Feature Channels: Plants

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Molecular-level understanding of cellulose structure reveals why it resists degradation and could lead to cost-effective biofuels.

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A tiny aquatic plant called duckweed might be a viable option for remove phosphorus, nitrates, nitrites and even heavy metals from lakes, ponds and slow-moving waterbodies.

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Lignocellulose-degrading enzyme complexes could improve biofuel production.

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Florida has the most invasive species of any state in the country, and half of the insects, reptiles, arachnids and crustaceans imported into the United States come through Florida ports, University of Florida experts say. So, UF/IFAS has teamed up with government agencies to create a program to teach the public how to identify these insects before they become prolific.

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A University of Washington team is trying to make poplar a viable competitor in the biofuels market by testing the production of younger poplar trees that could be harvested more frequently — after only two or three years — instead of the usual 10- to 20-year cycle.

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In some parts of Africa, farmers intercrop sorghum – a grain – and peanuts. But they face a major information gap. There hasn’t been much research on optimal levels of fertilizer use for intercropping sorghum and peanuts in these areas. A new study has filled this information gap. Researchers from Niger, Mali, and the United States have developed a method to help farmers determine how much fertilizer to apply when intercropping.

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison wanted to know whether the last 100 years of selecting for corn that is acclimated to particular locations has changed its ability to adapt to new or stressful environments. By measuring populations of corn plants planted across North America, they could test how the corn genomes responded to different growing conditions.

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A University of Florida professor known for his work in using computer models to predict crop yields has been named to a newly formed global leadership panel for the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Program, also known as AgMIP.

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Many factors influence the ability of soil to buffer against temperature changes. Recent research shows both perennial biofuel and cover crops help soils shield against extreme temperatures.

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Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.

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A discovery by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists in Dallas provides new insights about the biological or circadian clock, how it regulates high water-use efficiency in some plants, and how others, including food plants, might be improved for the same efficiency, possibly to grow in conditions uninhabitable for them today.

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Soybean diseases caused by various species of Diaporthe pathogens are on the rise and scientists are identifying the pathogens behind this increase.

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About 22,000 years ago, as the ice sheets that consumed much of North America and Europe began retreating, humans started to consume a fruit that today brings joy to millions of wine drinkers around the world: grapes

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New research has identified genes that control vitamin E content in maize grain, a finding that could lead to improving the nutritional profile of this staple crop.

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Working with an international team of breeders and genome scientists, plant biologists at the University of Georgia have sequenced the genome of garden asparagus as a model for sex chromosome evolution.

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Cutting food waste, becoming a food entrepreneur and eating on a budget if you're a foodie. These are just some of the fearless forecasts from UF/IFAS experts, as they predict food trends for 2018.

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The discovery has the potential to drastically improve food safety and reduce losses caused by the contamination from the poisonous carcinogen, aflatoxin.

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The University of Maryland (UMD) has joined the International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research, both organizations announced today

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They account for just three per cent of the Earth’s surface but play a major role in offsetting carbon dioxide emissions – and now a team of scientists led by the universities of Southampton and Utrecht has discovered that the plants that make up peat bogs adapt exceptionally well to climate change.

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A $1 million grant will help ISU researchers advance the genetics of corn varieties intended to be grown in organic settings. The project aims to improve the performance of field and sweet corn varieties in conditions unique to organic production systems.

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Researchers combined the immune response created by injection of potato virus nanoparticles with doxorubicin to halt melanoma progression in a mouse model. It is the first demonstration of an anti-tumor response using potato virus nanoparticle vaccination—a novel treatment further enhanced with doxorubicin chemotherapy.

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Ancient hunter-gatherers began to systemically affect the evolution of crops up to thirty thousand years ago – around ten millennia before experts previously thought – according to new research by the University of Warwick.

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Benson Hill Biosystems today announced the commercial launch of Edit, powered by CropOS™, the first complete genome editing system made accessible to partners for the development of improved crops. Edit system combines the analytical power of Benson Hill’s CropOS™ computational platform with a robust portfolio of novel genome editing nucleases to create the first comprehensive genome editing system. Edit is designed to optimize plant characteristics such as flavor profiles, nutrient-density, and environmental sustainability with greater speed and precision than previously possible.

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The Danforth Center is applying CRISPR-Cas technology to staple food crops such as cassava and sorghum to produce planting materials with improved disease resistance, nutritional value and enhanced resilience to biotic stresses.

