Feature Channels: Plants

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Researchers have combined macro photography with DNA metabarcoding to create a new botanical “CSI” tool that may hold the key to safeguarding the future of Australia’s critically endangered carnivorous plants.

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Recently, researchers at Spero Renewables, a California-based green technology company, tapped into Idaho National Laboratory's (INL) Technical Assistance Program to work with researchers at the Biomass Feedstocks National User Facility. The program provides U.S.-based small businesses with access to INL experts and unique capabilities at no cost. Spero is using environmentally friendly practices to manufacture renewable chemicals from plant-based materials.

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A team of researchers working with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has discovered a pathway to encourage a type of lignin formation in plants that could make the processing of crops grown for products such as sustainable jet fuels easier and less costly.

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An obscure species of wild grass contains “blockbuster” disease resistance that can be cross bred into wheat to give immunity against one of the deadliest crop pathogens.

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Chula Master in Engineering student’s research on turning the cellulose in eucalyptus pulp into plastic substitutes with added antiseptic property hopes to help lower cost, and branch out into various environmental and human-friendly products.

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A new study led by Georgia Tech points to possible help for restoring marine ecosystems — and provides more data on the role microbes play in marsh plant health and productivity.

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The goo from okra is known to thicken stews, but it can also clean water of some types of pollutants. Now, researchers report that combinations of okra and other food-grade plant extracts can remove microplastics from wastewater. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2022.

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Two newly released grape varieties, developed collaboratively between Cornell AgriTech and Sun World International, a global fruit genetics and licensing company, offer new flavors for consumers and better growing characteristics for farmers.

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Most people would say the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been a great couple of years. But for the green industry, like plant nurseries and greenhouses, it’s been a boon. But will the uptick in gardening last once the last coronavirus restrictions are lifted? Probably not to the same extreme levels, according to new research from the University of Georgia. But for some, the introduction to gardening may have been just what they needed to dive into a new hobby.

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Jalene LaMontagne, associate professor of ecology, and Windsor Aguirre, associate professor of evolutionary biology, are among hundreds of researchers who collected clover in 160 cities all over the world. The research, published this week in the journal “Science,” offers insight into how urbanization is transforming the genetic properties of plants and animals around us.

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Monarch butterflies, one of the most iconic insects of North America, are increasingly plagued by a debilitating parasite, a major new analysis shows.

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Humans reshape the environments where they live, with cities being among the most profoundly transformed environments on Earth. New research now shows that these urban environments are altering the way life evolves.

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Specialized coating allows for a slow release to the plants’ roots

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Arsenic is a major drinking water contaminant, often linked to the bedrock where wells are drilled in the Northeastern part of the United States. However, new research suggests that pesticides used 100 years ago may also be to blame.

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The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) published a position paper in the journal Nature highlighting the goals, priorities, and roadmap of the impressive Africa-led effort to sequence the genomes of plants, animals, fungi, and protists that are endemic to the continent of Africa.

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Michigan State University’s Thomas D. Sharkey published new research describing what they call a pilot light for photosynthesis. By understanding how plants stay primed to produce sugars in varying degrees of sunlight, Spartans are working toward a future when growers can raise more efficient crops used as food and biofuel.

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