet anyway.
What this huge breakthrough does mean, however, is a quantum leap forward in both discovery and innovation in the field of plant science. “Talking to plants” could potentially revolutionize plant cultivation and development on a scale that could profoundly impact agriculture and environmental sustainability.
In a speech for the article, Professor Ding explained how the Plant RNA-FM model was just the beginning, and that they aim to develop “more advanced AI approaches to understand the hidden DNA and RNA languages in nature.” However, he added that the model did represent a huge step forward that could open “new possibilities for understanding and potentially programming plants which could have profound implications for crop improvement and the next generation of AI-based gene design.”
Dr. Ding also explained how AI is becoming increasingly instrumental in helping scientists tackle a number of monumental problems, such as “feeding a global population, to developing crops that can thrive in a challenging climate.”
So, in a nutshell, while you still can’t have a sneaky listen to what your geraniums and sunflowers get up to when they think you’re not around, we are closer than ever to truly understanding how plants work by understanding their genetic language, which could benefit the whole of humanity.
Now that’s some true flower power.
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