A recent study looking at the molecular foundation of myrtle rust reveals how the pathogen breaks into a host plant and how the host plant responds. This insight will inform the design of useful tools to prevent future break-ins ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 5, 2024
0
1
If a tree falls in the forest—whether or not anyone registers the sound—one thing is for sure: there are lots of fungi around. Within a forest's soil, hundreds of species decompose debris, mobilize nutrients from that ...
Ecology
Apr 24, 2024
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273
To make weeding easier, scientists suggest bioengineering crops to be colorful or to have differently shaped leaves so that they can be more easily distinguished from their wild and weedy counterparts. This could involve ...
Biotechnology
Apr 17, 2024
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52
In a striking new study published in Science Advances, a team of synthetic biologists led by Karen Sarkisyan at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, have reported the discovery of multiple plant enzymes—hispidin synthases—that ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 8, 2024
1
38
In a changing climate, corn growers must be ready for anything, including new and shifting disease dynamics. Because it's impossible to predict which damaging disease will pop up in a given year, corn with resistance to ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 7, 2024
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72
Around a decade ago, an invasive fungal disease called myrtle rust reached Australia and began to spread like a plague through certain plants. The disease affects plants of the Myrtaceae family, which includes eucalypts, ...
Ecology
Dec 15, 2023
0
44
Investigators at the University of Kansas have played a key role in deciphering a previously unidentified cluster of genes responsible for producing sartorypyrones, a chemical made by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, ...
Biochemistry
Nov 21, 2023
0
67
If you walk into a bar in Italy, you might be served a dish of salty, nutritious snacks: lupin beans, a legume that has been eaten around the Mediterranean and in parts of the Middle East and Africa for thousands of years.
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 7, 2023
1
926
A newly described type of chemistry in fungi is both surprisingly common and likely to involve highly reactive enzymes, two traits that make the genes involved useful signposts pointing to a potential treasure trove of biological ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 20, 2023
0
916
Rice that is resistant to some of the worst crop-destroying diseases but can still produce large yields could soon become a reality for farmers worldwide.
Biotechnology
Jun 20, 2023
1
35
