Article information
| Title | Broadening the definition of a nervous system to better understand the evolution of plants and animals |
| Authors | Sergio Miguel Tomé , Llinás, R.R. |
| Summary | Most textbook definitions recognize only animals as having nervous systems. However, for the past couple decades, botanists have been meticulously studying long-distance signaling systems in plants, and some researchers have stated that plants have a simple nervous system. Thus, an academic conflict has emerged between those who defend and those who deny the existence of a nervous system in plants. This article analyses that debate, and we propose an alternative to answering yes or no: broadening the definition of a nervous system to include plants. We claim that a definition broader than the current one, which is based only on a phylogenetic viewpoint, would be helpful in obtaining a deeper understanding of how evolution has driven the features of signal generation, transmission and processing in multicellular beings. Also, we propose two possible definitions and exemplify how broader a definition allows for new viewpoints on the evolution of plants, animals and the nervous system. |
| Magazine name | Plant Signaling & Behavior |
| Magazine number | 10 |
| Initial page | 192756 |
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| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 16 |
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| Last impact factors | 2.247 (2020) |
| DOI | 10.1080/15592324.2021.1927562 |
| Link | https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2021.1927562 |
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