Memristors in the electrical network of Aloe vera L

Alexander G. Volkov, Jada Reedus, Colee M. Mitchell, Clayton Tucket, Victoria Forde-Tuckett, Maya I. Volkova, Vladislav S. Markin, Leon Chua

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

A memristor is a resistor with memory, which is a nonlinear passive 2-terminal electrical element relating magnetic flux linkage and electrical charge. Here we found that memristors exist in vivo. The electrostimulation of the Aloe vera by bipolar sinusoidal or triangle periodic waves induce electrical responses with fingerprints of memristors. Uncouplers carbonylcyanide-3-chlorophenylhydrazone and carbonylcyanide-4-trifluoromethoxy-phenyl hydrazone decrease the amplitude of electrical responses at low and high frequencies of bipolar periodic sinusoidal or triangle electrostimulating waves. Memristive behavior of an electrical network in the Aloe vera is linked to the properties of voltage gated ion channels: the K+ channel blocker TEAC l reduces the electric response to a conventional resistor. Our results demonstrate that a voltage gated K+ channel in the excitable tissue of plants has properties of a memristor. The discovery of memristors in plants creates a new direction in the modeling and understanding of electrical phenomena in plants.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere29056
JournalPlant Signaling and Behavior
Volume9
Issue numberMAY
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Aloe vera
  • CAM plant
  • Electrostimulation
  • Memristor
  • Plant electrophysiology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Plant Science

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