Plant Science

Parasitic plants are extraordinary plants with unique physiology, ecology, and evolutionary histories, and little is known about their origin and evolution. Initially, certain autotrophs evolved to be facultative hemiparasitic plants which obtained only water and mineral nutrients from their hosts as supplements. Some of the facultative hemiparasitic plants later became obligate parasitic plants that had to depend on their hosts to complete their life cycles. Gradually holoparasitic plants evolved from obligate parasites and they completely lost their photosynthesis capacity. 

Microbes growing on flowers have adverse effects on their yields. This is why plants are quick to shed their flowers, reveals a new study involving both field experiments and plant microbiome analysis.

Scientists have discovered how to design cereal roots able to continue growing in hard soils by altering their ability to penetrate, enabling roots to access sources of water deeper in soil, and helping ‘climate-proof’ vital crops in response to changing rain fall patterns.

Like humans and animals, plants also have a microbiota. A research team studied whether the genetic variability within a plant species controls the composition of its leaf microbiota. The researchers planted more than 30,000 plants in experimental set-ups at four sites over two years to analyse variation in the leaf microbiota and reproductive success, estimated through seed production, of 200 genotypes of a model plant. Their results, show that genetic variation between plants has a particular impact on specific microorganisms, which in turn have a strong influence on the composition of microbial communities. This influence on microbial communities contributes to the reproductive success of different plant genotypes.

Researchers have now provided the first structural basis of auxin transport by PIN proteins, and this has been combined with a comprehensive biochemical characterization.