#Hormones in the crosshairswhile small-scale horticulture is a relatively recent addition to the human repertoire of food provisioning hunting has deep evolutionary roots.
Under ideal conditions relatively short roots are sufficient but only longer roots can withstand the currents
and waves that accompany high tide. And after the seedlings are anchored in the soil their growth process can still fail
and seed size and production defense against pests and pathogens and response to abiotic stresses such as drought and ozone Pandey said.
when G proteins quantities were elevated in Camelina sativa the plant produced more seeds which were also bigger in size.
Camelina seeds have very high oil content leading researchers at the Danforth Center to focus on Camelina to develop biodiesel and other industrial products.
Discoveries about the impact of G proteins on seed production and size were published in the September 2013 issue ofplant Biotechnology Journal.
The Pandey lab also showed that G proteins function in soybean roots to affect formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules through a symbiotic relationship with certain beneficial bacteria.
or pruning the seeds arriving from the adjoining forests thrive in the conditions provided by the pine trees.
Part of that evidence comes in the form of a single dried-out leaf from a larch tree that grew thousands of years ago.
The researchers know that the glacier had remained previously unchanged for a very long time--in part because of the preserved larch leaf
They identified the leaf as belonging to Larix decidua or the European larch. Carbon dating determined it to be around 2600 years old.
The leaf supports the idea that prehistoric ice is still present at the highest elevations of the region Gabrielli said.
of root tissue that has been attacked by the parasitic nematode Radopholus similis. This local accumulation is crucial for the plant's resistance to this pest organism.
It attacks the roots of banana plants causing slower growth and development of the plant and fruit.
and localize defense substances in banana roots: The plants accumulated so-called phenylphenalenones only in infected regions of their roots but not in healthy tissues.
This was the case in both the resistant and the susceptible banana variety. The concentration of the most active compound anigorufone however was much higher in the immediate vicinity of lesions on the roots of resistant bananas in comparison to infected root tissues of the nematode susceptible banana plants.
The production of the toxin alone is not responsible for the banana plant's resistance to nematodes.
It is the differential concentration in specific regions of the roots which is particularly high at the precise location of the nematode attack
Their research on wasps and leaf disease reveal that a Canadian wasp is an efficient killer of an agricultural pest
#Nutritional information on oilseed crop for use in pig dietslong considered a weed in North america Camelina sativa is valued increasingly as an oilseed crop.
When oil is extracted from the camelina seeds using either solvent extraction or expeller pressing the oil is used then in fuel production.
Camelina seeds and expellers have been evaluated for use in poultry and dairy cattle diets but to our knowledge the nutritional values of these ingredients have not been studied in pigs he said.
They tested camelina seeds from two different sources as well as camelina expellers from three different sources.
Digestibility values in both sources of camelina seeds were less than in canola meal. Stein said that the variation in digestibility among the sources of camelina expellers might be due to genetic differences between the seeds or differences in the oil extraction procedures.
However amino acid digestibility in two of the sources of camelina expellers was comparable to that of canola meal
The perfect bee would produce a lot of seeds and visit a lot of flowers even in poor weather--and there would be a lot of them Burrack says.
or aerial live mass that generates a tree specially the canopy that is the upper part of the tree (leafs and branches) and in second term the trunk.
Additionally field work was carried also out to measure the trunk's diameter the height and specific weight of the wood besides comparing it to model information and data from satellite images.
Within the first results of the Project are that in Mexico city's conservation floor the oyamel harness the sun more efficiently in its leafs
Another important point was confirmed by proving that the leaf's size does influence in the greenery of the trees
#First in depth analysis of primate eating habitsfrom insect-munching tamarins to leaf-loving howler monkeys researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have compiled the most thorough review of primate
Larger monkeys eat a lot more foliage because their guts can tolerate high levels of cellulose and toxins
Another surprise was that primates with higher prevalence of fruit in their diets were historically among the most poorly studied meaning we still have a lot to learn about their importance as consumers and seed dispersers.
and predict direct structural contacts between amino acids called residues) from the proteins'genomic roots. Protein sequences are built by ribosomes from genetic data conveyed by MESSENGER RNA molecules.
