Parasitic plants use stolen genes to make them better parasites

Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host's nutrients. A new study led by researchers at Penn State and Virginia Tech reveals that ...

Expert discusses alternatives to pesticides

A researcher at the University of Arizona has discovered compounds derived from Photorhabdus, an insect pathogenic bacterium, that have antimicrobial and nematicidal properties that can potentially replace chemical pesticides.

Harnessing plant hormones for food security in Africa

Striga is a parasitic plant that threatens the food supply of 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.Scientists have found that they can take advantage of Striga's Achilles' Heel: if it can't find a host plant, it dies.The ...

Receptor networks underpin plant immunity

Fresh insights into plant immunity amount to a new field of discovery that could advance the next generation of disease-resistant crops.

Genetic diversity helps protect against disease

So much for survival of the fittest – diversity is the key: a team of researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has succeeded in demonstrating experimentally that genetic diversity ...

Parasite eggs from ancient latrines hint at people's past diets

DNA in parasite eggs recovered from ancient latrines provides new clues to the foods eaten by past populations, as well as their animal domestication and hunting practices, according to a study published April 25, 2018 in ...

Agricultural parasite takes control of host plant's genes

Dodder, a parasitic plant that causes major damage to crops in the U.S. and worldwide every year, can silence the expression of genes in the host plants from which it obtains water and nutrients. This cross-species gene regulation, ...

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