A new study that examines the genetics behind the bitter taste of some sorghum plants and one of Africa’s most reviled bird species illustrates how human genetics, crops and the environment influence one another in the process of plant domestication.
Botanists from have discovered that “penny-pinching” evergreen species such as Christmas favourites, holly and ivy, are more climate change-ready in the face of warming temperatures than deciduous “big-spending” water consumers like birch and oak. As such, they are more likely to prosper in the near future.
The catastrophic bushfires raging across much of Australia have not only taken a huge human and economic toll, but also delivered heavy blows to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Scientists are warning of catastrophic extinctions of animals and plants.
Researchers have lift the veil on the “conductor” plant root stem cell gene that helps orchestrate and coordinate stem cell division of different root stem cell types, ensuring the harmonic communication necessary for plant growth and maintenance.
The first flowering plants originated more than 140 million years ago in the early Cretaceous. They are the most diverse plant group on Earth with more than 300,000 species. In a new study evolutionary biologists have analysed 3-dimensional models of flowers and found that flower shapes can evolve in a modular manner in adaptation to distinct pollinators.
An international group of researchers has assembled the most complete genome sequence of commercial sugarcane. They mapped 373,869 genes or 99.1% of the total genome.
Success with improving Arabidopsis mitochondrial respiration in response to harsh conditions is leading plant molecular researchers to move to food crops including wheat, barley, rice and chickpeas.
A new study reveals how sorghum crops alter the expression of their genes to adapt to drought conditions. Understanding how sorghum survives could help researchers design crops that are more resilient to climate change.
Biologists have demonstrated for the first time that cyanobacteria and plants employ similar mechanisms and key proteins to regulate cyclic electron flow during photosynthesis.
A new actor in the immune system of plants has been identified. Scientists have identified the protein MAP4K4 is needed to mount proper defenses against environmental pathogens.
