Natural GMO The genome of an organism is not a static thing. It is continuously moving. Genes change, they acquire extra functions or lose them. At sometimes a genome inherits new genes. At other times a gene is lost. Al together a genome is totally dynamic. One of those is the acquiring of genes throughContinue reading “Natural GMO”
Category Archives: Paper highlight
Carrot history
Carrot history This time I would like to talk about carrots. About the ever-present orange one, but also about the white, yellow, and purple variants. A group of American and Polish researchers resequenced the genome of 630 carrot variants. Through doing this they deciphered a lot about its history and its orange colour. Wild carrotsContinue reading “Carrot history”
Sensitive to touch
Sensitive to touch Environmental signals help to optimize growth. In this way tells the ratio red versus far-red light if there is an obstructing neighbouring plant. But a touch is also informative. Now Dutch researchers discovered how a plant perceives this kind of long duration touch. When the ratio red versus far-red light tells thatContinue reading “Sensitive to touch”
Double defence
Double defence The parasitic plant Striga, or witchweed, is a disaster for lots of sub-Sahara African farmers. Striga does what any parasite does, it taps water and nutrients from its host. Something that in agriculture result in big losses. Sometimes the whole harvest is lost. Now Kenyan researchers together with researchers from the USA, GermanyContinue reading “Double defence”
Plant en Zo 