Gene duplications provide genetic raw materials and are considered as important driving forces in diversification and evolution. The evolution of land plants is characterized by recurrent ancestral paleopolyploidy events, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2020
0
7
The painful toxins wielded by a giant Australian stinging tree are surprisingly similar to the venom found in spiders and cone snails, University of Queensland researchers have found.
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2020
1
578
Catmint, also known as catnip, is well-known for its intoxicating effect on cats. The chemical responsible for the cats' strange behavior is nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid produced by catmint. An international team of ...
Biotechnology
May 13, 2020
0
80
Given the fundamental biological differences in plants and animals, previous research proposed that plants may have broader environmental tolerances than animals, but are more sensitive to climate. However, a recent study ...
Evolution
Mar 23, 2020
0
71
The plants consumed for food have changed drastically in the 10,000 years since humans began practicing agriculture, but hominids have been intensively interacting with the plants and animals around them since before the ...
Ecology
Feb 27, 2020
0
60
The C4 cycle supercharges photosynthesis and evolved independently more than 62 times. Using constraint-based modeling, researchers successfully investigated which factors contributed to the evolution of the C4 trait. The ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2019
0
3
An insoluble complex carbohydrate, chitin makes up fungal walls and plays a significant role in the interaction between fungal pathogens and their plant hosts. Plant cells harbor immune receptors that perceive chitin and ...
Biotechnology
Nov 13, 2019
0
5
To the casual observer, Japanese stiltgrass appears as a harmless, leafy green plant that blends into the majestic scenery of your weekend hike through the woods.
Ecology
Sep 11, 2019
0
42
Mapping the evolution of life on Earth requires a detailed understanding of the fossil record, and scientists are using synchrotron-based technologies to look back—way, way back—at the cell structure and chemistry of ...
Archaeology
Aug 29, 2019
0
91
The genes that first enabled plants to grow shoots and conquer the land have been identified by University of Bristol researchers. The findings, published in Current Biology, explain how a 450-million years ago a switch enabled ...
Biotechnology
Aug 2, 2019
3
681
