A tremendous amount of research has been done to explore Si action in plants against drought, waterlogging, salinity, heavy metals, ultra-violet, as well as pathogenic and entomological attacks. While most studies address Si role in abiotic and biotic stress conditions, one question remains: Can Si be used to improve crop production in the absence of significant stress?
Sub-Saharan Africa’s population continues to grow, with the prediction that the population will double by 2050 and peak by 2100. This poses a challenge in meeting the demand for staple food in a region where self-reliance in cereal production, a major staple food, is the lowest globally in terms of productivity. As a result, cereal demand is projected to triple. Yet, cereal yields are very low, and the current consumption is already dependent on substantial imports, placing the continent at a great risk of food insecurity.
The molecular mechanisms behind the germination seeds are still a mystery. However, advanced molecular tools such as transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have added significant information. This short communication is a brief introduction of said revealed mechanisms.
During the last two decades, an accumulated body of research has been carried out to exploit the potential of using plant elicitors to enhance plant immunity. Nevertheless, while major advances have now been made, most of the inducers promoting resistance to herbivores are still at the experimental level.
To enable fast, efficient and cost effective bioengineering of plants, new tools and methods to deliver the genetic material into plant cells are increasingly being researched. Nanoparticles assisted delivery of biomolecules is one such under explored tool for their application in plant system.
The expansion of European countries across the world has had profound impacts on the landscapes and biodiversity. During this transformation, plant species native to the Mediterranean Basin and temperate Europe were transported. Exploring the abundance of these species in their native and introduced communities, can help us understand the processes and prioritize conservation measures.
Recently, a group of scientists, successfully developed a new high-yielding transgenic desi chickpea variety. For that, they used the chickpea cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase gene expressed under the chickpea WRKY31 gene promoter.
This is the fourth post of the series, celebrating the brilliant winners of the #plantscistory2021 contest and their stories. Benedetta Gori is a young scientist with a highly interdisciplinary background. After a degree in Food Science, and two Masters in Ethnobotany and Plant Taxonomy, she is now working as part of the Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia (UPFC) project, focusing on the conservation and revitalisation of neglected edible plants.
This is the third post of the series, celebrating the brilliant winners of the #plantscistory2021 contest and their stories. Maria Park is a PhD Student at the University of Minnesota. Her interests are forest biodiversity loss, plant ecophysiology, climate change, plant-soil interactions, remote sensing/spectral biology, and art-based science communication.
Meet Laura Kor, a conservation scientist undertaking a PhD at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and King’s College London. This is the second post of a series, celebrating the brilliant winners of the #plantscistory2021 contest and their stories.
