At the ‘roots’ of motor intentions

Informazioni relative al progetto

ROOMors

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101096728

DOI

10.3030/101096728

Data della firma CE 11 Maggio 2023

Data di avvio 1 Settembre 2023

Data di completamento 31 Agosto 2028

Finanziato da

• European Research Council (ERC)

Costo totale

€ 3 148 411,00

Contributo UE

€ 3 148 411,00

Coordinato da

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ROOMors (At the ‘roots’ of motor intentions)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-09-01 al 2026-02-28

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

Imagine reaching for an apple: you may want to eat it or offer it to someone else. The action is similar, yet the movement subtly changes depending on your intention. In this sense, intentions become visible in motion.
While this is well established in humans and animals, it remains unexplored in plants.
ROOMors addresses this gap by asking a fundamental question: can plants express intention through their movements? Recent evidence shows that plant movements are not purely reactive. For instance, pea plants adjust the shape of their tendrils depending on the support they approach, suggesting a form of anticipation.
ROOMors aims to determine whether plants can plan their movements and whether their behavior is influenced by the actions of nearby plants.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

At the midpoint of the project, ROOMors is already delivering compelling results by integrating approaches from experimental psychology and plant biology.
The project shows that plants:
• modulate their movements depending on context (e.g. growing alone, competing, or cooperating)
• respond selectively to chemical cues from related versus unrelated plants
• may anticipate and adjust to the behavior of neighboring plants
Together, these findings point to a level of behavioral flexibility and interaction in plants that goes beyond traditional views.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

ROOMors advances a novel perspective of plants as active, sensing, and adaptive organisms, capable of responding to their environment in sophisticated ways.
This research has broad implications:
• improving our understanding of plant responses to environmental change and stress
• uncovering fundamental similarities between plant and animal life
• inspiring new approaches in artificial intelligence and robotics based on plant-like strategies
More broadly, ROOMors encourages a shift in how we view the plant kingdom—not as a passive background to life on Earth, but as a dynamic and integral part of a deeply interconnected living system.