As well as being productive aboveground Miscanthus was shown in Illinois to accumulate more roots over a period of five years than fallow land or even a native prairie ecosystem.
In the autumn and winter the nutrients drain out of the stems and leaves and are retained in the roots stimulating new growth the following spring.
The recycling of nutrients is not 100 percent efficient however and the team wanted to know
But in spiny forests most of the trees with woody stems are covered in rows of spines making them uncomfortable as well as dangerous sleeping sites
& Food Research and the University of Otago has identified the gene controlling bulb development the first step in discovering genetic markers that can be used as tools to screen conventional breeding programmes for new onion varieties with the right genetic
By understanding how these plants control development of the bulb we can support the breeding of new cultivars that have the right genetic profile to respond to specific growing conditions ensuring each plant produces a bulb for sale on the market.
and temperature to form a bulb says John Mccallum of Plant & Food Research. Around 90 million tonnes of onions are produced globally each year
#Protecting vital crops in Chinaevidence of disease in oilseed rape crops across China and how it may spread has been mapped by researchers led by the University of Hertfordshire--providing new strategic information on crop protection to the Chinese government.
Oilseed rape is prone to phoma stem canker also known as blackleg disease caused by two Leptosphaeria species. The more damaging pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans (L. maculans) has been spreading globally in oilseed rape crops over the last thirty years causing widespread losses
In China phoma stem canker on oilseed rape has not generally been a serious problem
However as China began to import millions of tons of oilseed rape to crush for cooking oil the route opened for L. maculans to spread via contaminated seed between countries.
This put China the world's biggest producer of rapeseed at risk of this highly infectious crop pathogen.
Phoma stem canker is responsible for losses worth more than £1200 million in oilseed rape crops across the world.
A widespread survey by Chinese collaborators of winter oilseed rape crops in central China and spring oilseed crops in north China found no evidence of L. maculans.
However the survey did confirm that the less damaging L. biglobosa is widespread across China
The researchers modelled the potential spread of the destructive L. maculans pathogen across the oilseed rape crops in China--with predicted rates of spread of up to seventy kilometers per year
and having a devastating effect on oilseed rape production. Professor Fitt continued: Reducing the risk of phoma stem canker in oilseed rape crops in China is a priority for Chinese government and industry.
There is a pressing need to decrease the amounts of crop debris a potent source of pathogen inoculum in seed imports.
And a number of the recommendations about preventing severe epidemics of phoma stem canker have already been taken up.
Short term strategies for the Chinese government include training farmers to recognise the symptoms of the disease to import oilseed rape through Chinese ports in regions where little oilseed rape is grown to test for the pathogen on imported seed
and importing rapeseed oil rather than importing the seed and crushing this locally. Longer-term strategies focus on introducing genes to the Chinese oilseed rape plants to build disease resistance.
The paper Leptosphaeria spp. phoma stem canker and potential spread of L. maculans on oilseed rape crops in China is published in Plant pathology.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Hertfordshire. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference c
#Barcodes for trees: Researchers identify genetic fingerprints of endangered conifersin the tropics and subtropics many evergreen conifers are endangered.
For the first time we have used human stem cells derived from Parkinson's disease patients to show that a genetic mutation combined with exposure to pesticides creates a'double hit'scenario producing free radicals in neurons that disable specific molecular pathways that cause nerve-cell death
and director of Sanford-Burnham's Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience Aging and Stem Cell Research and senior author of the study.
Using patient skin cells the researchers created human induced pluripotent stem cells (hipscs) containing the mutation
which tunnels in the stem of the plant and less so against the rootworm which attacks the roots.
First Bt proteins intended for the European corn borer are produced at a higher dose than the ones intended for rootworms;
and developed deeper and stronger roots to take advantage of the nutrients that underground AMF fed them.
They also have an abundance of genes for communication between cells via signaling proteins including small secreted effectors highly expressed during symbiosis. Plant roots send out a plethora of chemical signals
while holding on to the branch of a tree within the Lumbini Garden midway between the kingdoms of her husband and parents.
and placed in hives 90 days before bloom begins The most part of the honey produced in Mexico is exported mostly to Europe where health standards are very high mainly concerning chemical residues.
and plant roots killed 100%of sample breast cancer cells without toxic side effects on normal cells.
