India, Feb. 4 -- A small piece of a plant can regrow into a whole one. But what actually happens inside a plant when it is cut? Researchers at Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune have now uncovered how they survive injury and regrow.

In a study published on February 2 in the international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Prof Kalika Prasad and his team have identified a cellular repair system that allows plants to heal wounds and regenerate.

When a plant is cut whether it is a leaf, stem or root its cells immediately experience stress. This stress shows up as a sudden increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), small but highly reactive molecules that can damage cells if they ac...