Modeling Plant Action Potentials under Photoperiod Stress via Hodgkin-Huxley Dynamics

Imen Bekkari; Maurizio Magarini; Hamdan Awan

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arXiv · 2512.15236

Modeling Plant Action Potentials under Photoperiod Stress via Hodgkin-Huxley Dynamics

Imen Bekkari·Maurizio Magarini·Hamdan Awan

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Abstract

Plants exhibit dynamic bioelectric properties that facilitate information transfer across tissues. This study investigates action potentials (APs) in Nicotiana tabacum recorded within a custom-designed growth chamber using a biosignal amplifier and environmental sensors. Consistent light- and dark-induced APs were observed during photoperiod transitions under controlled 12-hour artificial illumination cycles. To understand these bioelectric responses, a mathematical model based on the Hodgkin-Huxley framework is used. Electrophysiological measurements from Solanum lycopersicum revealed that under natural light conditions, only light-induced APs are observed, while light- and dark-induced APs coupled dynamics is exclusively elicited during rapid transitions in artificial photoperiods. These distinct phenomena are characterized as Prolonged Oscillatory Climatic Engagement (POCE) and Nimble Environmental Transition Oscillation (NETO), respectively. The model successfully reproduces the key features in both frameworks while maintaining computational efficiency through voltage-independent rate parameters.

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Imen Bekkari, Maurizio Magarini, Hamdan Awan. 2025-12-17. Modeling Plant Action Potentials under Photoperiod Stress via Hodgkin-Huxley Dynamics. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15236

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