One of the primary causes of both the recurrence of breast cancer and deaths is a small group of cancer stem cells that evade therapy notes Dr. Raj.
Messenger will present on canopy leaf temperature data collected by a drone at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in San francisco Dec 9-13.
or thermal imaging camera to gather data on everything from leaf and flower characteristics to temperature readings and animal behavior.
#Nut consumption linked to reduced death rate, study suggestsin the largest study of its kind people who ate a daily handful of nuts were 20 percent less likely to die from any cause over a 30-year period than were those who didn't consume nuts say scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer
Their report published in the New england Journal of Medicine contains further good news. The regular nut-eaters were found to be more slender than those who didn't eat nuts a finding that should alleviate the widespread worry that eating a lot of nuts will lead to overweight.
Several previous studies have found an association between increasing nut consumption and a lower risk of diseases such as heart disease type 2 diabetes colon cancer gallstones and diverticulitis.
Higher nut consumption also has been linked to reductions in cholesterol levels oxidative stress inflammation adiposity and insulin resistance.
But no previous research studies had looked in such detail at various levels of nut consumption
nonetheless the findings are strongly consistent with a wealth of existing observational and clinical trial data to support health benefits of nut consumption on many chronic diseases.
The study is supported by a research grant from the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation and the National institutes of health grants UM1 CA167552 P01 CA87969 R01 HL60712 R01ca124908 P50
2 weeks before budbreak 3 weeks after bloom the termination of spring shoot growth and 4 weeks before harvest.
The treatments 3 weeks after bloom and 4 weeks before harvest increased average fruit weight of both'Gala'and'Fuji'apples.
and the leaf zinc nutrition was at a low level continuing zinc sprays on these trees was required to increase fruit quality the researchers said.
Small quantities of'Carotex-312'seed are available for research purposes from Crosby at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&m University.
which don't show up until the dead foliage turns red. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Alberta.
Many also possess sharp cutting leaf margins alluding to this common name. The genus with more than 100 species is widespread across Australia.
which makes their filaments (the mycelium) collapse creating a zone between the two colonies where growth is inhibited.
If the vc system is switched on'during early infection of ash leaves then the spores (ascospores) responsible for infection might antagonise one other
Alternatively if the vc system is switched off'the germinating spores might cooperate during ash leaf infection leading to a greater spread of the fungus.
and other crops that need cool temperatures for flower buds to break he said.#¢#¢Air quality is projected to decline
It depends on water both evaporating from the ground and also moving through plants from the roots to the leaves.
Arrow indicates dark paleo-wetland soil layer containing fossil leaf deposits with four plus meters of historical sediment buildup on top.
Because sediment quickly covered the leaf layer the leaves that date from before the dam remain intact.
of Franklin and Marshall College who found the fossil leaf mat note that the Denlinger's Mill site was our'Eureka'moment in the unraveling of this anthropogenic impact story.
First we had to uncover the leaf mats and then try to get a sample Elliott said.
She digs a small hole in the leaf-litter soil then pushes a thumb-sized device called an ibutton about an inch beneath the surface.
Long-stem plants may well be a splendorous in flowerbeds. However long stalks in a grain field present a danger to the yield.
Tall rice or barley varieties buckle over too easily under the load of their heavy panicles or ears.
During the green revolution in the 1960s numerous high-yield varieties with half the normal height were produced for agriculture in developing countries.
Besides linear growth this plant growth factor promotes seed germination and the development of the blossoms.
if fungal spores can have impact on tick populations This could contribute in helping us control tick populations for example in restricted areas such as spring pasture for sheep.
fungal spores land and germinate on the skin (cuticle) of the tick and then penetrate it before entering the tick body.
and forms new spores on the outside of the body which can spread to new ticks Klingen explains.
Dr. Gee however has applied now successfully microct to visualize silicified conifer seed cones as old as 150 million years without cutting sawing
Because each specimen is precious the main goal of this research was to study the internal structure of fossil conifer seed cones without destroying
In the study Gee demonstrates how this technique allows the observation of internal features such as seeds vascular tissue and cone scales.
or tissues such as a row of seeds within a cone the natural pattern of growth was evident.
