UBC researchers have discovered a key mechanism that -- much like a construction site foreperson -- controls the direction of plant growth as well as the physical properties of the biopolymers that plants produce.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 16, 2011
1
0
The notion that each gene can only codify for a single protein has been challenged for some years. Yet, the functional outcomes that may result from genes encoding more than one protein are still largely unknown.
Biotechnology
Mar 22, 2013
0
0
With increasing demands for sustainable energy, being able to cost-efficiently produce biofuels from plant biomass is more important than ever. However, lignin and hemicelluloses present in certain plants mean that they cannot ...
Biotechnology
Nov 26, 2012
1
0
Filamentous fungi produce powerful enzymes that break down tough plant material that can be used for biofuels and other industrial processes. But the enzymes often work too slowly for industrial use and the fungi are difficult ...
Biotechnology
Aug 26, 2015
0
61
Barley grown in Scandinavian countries is adapted in a similar way to reindeer to cope with the extremes of day length at high latitudes. Researchers have found a genetic mutation in some Scandinavian barley varieties that ...
Plants & Animals
May 11, 2012
0
0
Plants grow upward from a tip of undifferentiated tissue called the shoot apical meristem. As the tip extends, stem cells at the center of the meristem divide and increase in numbers. But the cells on the periphery differentiate ...
Biotechnology
Dec 3, 2012
0
0
Normal development and function in multicellular organisms relies on tight control of cell growth, yet surprisingly little is known about how such control is achieved. Although some promoters of growth have been identified, ...
Biotechnology
Mar 15, 2013
0
0
Plant biologists have been working for years to nail down the series of chemical signals that one class of plant hormones, called brassinosteroids, send from a protein on the surface of a plant cell to the cell's nucleus. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 18, 2011
0
0
The future looks challenging for plants. Climate change is forecast to bring widespread drought to parts of the planet already struggling with dry conditions. To mitigate the potentially devastating effects to agriculture, ...
Biotechnology
Oct 30, 2018
0
160
(PhysOrg.com) -- Plant roots provide the crops we eat with water, nutrients and anchorage. Understanding how roots grow and how hormones control that growth is crucial to improving crop yields, which will be necessary to ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 6, 2009
0
0
