which allow them to consume more tree bark and less fruit but they are still dependent on natural forests for their long term survival.
which allow them to consume more tree bark and less fruit but they are still dependent on natural forests for their long term survival.
it also attacks five other tuber pests. The researchers then did a laboratory test of a formula based on this virus. The result was as efficient as chemical products:
because fallen branches and trees tend to be cleared away. This wood if available ought to be decomposing as it is the habitat of many living beings like lignicolous fungi.
After classifying the debris the fungal species existing in each were identified in other words the community of fungi existing in each twig.
How plants set the angles of their branchesresearchers at the University of Leeds have discovered how plants set the angles of their branches.
and maintain the angle of their lateral branches relative to gravity. The mechanism is fundamental to understanding the shape of the plants around us:
explaining how for instance a young Lombardy poplar sends its branches up close to the vertical while an oak sapling's spread is much flatter.
different varieties within species often have very distinct root-system architectures that are determined mainly by the growth angle of lateral roots Kepinski said.
and shoot branches is not usually set relative to the main root or stem from which they grow but relative to gravity.
If a plant is put on its side these branches will begin a phase of bending growth known as gravitropism that reorientates them back toward their original angle of growth relative to gravity.
In the case of the main root or stem which grows upright the mechanism is understood well:
gravity sensing cells called statocytes detect that the plant has been tilted prompting an increase in the movement of a growth-regulating hormone called auxin to the lower side of the shoot or root and driving upward growth
in the shoot and downward growth in the root. When growing vertically again the statocytes stop sending more auxin to one side than the other and the bending growth stops.
The conundrum for the researchers was that many of the angles in branch and root architectures are at an angle to gravity rather than being completely upright.
Scientists did not understand how plants were able to set relative to gravity the particular non-vertical angle of growth for their branches--known as their gravitropic set-point angle--that determines their architecture.
We have found that another growth component--the'anti-gravitropic offset'--counteracts the normal gravitropic growth in these lateral branches.
This offset mechanism sustains growth on the other side of a branch from the gravity-sensitive growth
and prevents the branch from being moved beyond a set angle to the vertical. It turns out that this countervailing growth is driven also by auxin the same hormone that causes gravity responsive growth on the lower side of the branch.
Branches that are growing close to the vertical have a weak anti-gravitropic offset while in branches that are growing out at shallow angles away from the vertical the anti-gravitropic offset is relatively strong.
Dr Kepinski added: You can compare it to the way a tank or paddle steamer is steered.
If you want to straighten up you balance the speeds--or in our case the'speed'of growth on either side of the branch.
In a given non-vertical branch the anti-gravitropic offset is constant while gravity responsive growth increases in magnitude according to how far the branch is away from the vertical generating a robust system for maintaining a whole array of branch angles.
The Leeds team proved the presence of the offset by using a clinostat which slowly rotates a plant growing on its side thereby withdrawing a stable gravity reference
and root branches displayed an outward bending growth away from the main root and shoot that would normally be masked by the interaction with gravity-sensitive growth.
The angle of growth of branches is an exceptionally important adaptation because it determines the plant's capacity to capture resource above and below ground.
Similarly in the shoot a plant might gain an advantage from having more steeply pitched branches to avoid shading from neighbouring plants.
because breeders and seed companies want to be able to alter plant architecture to optimise the performance of crops.
For example lateral root growth angle has been shown to be critical for increasing nutrient uptake in both broadleaf and cereal crop species. Our findings provide tools
Professor Edward Cocking Director of The University of Nottingham's Centre for Crop Nitrogen fixation has developed a unique method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots.
when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he discovered could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants.
Applied to the cells of plants (intracellular) via the seed it provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix nitrogen.
Plant seeds are coated with these bacteria in order to create a symbiotic mutually beneficial relationship and naturally produce nitrogen.
Larvae of some species in the order Tetraodontiforme like the pufferfish and those in the order Lophiiforme like the anglerfish are strikingly similar in having the trunks of their bodies enclosed in an inflated yellow sac.
The fruit and seeds of the oil palm are the source of nearly one-half of the supply of edible vegetable oil worldwide
and land usethe discovery of the Shell gene and its two naturally occurring mutations highlight new molecular strategies to identify seeds
Seed producers can now use the genetic marker for the Shell gene to distinguish the three fruit forms in the nursery long before they are field-planted.
The authors warn that such plantations greatly reduce areas available for seed dispersing wildlife. Another emerging problem for Central africa's forests is the migration of large numbers of people into remote forests around the new plantations
They add that efficiently managed multiple-use landscapes--combining protected areas alongside logging concessions--can maintain the seed-dispersing species
The removal of seed-dispersing megafauna such as elephants and apes could reduce the ability of forests to sequester carbon.
