How do plants know when it is time to flower? Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have studied this question and identified two genes that are key to this process. They were able to show that the ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 23, 2020
0
388
Plant experts at UC Davis have defined the genetic basis of sex determination in grapevines, one of the oldest and most valuable crops worldwide.
Plants & Animals
Jun 22, 2020
0
20
A study in Nature Plants has revealed new insights into how pathogenic bacteria regulate gene expression during plant infection, as well as the strategies employed by plants to protect themselves from bacterial invaders.
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2020
0
50
Breeding plants for specific characteristics goes back thousands of years. For most of that time, the process has been slow and tied to the agricultural cycle. Farmers identified plants with desirable traits, harvested seeds ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2020
0
123
Producing fewer sperm cells can be advantageous in self-fertilizing plants. An international study led by the University of Zurich identified a gene in the model plant Arabidopsis that reduces the amount of pollen. In addition ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 8, 2020
0
20
Step outside and spring is in full bloom, from red tulips, to pink magnolias to purple lilacs, but how do plants create all that color? The alluring hues that attract pollinators and provide beautiful bouquets begin with ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 19, 2020
0
15
Plants can produce energy-rich biomass with the help of light, water and carbon dioxide. This is why they are at the beginning of the food chains. But carnivorous plants have turned the tables and prey on animals. Insects ...
Plants & Animals
May 15, 2020
0
180
In nature, every species must be equipped with a strategy to survive in response to danger. Plants, too, have innate systems that are triggered in response to a particular threat, such as insects feeding on them. For example, ...
Plants & Animals
May 8, 2020
0
81
Sex in plants can be befuddling. Most species are hermaphrodites, expressing both male and female gametes in one individual. But some, including shrub willow Salix purpurea, employ the evolutionary strategy we are far more ...
Biotechnology
Apr 20, 2020
0
84
Harvesting rice from the same field, without planting new rice plants? A discovery may bring this scenario closer. Leiden scientists have discovered a gene that allows annual plants to grow after flowering, instead of dying. ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 14, 2020
0
179
