Closing the trap
Carnivorous sundews actively capture their prey. But in contrast to the related Venus flytraps, sundews are not responding to touch or other mechanical stimulants. Now Chinese researchers show that a small peptide, glutathione, likely released by the captured fly, signals for the trap to close.
Keep readingHow plants photosynthesize
Sometimes it seems that plants grow spontaneously. This all is due to maybe one of the coolest tricks of plants in that they produce their own food. Photosynthesis plays a major role in this process.
Keep readingWhere almond trees store energy can affect yield
Perennial plants store carbohydrates to bridge carbon shortages. Like those in the winter for example. Now American researchers show that it matters where a plant creates those carbohydrate stores.
Keep readingCO2 regulates stomata opening
Stomata, the pores on the underside of the leaf, let CO2 in for photosynthesis and water vapour out. Now researchers show that by an increasing of CO2 in the atmosphere plants are not using this to fix more energy but for saving water.
Keep readingSounding the alarm
Early detection of a pathogen attack can prevent the spread of an infection. But how this early detection is then translated into warning for the rest of the plant is not known. Now British researchers show in Nature Plants using a reporter system that the alarm passes through the plant much faster than first thought.
Keep readingCreating an oxygen-restricted niche
Plants, just like us, need oxygen, but their growth centre, there where the leaves and stems emerge, is surprisingly low on oxygen. There, there is four to six times less than in the air outside the plant. Now a group of international researchers show in Molecular Plant how a plant establishes and maintains this low…
Keep readingSeed banks shape gene drive outcomes
Seeds have this amazing ability to lay dormant in the soil for many years. As such, although genes are transferred from one generation to the next, that next generation isn’t always directly following the previous one. This makes studying the outcome of plant reproduction more complex. Now a new paper in Nature Plants shows how…
Keep readingStomata done differently
Stomata are the pores formed by kidney shaped cells. But in some plants like succulents, they look a little bit different and have these accompanying “wingmen” cells. Now a new study in Science Advances found clues for their function and how they are formed.
Keep readingRescued by wild genes
In the ever-ongoing arms race between crops and their pest scientist are kept busy by identifying new resistance mechanisms against new pests. Now a new study by Israeli scientists illustrates that looking at the genomes of those contributing wild relatives might help.
Keep readingBy stress hit pause
Stresses, like cold and salt stress, impact plant growth. Not only during the stress but also during the recovery. Now Canadian researchers discovered how during stress plants pause their cell division, which they continue after the stress is gone.
Keep readingInheriting mitochondria
Like most eukaryotes, plants get their mitochondria from one of their parents. Most often it is the maternal line that provides them. Now a group of international researchers found out that in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) paternal mitochondria slip through more often than first thought.
Keep readingA genetic roadmap of a barley spikelet
The development of barley spikelts goes accompanied with lots of genetic decisions. To get more insight into this, German researchers created a genetic roadmap of the developing barley spikelet.
Keep readingSynchronised flowers
Plants synchronise the opening of their flowers with the scent production of those flowers. But how this is regulated is still not completely clear. Now a group of Korean researchers found the circadian gene that coordinates this synchrony.
Keep readingGood smelling tomatoes
Nobody wants a juicy tomato without taste. One of the contributors to that taste are the volatile compounds from the tomato. But how the tomato regulates their production was not clear. Now a group of Korean researchers found out that losing a single gene that regulates the degradation of chloroplasts also influences the production of…
Keep readingWhat makes strawberry plants run
If you ever grew strawberry plants then you know they are prone to produce runners, which produce daughter plants along their stems, but no strawberries. Now a group of Chinese and American researchers found out how plants regulate the formation of those runners.
Keep readingMoving reproductive siRNAs
When thinking about plant reproduction you might be forgiven thinking that all the action happens in flowers. Small interference RNA, or siRNA for short, that originated elsewhere in the plant also play a role. In fact, without them pollen are largely not viable. The one exception, at least so scientists thought, where the brassica species.…
Keep readingSalt loving bacteria help plants in salty soils
Crops growing on salty soil do less well than their on none salty soil growing counterparts. And this is a problem, as salinity affects huge swatches of soil all over the world. Now a group of Indian researchers decided to find out if salt loving bacteria could help plants grow on salty soils.
Keep readingSensing temperature
Plants sense temperature, but whether this is the actual temperature, or a perceived difference in temperature, that’s what the scientists are not sure about. Now a group of Japanese scientists think they have the answer, at least for the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.
Keep readingUsing the pathogens tricks to gain resistance
Plants and pathogens are involved in a tug of war. A lot of that fight takes place in the extracellular space, the space between cells, in plant tissues. There plants secrete an arsenal of defence molecules, like proteases, glycosidases and lipases. Pathogens do this as well including some inhibitors. So how come those inhibitors don’t…
Keep readingA new regulatory element enables bacterial uptake by plant cells
Plants take up nitrogen fixing bacteria when they start a symbiosis with them. Now new research shows that it is not a specific gene, but a regulatory element of genes that allows plant to do this.
Keep readingSomething went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
The newest blogs directly in your inbox?
artikel bespreking auxin Bestuiving Bloemen celdelingen Cell division Embryo Engels Evolutie Evolution Flowers fotosyntese Fungi Gene expression gene regulation gen regulatie Groeikernen Growth regions Heat stress Hitte stress Huidmondjes Immune response immuunreactie insecten Insects Microbiome Nederlands Paper review parasiet parasite Pathogens Phospholipid Photosynthesis Plant biology Plant defence Pollination Roots Salt stress Schimmels Stomata Stress verdediging wortels Ziektemakers Zoutstress
Share this:
- Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
- Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
- Share on X (Opens in new window) X
- Print (Opens in new window) Print
- Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Plant en Zo 