Using an improved version of the gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers knocked out up to twelve genes in plants in a single blow. Until now, this had only been possible for single or small groups of genes. The method makes it easier to investigate the interaction of various genes.
Small to moderate amounts of caffeine can lift your moods and drop the stress levels. Caffeine (trimethylxanthine) is nothing, but a modified form of a related molecule called xanthine, which can also be converted into other smaller molecules that help the plants cope with stress. Of course, the kind of stress that the plants feel is different and more defined than that from human. For example, the most prominent stress in the plants is the lack of sufficient water. Hence, in a way, the content of xanthine in the plants can contribute to lifting the mood of the plants.
In 1966, US Army scientists drilled down through nearly a mile of ice in northwestern Greenland—and pulled up a fifteen-foot-long tube of dirt from the bottom. Then this frozen sediment was lost in a freezer for decades. It was accidentally rediscovered in 2017.
A new study shows invasive plants are adapting to new habitats and new climates at an increasing pace – and especially so in tropical environments.
One of the world’s rarest tree species (Macadamia jansenii) has been transformed into a sophisticated model that researchers say is the future of plant research.
Beta-cyclocitral produced by plants after herbivore attack increases defense responses while inhibiting the production of metabolites for growth.
Spectacular fossil plants preserved within a volcanic ash fall in China have shed light on an evolutionary race 300 million years ago, which was eventually won by the seed-bearing plants that dominate so much of the Earth today.
In an broad and elaborate study, biologists investigated the biodiversity of flowering fields planted as part of agri-environmental schemes.
Researchers have revealed the response mechanism of rhizosphere microorganisms of deep-rooted leguminous plant to water and nitrogen changes in desert ecosystem.
An impressive body of evidence published this week reveals the answer to a mystery that has puzzled plant scientists for more than 30 years: the role of the molecule suberin in the leaves of some of our most productive crops. This discovery could be the key to engineering better crops and ensuring future food security.
