furthermore, plants provably react to injury like other animals do just in a slower way imagine a horse among the herd. it senses a predator lurking in the bushes. it bolts. the herd follows suit, each animal spurred by a sudden release of an amino acid called glutamate that travels through the body. the herd's survival depends on the adrenal release, or fight-or-flight response in one horse and the lightning-fast communication that ensues. the scientists observed a similar rapid-defense in plants, that also begins with the release of glutamate, the chemical its nerve cells use to send signals to other cells. but a plant is tethered to the ground; it can't run. these so-called 'glutamate receptors' receive the signal and set off a chain of communication to the rest of the plant. the leaf can't escape an attacking caterpillar. instead it emits a flood of calcium ions to signal to other parts of the plant that an attack is underway. it screams, "we are wounded," via a vast network, and in a matter of seconds the plant goes into a state of defense and repair. defense strategies may include a release of noxious gas to make its leaves less tasty. repairing may involve long-term strategies to grow new leaves. "for an animal that [attack] could be devastating. but for plant, the way they deal with it is they just rebuild themselves," said lead author, professor simon gilroy. the researchers were able to capture the process on video. the team genetically modified plants using the gene from jellyfish that makes them glow green. the result was an amazing show of light -- a wave of fluorescent light as the flood of calcium travels through the plant's vascular system.   o/news/science-plants-perceive-resp ond-like-animals-when-attacked/ there's been loads of studies about plants reacting to injury,    _response_in_plants
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