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06-05-2009, 12:53 PM
Experiments show that a sagebrush plant can recognise a genetically identical cutting growing nearby.
What's more, the two clones communicate and cooperate with one another, to avoid being eaten by herbivores.
The findings, published in Ecology Letters, raise the tantalising possibility that plants, just like animals, often prefer to help their relatives over unrelated individuals.
The ability to distinguish self from non-self is a vital one in nature.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8076000/8076875.stm
What's more, the two clones communicate and cooperate with one another, to avoid being eaten by herbivores.
The findings, published in Ecology Letters, raise the tantalising possibility that plants, just like animals, often prefer to help their relatives over unrelated individuals.
The ability to distinguish self from non-self is a vital one in nature.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8076000/8076875.stm