Stealthy diseases sometimes trick plants by hijacking their defense signaling system, which issues an alarm that diverts plant resources for the wrong attack and allows the enemy pathogens to easily overrun plants.
Biotechnology
Nov 2, 2015
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In a deception that likely has evolved over thousands of years, a caterpillar that feeds on corn leaves induces the plant to turn off its defenses against insect predators, allowing the caterpillar to eat more and grow faster, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 9, 2015
0
93
Similar to humans and animals, plants possess an innate immune system that protects them from invading pathogens. Molecular structures that only occur in pathogens enable their recognition and trigger the immune response. ...
Biotechnology
Mar 3, 2015
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39
Plants that come under attack from pathogens have an automatic immune response. Fungi get around this plant immunity by injecting proteins into the host plant cells. These 'effector proteins' enable the fungi to escape the ...
Biotechnology
Oct 6, 2014
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Like a kindergarten or a busy airport where cold viruses and other germs circulate freely, flowers are common gathering places where pollinators such as bees and butterflies can pick up fungal, bacterial or viral infections ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2014
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(Phys.org) —A research team with members from the U.K., Germany and the U.S. has identified an amino acid sequence in effector proteins in two pathogens that helps explain how a firmly established pathogen can leap from ...
(Phys.org) —Researchers have developed a system that concentrates foodborne salmonella and other pathogens faster than conventional methods by using hollow thread-like fibers that filter out the cells, representing a potential ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 14, 2013
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A research team led by a molecular plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside has discovered the mechanism by which an aggressive fungal pathogen infects almost all fruits and vegetables.
Biotechnology
Oct 3, 2013
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What plant scientists call senescence, consumers experience as wilted produce and overripe fruit. A team led by Cornell horticulture professor Su-Sheng Gan has identified an enzymatic fountain of youth that slows the process ...
Biotechnology
Aug 23, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Transposons are DNA elements that can multiply and change their location within an organism's genome. Discovered in the 1940s, for years they were thought to be unimportant and were called "junk DNA." Also ...
Biotechnology
Aug 15, 2013
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