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.…
Plants grow in two directions: the shoots of plants grow toward the light to make the best use of it, and the roots grow toward the center of the earth into the soil. A team has now been able to…
Researchers find that plant root tips are constrained to a dome shape, similar to that of an arched bridge, because of one-directional and localized tissue growth.
Commentary on Gobert et al. The authors prove the feasibility of an idea through this proof-of-concept work. As they point out, plant antiviral treatments are usually virus-specific, unfortunately for the moment a ‘broad-spectrum’ plant antiviral does not exist.
Like other plants, mistletoe is capable of using sunlight to create its own food, a process called photosynthesis. However, it prefers to siphon water and nutrients from other trees and shrubs, using “false roots” to invade its hosts.