For example the described technique is used to develop tomatoes with resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus
And someone with a fruit allergy may be allergic to the seeds but not the pulp.
and make the valves'leaflets less flexible which decreases blood flow to the heart. The new work detailed in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology opens up a huge line of investigation Grande-Allen said.
On the floodplains high rates of nitrogen fixation occur in thick slimy black mats of cyanobacteria growing in seasonably submerged sediments and coating the exposed roots and stems of willows and sedges.
'because there are almost impenetrable tangles of willow tree roots in places like a micro version of the tropical and subtropical mangroves that are known to harbor highly active colonies of cyanobacteria Deluca said.
because their seeds never get there. These recovering forests are often far from old-growth forests
This means forest animals cannot move seeds between the two forests.##Phil Martin added#oewe suggest that
when conservationists aim to restore tropical forests they should help dispersal of seeds from undisturbed to regrowing areas by planting trees throughout the wider landscape.#
from defoliation by leaf-munching pests. The water-stressed tropical forest trees support the production of more honeydew a sugary excretion imbibed by the Azteca ants that nest in the laurels'stem cavities.
In return ant colonies boost their numbers and more vigorously defend the life-sustaining foliage. The mutually beneficial interaction between laurels and ants which also involves tiny sap-sucking bugs called scale insects that make the honeydew is a well-known example of
what ecologists call a mutualism. Theoretical studies predict that mutualisms should be stronger under resource-poor conditions
When ants patrolling the surface of the tree encounter a leaf-eating insect they bite the insect until it falls from the tree Pringle said.
and the colonies sent more ants to attack the leaf-eaters and chase them away.
Beginning at a tree trunk's dense core and moving out to the soft bark the passage of time is marked by concentric rings revealing chapters of the tree's history.
At the root of their quest is a climate transition that marine-sediment studies reveal happened some 1. 2 million years to 900000 years ago.
Now we realize that there were unanticipated side branches on this tree some of which became gigantic.
Crafting a better enzyme cocktail to turn plants into fuel fasterscientists looking to create a potent blend of enzymes to transform materials like corn stalks
The breakdown of large sugar polymers into smaller compounds that can then be converted further to fuel compounds is the final crucial step in the effort to make fuels from materials like switchgrass and corn stalks.
what stands between you and a tankful of fuel created from corn stalks or switchgrass.
Shortened winter in the climate chamberfor their experiments the researchers used twigs around 30 centimeters long from 36 different trees and shrubs
The twigs came from the Weltwald or World Forest near Freising in which Bavarian state foresters have planted stands of trees from different climate regions.
Through warmer winters the usual sequence of leaf development can get completely mixed up. Many of the cultivated species that are at home today in Central europe come originally from warmer climate zones.
Tree-ring research or dendrochronology typically involves a detailed look at a cross-section of a tree trunk.
and blows on land where it drips down through the branches until the trees use it like rainwater.
Look at this patch say Gorres there's this leaf layer and then we're straight into the top mineral layer.
A lot of plants that use the duff layer as a germination medium or a seed bank will no longer be around says Gorres.
The study finds that obstacles to effective community engagement stem from a lack of awareness;
and the properties of the blossom the researchers concurrently grew new varieties with a higher proportion of rubber and biomass yield.
and sunlight may not be the only contributors to a plant's success. Ants in their role as seed dispersers may play an equally important part in determining
when ephemerals drop seeds; A. rudis begins foraging too late to disperse the seeds of the early flowering plants.
Phenology is the study of seasonal life cycle events such as bird and butterfly migrations seed-setting by plants and the emergence of animals--including ants--from winter dormancy.
Seasonal cues include daylight and temperature. Successful species interactions require that the species involved share the same cue said Warren. The cold-adapted A. picea ant species shares temperature cues with Anemone americana a common early spring wildflower that drops
seeds in early spring and the ants pick up and disperse the seeds. However A. americana drops its seeds weeks before A. rudis begins foraging
so that the dispersal mutualism fails and the seeds remain beneath the parent plants. All ecological communities are based on interactions between species said Warren. Climate change is disrupting phenological synchrony.
