Scientists have sequenced the oldest plant genome using 6,000-year-old seeds from a watermelon relative collected at an archaeological site in the Sahara Desert in Libya.
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Hidden beneath the delicate, red skin and juicy flesh of a tomato is a wealth of nutrients and genetic makeup. With recent research on the first genome of a species in the tomatillo tribe (part of the tomato family), we now have a better idea of how this vital plant family came to be.
The maximum summer temperature and the amount of rainfall in summer are the two climate factors that determine the type of native grass that grows in a region, Australian researchers have found in a recent study.
When we think of plants, the phrase “stressed out” doesn’t typically come to mind. They are, after all, exempt from paying bills and tackling existential questions. However, environmental changes—both living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic)—generate significant stressors for plants. New methods to improve plant tolerance and immunity amid climate change are therefore critical.
Plants lengthen and bend to secure access to sunlight. Despite observing this phenomenon for centuries, scientists do not fully understand it. Now, scientists have discovered that two plant factors — the protein PIF7 and the growth hormone auxin — are the triggers that accelerate growth when plants are shaded by canopy and exposed to warm temperatures at the same time.
New research sheds new light on how plants, however rarely, experience mutations in their mitochondrial genomes. Unlike humans, plants are able to quickly fix these mutations, and more importantly, not pass them on to their progeny.
Biologist has discovered a previously unknown orchid species of the genus Rhipidoglossum in northeastern Tanzania. The new species was named Rhipidoglossum pareense, in keeping with its location in the South Pare Mountains.
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 new study.
In multicellular organisms, distinct cell types are produced and maintained through the coordination of several progenitor lineages. How is this information stored in the transcriptome? Do these cells’ behaviors reflect their lineage history or their current biological surroundings?
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that is responsible for reprogramming gene expression in plants during the transition period when one cell differentiates into another one. The mechanism occurs at the end of meiosis, a specialized cell division essential for sexual reproduction, and enables the differentiation of germ cells and pollen.
