Feature Channels: Plants

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Researchers have developed soft yet durable 3D-printed materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting. The materials derive their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates, which are embedded within the materials. The work was inspired by the bioluminescent waves caused by dinoflagellates during red tide events at San Diego’s beaches.

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For tens of thousands of years, evolution shaped tomatoes through natural mutations. Then, humans came along. For centuries, we’ve bred and cherry-picked tomatoes with our preferred traits.

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Orange Photonics, a pioneer in analytical testing solutions, is pleased to introduce LightLab 3 Psy Analyzer

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Cornell researchers have harnessed the power of baker’s yeast to create a cost-effective and highly efficient approach for unraveling how plants synthesize medicinal compounds, and used the new method to identify key enzymes in a kratom tree.

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In a plant microbiome, the microbial community assembles and changes by exchanging signals between the host plant and the microbes. Researchers have gathered and filtered a large amount of data using a combination of computational approaches to identify new mechanisms in this signaling process. The study discovered a host transport mechanism and a chemical signal that influences beneficial bacterial colonization of plants’ roots.

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Because the bumblebee that an orchid relies on for pollination does not exist on a remote island, the plant gets pollinated by an island wasp.

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RUDN University agronomists have shown that the hormone melatonin and the mineral zeolite mitigate the dangerous effects of heavy metals on plants. The first protects cells from destruction by cadmium, and the second increases nutrient availability and prevents the absorption of hazardous metals into the plant. The study was carried out on bamboo.

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Nanozymes are synthetic materials that mimic the properties of natural enzymes for applications in biomedicine and chemical engineering. They are generally considered too toxic and expensive for use in agriculture and food science.

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A multiyear analysis tested whether management zone maps based on soil conditions, topography or other landscape features can reliably predict which parts of a cornfield will respond best to higher rates of seeding or nitrogen application.

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October is peak season for admiring fall foliage and soon those leaves will begin to fall, if they haven’t already done so. Before you start to clean them up, Virginia Tech turf experts suggest that you try a different approach instead of bagging and tossing.

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Despite incentives to use just the right amount of nitrogen fertilizer on corn fields, official recommendations are broad and ideal rates vary widely. A state-funded Iowa State University research project is collecting data from trials across Iowa – mostly from fields of participating volunteer farmers – to build models that offer far more granular guidance.

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After ginger root was proven to halt autoimmune disease progression in mice, researchers are now trialing the same concept in humans

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A new paper in the Annals of Botany, published by Oxford University Press, reveals that researchers have found unaltered agave plant species cultivated by several early cultures including the Hohokam people, a large Native American group in the Southwest that existed between 300 and 1500 CE.

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Ateam from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the USDA Agricultural Research Service has used SIF to measure the effects of elevated ozone (O3) on soybean plants.

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PNNL researchers are investigating the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of an increasingly smart food and agriculture sector.

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The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) developed a group of platforms called TerraForms to provide users with an avenue for investigating hydrobiogeochemical processes.

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Plant pathogens can hitch rides on dust and remain viable, with the potential for traveling across the planet, according to a new Cornell University study – a finding with important implications for global food security and predicting future outbreaks.

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Scientists have found that concrete’s compressive strength can be increased by 4,1% and its flexural strength by 3,4% by adding a small amount of coconut shell (only 5%). In doing so, the material’s performance increased by 6,1% compared to clear concrete.

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Regardless of how one says 'tomato,' they all contain tomatine, a toxin in the plant's green fruit, leaves, and roots. Tomatoes produce the bitter-tasting compound -- a major plant-specialized metabolite secreted from the roots -- to defend against pathogens and foragers.

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Scientists at the University of Bristol have successfully used screws as connectors in bamboo without splitting the material.

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Researchers mapped the locations of 1,034 proteins inside the chloroplast of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas. This map is a spatial atlas of the chloroplast proteome—all of the proteins that the organism can produce in the algae’s structure that drives photosynthesis.

