It is known that plants do not have a nervous system and now researchers through a recent study have found that plants use some specific signals linked with animals when they are under stress.

This rare feature of plants was discovered by the University of Adelaide researchers. Researchers found that plants respond to their environment with a similar combination of chemical and electrical responses to animals, but through machinery that is specific to plants.

Senior author Associate Professor Matthew Gilliham said, "We've known for a long-time that the animal neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is produced by plants under stress, for example when they encounter drought, salinity, viruses, acidic soils or extreme temperatures".

Researchers said they have discovered that plants bind GABA in a similar way like animals. It results in electrical signals that ultimately regulate plant growth when a plant is exposed to a stressful environment.

Now, when researchers have identified how plants respond to GABA, they are optimistic that they have opened up several new possibilities for modifying how plants respond to stress.

Professor Stephen Tyerman, co-lead author of the study, said in a statement that the major stresses that the agricultural crops undergo are pathogens and poor environmental conditions that account for most yield losses and food shortages around the planet.

Researchers believe that their findings can prove to be a boon to medical research. The similarity can explain why some drugs that are derived from plants like particular sedatives and anti-epileptics, work in humans.

Researcher Dr. Sunita Ramesh stated that now the question has raised that how GABA has been recruited as a messenger in both plants and animals kingdoms.