Microbes protect a leaf beetle—but for a price

Insects are known to rely on microbial protection during immobile developmental stages, such as eggs. But despite the susceptibility of pupae to antagonistic challenges, the role of microbes in ensuring defense during an ...

How a harmful fungus renders its host plant defenseless

The fungus Ustilago maydis attacks corn and can cause significant damage to its host. To do this, it first ensures that the plant offers little resistance to the infection. The surgical precision it applies is shown by a ...

Producing palm oil substitute from corn waste

Is a sustainable, local alternative to palm oil possible? The research consortium NextVegOil from Aachen, Bochum, Düsseldorf and Münster is aiming to develop a commercial-scale process for producing a microbial oil similar ...

Newly discovered protein in fungus bypasses plant defenses

A protein that allows the fungus which causes white mold stem rot in more than 600 plant species to overcome plant defenses has been identified by a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and ...

Common plant disease found to defend its host against pests

Scientists from University of Turku observed that ergot, a common plant disease on rye, defended its host plant chemically against grass feeding insects. The ergot disease in grains spoils the yield and causes seed loss to ...

Study: How red rot attacks sugarcane

The fungus Fusarium verticillioides is one of the causes of red rot, the most serious sugarcane disease. Losses average around USD 1 billion per harvest in Brazil alone.

Tree fungus reduces fertilizer requirement for ketchup tomatoes

Tomatoes are an important and popular crop, but the tasty ketchup, salsa and pasta sauce they yield comes at a price: overuse of chemical fertilizers. Now, researchers report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ...

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