Excel through collaboration Fungi, we see them mostly as the mushrooms that stick their heads above the ground in autumn. But underground there are whole networks of them. Plants make good use of those. They collaborate with Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Exchanging sugars for nutrients. And are so able to excel during difficult times. Not onlyContinue reading “Excel through collaboration”
Category Archives: Paper highlight
Shooting seeds
Shooting seeds Plants have different strategies to spread their seeds. There are those that use animals, with the seeds traveling in the fur or stomach of the animal. Then there are those that trust the wind to disperse their seeds. A third group of plants spreads them all by themselves. They shoot their seeds asContinue reading “Shooting seeds”
Pausing growth
Pausing growth Just like ours, the environment of plants is in flux, changing constantly. There can be a drought, or a shortage of nutrients. To survive, plants adjust their growth. By shortage of water a plant will grow little to none. Only to start growing again after rain has fallen. For long it was notContinue reading “Pausing growth”
Relay messengers
Relay messengers A fast response is needed when pathogenic bacteria or fungi enters a plant. Then the plant can try to actively stop this intruder, starting an immune reaction. For this, the recogniser sends a message to the whole cell, who in turn forwards it to the whole plant. Like a relay. Although most ofContinue reading “Relay messengers”