Plant Cells ''Black Out'' When Eaten By Leafworms

... When an Egyptian cotton leafworm eats the leaves of a lima bean plant, the natural voltage at the membranes of the plant''s cells changes in a matter of seconds. This insight is the result of investigations by scientists led by Professor Massimo Maffei of the University of Turin, Italy, and Professor Wilhelm Boland, of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. The membrane potential drops abruptly; within a short space of time, depolarisation spreads out across the leaf under attack. ...