Bending due to gravity
Place a plant on its side and its roots and shoots quickly grow down and up again. The plant sensed that the direction of gravity changed and adjusted its growth accordingly. But how plants regulate this temporary adjustment was not exactly known. Now a group of international researchers show that one part of the answer…
Keep readingTurning red
Plants are wonderful chemical factories. So when synthetic food dyes get banned it is only logical to look for plant produced alternatives, like betalain which is naturally produced by beetroots and their relatives. A new study by American researchers explores the possibility of getting other plant species to produce betalain.
Keep readingSwitching from 2D into 3D
Life as we know it happens in 3D. So, when a group of international researchers found a gene that appears to have a role in the transition from 2D into 3D development they where excited.
Keep readingThe old die to protect the young
Flooding gives plants a big blow. Still, if the flooding doesn’t take too long, plants can survive due to a number of survival techniques. One of these is the shedding of old leaves. Now Dutch researchers show in a new study what happens after flooding.
Keep readingShifting DNA markings
Markings on the DNA help plant cells ‘remember’. Who they are. In what developmental stage they are. Their environment. Now a new study in Communications Biology by Chinese researchers shows that during the early stages of embryo development these DNA marks shift frequently.
Keep readingHooked hairs
Sometimes when you look closely at something, you see something new. That is what a group of American researchers found when they looked closely at bean seedlings. In Science Advances they report about the up until now unknown hooked hairs on these seedlings.
Keep readingClosing 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…
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