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•New Michigan State University research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that plants such as oak and poplar trees will emit more of a compound called isoprene as global temperatures climb. •Isoprene from plants represents the highest flux of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere behind methane. •Although isoprene isn’t inherently bad — it actually helps plants better tolerate insect pests and high temperatures — it can worsen air pollution by reacting with nitrogen oxides from automobiles and coal-fired power plants. •The new publication can help us better understand, predict and potentially mitigate the effects of increased isoprene emission as the planet warms.

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This most recent work from the Umen lab gets at the critical control mechanism for sex determination in single-celled and multicellular algae. The capacity to produce distinct mating types (e.g. male and female) is the foundation for reshuffling of genetic material within a species, which maintains genetic diversity and capacity to adapt in different environments.

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Crop modification can be traced to the beginning of agriculture and human civilization. Native Americans, for example, developed corn from a wild grass called teosinte more than 7,000 years ago. Methods to increase crop resiliency and sustainability have evolved, and improved, over time.

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As a potent source of protein and oil, soybeans are a vital global crop for food, animal feed, industrial applications, and biofuel production. Even minor improvements in soybean seed content can therefore have far-reaching implications for agricultural productivity and global economies.

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By studying fossils from ancient aquatic plants, Northwestern University and University of Wyoming (UW) researchers are gaining a better understanding of how methane produced in Arctic lakes might affect — and be affected by — climate change.

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Plants have highly evolved mechanisms to shed or drop organs (abscission) in response to environmental or developmental cues. It’s why you have to rake leaves in the Fall! But in agriculture, the natural shedding of flowers or seeds is detrimental, and cereal crops with abscission-inhibiting mutations in certain genes, like SHATTERING1, have been bred to dramatically increase yield. Using Crispr gene editing and detailed analyses, Yu et al. show for the first time some mechanistic features of abscission in the grasses, including the role of the plant hormone auxin.

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Scientist Xiaohan Yang’s research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory focuses on transforming plants to make them better sources of renewable energy and carbon storage.

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It’s an Ice Age mystery that’s been debated for decades among anthropologists: Exactly when and how did the flow of Homo sapiens in Eurasia happen? Did a cold snap or a warming spell drive early human movement from Africa into Europe and Asia?

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Artificial intelligence (AI) can help plant scientists collect and analyze unprecedented volumes of data, which would not be possible using conventional methods.

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Imagine if humans could ‘talk’ to plants and warn them of approaching pest attacks or extreme weather. A team of plant scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) would like to turn this science fiction into reality using light-based messaging to ‘talk’ to plants.

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If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are actually inflorescences, composed of minute flowers.

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UC San Diego engineers have devised a new solution to control a major agricultural menace, root-damaging nematodes. Using plant viruses, the researchers created nanoparticles that can deliver pesticide molecules to previously inaccessible depths in the soil.

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Sorghum bran has much higher levels of some essential amino acids and minerals needed for human health and development than a whole grain or dehulled sorghum flour, researchers from the University of Johannesburg have found.

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Clubmosses (Selaginella sensu lato) emerged over 383 million years ago in the Devonian Period, predating dinosaurs. These ancient vascular plants hold significant value in unraveling land plant evolution. Presently, Selaginella stands as the sole member of the Selaginellaceae family and Selaginellales order.

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A new study led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research has identified what may be a novel biological approach for removing extremely small and potentially dangerous plastic particles from water.

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A new study has found that air pollution is preventing pollinators finding flowers because it degrades the scent.

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Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Botanic Garden and the Mathematical Institute have shown that the shape, size, and geometry of carnivorous pitcher plants determines the type of prey they trap. The results have been published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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Mold and diseases caused by fungi can greatly impact the shelf life of fruit and vegetables.

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A newly discovered way of optimising plant enzymes through bioengineering has increased knowledge of how plant material can be converted into biofuels, biochemicals and other high-value products.

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A new study has uncovered intriguing insights into the evolution of plant biology, effectively rewriting the history of how they evolved over the past billion years.