In the world of plant-feeding insects, who shows up first to the party determines the overall success of the gathering; yet viruses can disrupt these intricate relationships, according to researchers at Penn State.
Ecology
Aug 22, 2018
0
31
It is well known that certain wasps suppress the immune systems of their caterpillar hosts so they can successfully raise their young within those hosts. Now researchers at Penn State show that, in addition to suppressing ...
Ecology
May 1, 2018
0
32
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, ...
Biotechnology
Jan 3, 2018
0
166
A team of scientists from the Kunming Institute of Botany in China and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena has discovered that parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta (dodder) not only deplete nutrients from ...
Biotechnology
Jul 25, 2017
0
20
Bacteria passed straight to children have more healthcare benefits than if they are transmitted via the surrounding environment, new Oxford University research reveals.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 17, 2017
0
133
Sneaky parasitic weeds may be able to steal genes from the plants they are attacking and then use those genes against the host plant, according to a team of scientists.
Biotechnology
Oct 24, 2016
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1849
Scientists have wondered for years how legumes such as soybeans, whose roots host nitrogen-fixing bacteria that produce essential plant nutrients out of thin air, are able to recognize these bacteria as both friendly and ...
Biotechnology
Jan 12, 2016
0
259
Molecular biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who study nitrogen-fixing bacteria in plants have discovered a "double agent" peptide in an alfalfa that may hold promise for improving crop yields without increasing ...
Biotechnology
Nov 24, 2015
0
61
The concept that biodiversity feeds upon itself is not uncommon in the world of evolution. The problem is a lack of hard data that shows this process to be naturally occurring.
Evolution
Oct 22, 2015
14
650
Invisible to the naked eye, plant-parasitic nematodes are a huge threat to agriculture, causing billions in crop losses every year. Plant scientists at the University of Missouri and the University of Bonn in Germany have ...
Biotechnology
Sep 29, 2015
0
37