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Researchers use compounds found in a combination plant-based diet to successfully prevent and treat ER-negative breast cancer in mice.

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SimPath has licensed a novel cloning system developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that generates and assembles the biological building blocks necessary to synthetically bioengineer new medicines and fuels.

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Most recently, scientists with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences discovered some novel pathogens that may damage Florida tomatoes. Their findings could be critical to keeping Florida’s $437 million-a-year tomato industry strong. Thanks to their early findings, the industry faces no immediate threat.

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The collaborative project brings together expertise in molecular genetics, developmental genomics and statistics to meet the food and fuel demands of a growing population.

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Australian researchers at the University of Adelaide have identified a naturally occurring wheat gene that, when turned off, eliminates self-pollination but still allows cross-pollination – opening the way for breeding high-yielding hybrid wheats.

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Thanks to a $900,000 award from the National Science Foundation, Wake Forest University researchers are examining how the plant hormone ethylene affects growth and development of the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana, which is a genetic model used to provide insight into other plants.

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Writing this week (Oct. 9, 2017) in the journal New Phytologist, University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor of Botany Hiroshi Maeda and his colleagues describe an ancient loosening up of a key biochemical pathway that set the stage for the ancestors of beets to develop their characteristic red pigment.

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Genome-wide rice studies yield first major, large-scale collection of mutations for grass model crops, vital to boosting biofuel production.

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UF scientists synthesized and examined data from prior studies that had looked at how many pathogen-carrying mosquito species made their homes in forested lands vs. non-forested lands in 12 countries worldwide, including the United States.

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A study of 300,000 children in 35 nations says kids whose watersheds have greater tree cover are less likely to experience diarrheal disease, the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five.

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When rampant white-tailed deer graze in forests, they prefer to eat native plants over certain unpalatable invasive plants, such as garlic mustard and Japanese stiltgrass. These eating habits lower native plant diversity and abundance, while increasing the proportion of plant communities made up of non-native species, according to a new study.

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An international team including DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers analyzed the genome sequence of the common liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) to identify genes and gene families deemed crucial to plant evolution and have been conserved over millions of years and across plant lineages.

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Ice storms can have devastating results for trees in forests, too. New research studied the effects of lab-created ice storms on forest ecosystems. The “Why Ice Storms Aren’t Cool” presentation at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Soils keep plants healthy by providing plants with water, helpful minerals, and microbes, among other benefits. But what if the soil also contains toxic elements, such as cadmium? The solution goes back to the soil. Researchers are investigating which soil additives work best.

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The Iowa State University Prairie STRIPS project has found the strategic use of native prairie plants among agricultural fields yields a wide range of environmental benefits, including erosion and runoff reduction and increased wildlife habitat. The findings, published this week, draw on 10 years of data and cover dozens of environmental metrics.

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Basement walls crack for a variety of reasons. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) October 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how they form—and which ones to be wary of.

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A team of researchers at the universities of Florida and Wisconsin-Madison will use the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pinpoint genes that could improve plants’ ability to access nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth.

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This project aims to deliver stress-tolerant sorghum lines, addressing DOE's mission in the generation of renewable energy resources.

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Every year around this time, nature puts her greens to bed and awakens her autumn colors. That palette of reds, yellows and oranges painting the landscape is part of a very important ecological process.

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Organic matter in soil is an important component of soil health. And nematodes are a sentinel organism to flag it. The “Nematode Community Succession: Decomposition Hot Spots” presentation at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) biologically filter the water flowing into the Everglades' protected area, reduce phosphorus and improve the ecosystem services of the soil and plant life. The “Soil Processes and Performance in Constructed Wetlands” symposium at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Soil fungi that help promote drought tolerance in pinyon pine (Pinus edulis), a dominant tree in the Southwest, are passed from mother trees to their offspring, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Citrus greening is a major challenge for Florida growers. The “Influence of Foliar Copper Application Rate on Copper, Potassium and Zinc Concentrations in Soil and Citrus Tissues” presentation at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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A planting design that outwitted a weevil in Texas citrus groves has yielded numerous other benefits for growers and brought better quality oranges and grapefruits to consumers, experts say.

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Eat too much without exercising and you'll probably put on a few pounds. As it turns out, plant leaves do something similar. In a new study at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, scientists show that retaining sugars in plant leaves can make them get fat too. In plants, this extra fat accumulation could be a good thing.