While much climate-change research focuses on how climate change directly affects species this research suggests that by disrupting the synchrony between species it has an important indirect effects on species. Local
-and regional-scale transplant experiments have indicated that A. americana survives and reproduces better in southeastern habitats than Asarum arifolium yet A. arifolium is thriving
At both sites the later-blooming A. arifolium offspring were dispersed in a manner that suggested that ants picked up its seeds.
The seed dispersal mutualism recovered however in the northern site where A. picea have not been displaced.
and depositing it their leaves and branches. Scientists from CSIRO made the discovery and have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.
The eucalypt acts as a hydraulic pump--its roots extend tens of metres into the ground
and branches where it can be released or shed to the ground CSIRO geochemist Dr Mel Lintern said.
or even the leaf litter you need to know that these are tiny nuggets which are about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair and generally invisible by other techniques and equipment.
but also increases the risk of damage from grazing animals and seed-eating insects. To investigate how pollinators
but on the other hand it is damaged more frequently by grazing animals and seed predators. In field experiments the scientists have shown that grazing pressure
and leaf relative water content (RWC) were affected most by substrate depth moderately affected by irrigation regime
From 1950 to 2000 there was a noticeable rise in the cultivation of winter wheat rye and winter barley in Germany
The most obvious trait is the orange endocarp which distinguishes the Xishuangbanna group from the other groups.
#Key genes for increasing oil content in plant leaves identifiedscientists at the U s. Department of energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified the key genes required for oil production and accumulation in plant leaves and other vegetative plant tissues.
which make up the bulk of leaves stems and other vegetative plant matter. If you want to cut calories from your diet you cut fat and oils.
In nature oil storage is the job of seeds where the energy-dense compounds provide nourishment for developing plant embryos.
The first step was to identify the genes responsible for oil production in vegetative plant tissues. Though oil isn't stored in these tissues almost all plant cells have the capacity to make oil.
what happens in seeds but we tried to look also at different genes and enzymes said Xu.
Pumping up the factors that normally increase oil production in seeds had no effect on oil production in leaves
however had dramatic effects on leaf oil production. If you knock out (disable) the gene for an enzyme known as PDAT it doesn't affect oil synthesis in seeds
In contrast overexpressing the gene for PDAT-that is getting cells to make more of this enzyme-resulted in a 60-fold increase in leaf oil production.
but was found in oil droplets within the leaf cells. These droplets were somewhat similar to those found in seeds only much much larger.
It was as if many small oil droplets like those found in seeds had fused together to form huge globules Xu said.
Bigger droplets may seem better but they're not explained Xu. Oil in these oversized droplets is broken easily down by other enzymes in the cells.
In seeds he said oil droplets are coated with a protein called oleosin which prevents the droplets from fusing together keeping them smaller
Overexpression of the two genes together resulted in a 130-fold increase in production of leaf oil compared with control plants.
and accumulation-170-fold compared with control plants-to the point where oil accounted for nearly 10 percent of the leaf's dry weight.
Xu is now collaborating with Brookhaven biochemist John Shanklin to explore the potential effect of overexpressing these key genes on oil production in dedicated biomass crops such as sugarcane.
and fruit-Incorporate more vegetarian sources of iron such as legumes tofu nuts seeds and whole grains-Consume high-fat dairy instead of low-fat dairy-Take a regular women's multivitaminapproximately 40 percent of infertility issues are attributed to men according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
A new study has traced back the evolutionary paths of all the plants that use advanced photosynthesis including maize sugar cane
of which is called leaf blotch and is caused by a fungal pathogen. This disease affects the leaves ears and stems of the barley--decreasing grain quality and reducing crop yields by up to forty per cent.
Bruce Fitt professor of plant pathology at the University of Hertfordshire said: Crops that appear to be clear of disease can suddenly develop leaf blotch symptoms unexpectedly.
The source of the disease is unclear and this has puzzled farmers and researchers alike. However our research shows that the fungal pathogen that causes barley leaf blotch can be found on wild ryegrasses which are common both as weeds within cereal crop fields and in the surrounding field margins.
In the study both DNA and plant testing showed that the leaf blotch pathogen that affects barley can be found on the wild grasses
and was virulent on commonly grown varieties of barley. Professor Fitt continued: Field margins play an important role in creating areas of habitat to support wildlife
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