Their floral sweethearts produce significantly fewer seeds a new study finds. The study to be published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences focused on the interactions between bumblebees and larkspur wildflowers in Colorado's Rocky mountains.
We found that these wildflowers produce one-third fewer seeds in the absence of just one bumblebee species says Emory University ecologist Berry Brosi who led the study.
while it's in bloom then a few weeks later move on to the next species in bloom.
Larkspurs produced about one-third fewer seeds when one of the bumblebee species was removed compared to the larkspurs in the control groups.
and pressure created by the steam were sufficient to kill not just living microbes but also spores and viruses.
Loss of trees could impact on climate change as forests store carbon in their stems
and branches helping to reduce the amount of harmful carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Tracking changes in woodland across the continent may help scientists better understand their effect on weather patterns
The soil around the roots was similar before and after growing wheat but peas and oats reset of the diversity of microbes said Professor Poole.
The best seed needs to be combined with the best agronomic practices to get the full potential benefits.
Seeds can be inoculated with bacteria before planting out just like humans taking a dose of friendly bacteria.
The scientists also grew an oat variety unable to produce normal levels of avenacin a compound that protects roots from fungal pathogens.
and effects on soil microbes surrounding the roots said Professor Poole. Scientists breeders and farmers can make the most of these effects not only with
In rice the syndrome includes loss of shattering (the seeds don't break off the central grain stalk before harvest) increase in seed size
and loss of dormancy (the seeds all germinate at once and can be harvested at once). Do the same genetic mutations underlie the emergence of these traits in both the Asian
-colored hulls and white grains of both Asian and African cultivated rice. So both Asian and African cultivated rice broke at roughly the same places under selection pressure from early farmers.
Many species feed on foliage and seeds whereas others bore through stems and fruits. Larvae of some species are known as cutworms
and live in the soil near the soil surface and they bite off young plants just above ground level at night.
However it has also been suggested that species characteristics are less important as determinants of plant establishment success than other factors such as seed availability or environmental characteristics like dense vegetation.
They varied the introduced seed number and manipulated soil disturbance. Then they observed carefully which of the sown plant species established in the field.
At the same time the scientists conducted several greenhouse experiments to assess as accurately as possible the characteristics of each species--from seed mass
The winners are defended well against herbivoresthe Bernese plant scientists could show that at the beginning of the experiment mainly species with a high seed mass germinated in the grasslands.
In addition a high number of seeds sown increased early establishment success . However the importance of factors changed during the course of the study.
or ingredients especially those high in dietary fiber cereals and plant extracts nuts and seeds.
and filling in uncharted branches in the bacterial and archaeal tree of life. In an international collaboration led by the U s. Department of energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) the most recent findings from exploring microbial dark matter were published online July 14 2013 in the journal Nature.
and these would have to be selected based on being members of underrepresented branches on the tree.
which live in its roots and help to fix Nitrogen into the soil benefitting not just the clover but all the meadow seedlings.
and windpipes created from stem cells this is the first time 3d printing has been used to treat tracheobronchomalacia--at least in a human.
In future trials Wheeler plans to add stem cells to the splint in order to accelerate healing.
#Plant molecular biologist are getting to the root of the matterworking to identify key genes in the root development of poplar trees three Michigan Technological University scientists have come up with a new model for how genes interact
They also identified a network of genes that cause poplar roots to grow well in low-nitrogen soil making them ideal candidates for biofuel tree plantations on marginal lands.
and causes increases in algal blooms greenhouse gases and insects like mosquitoes that carry disease.
Nobody knew the mechanisms of how low nitrogen affects plant roots Busov explains. They turned to the poplar for their studies
Surprisingly the roots got larger and longer says Yordanov. We think that the roots were looking for nitrogen Busov suggests.
But what is the genetic machinery behind this growth? The scientists did a series of experiments over time under the same experimental conditions to identify the genes involved in the changes they observed.
and the roots grow 58 percent more than controls'says Busov. What Wei wound up with is a new model of how genes function together.
Our discovery of a second receptor in the mosquitoes'sodium channel gives us a better understanding of how the insecticide works at a molecular level as well as could lead to ways to stem mosquitoes'resistance to pyrethroids.
The fire-haze episode straddling the Strait of Malacca in June 2013 has reignited a decades-long debate about responsibility.
and deeper rootsplants with thinner roots can grow deeper a trait which could be exploited in lands affected by drought and nutrient deprivation.
New research to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on July 5 shows that maize roots which have fewer cortical cells in the outer layer of their roots are more efficient at accessing water and nutrients.
A research team headed by Prof Jonathan Lynch at the Pennsylvania State university United states found that maize roots show natural variation in the number of cortical cells in their roots which can be selected preferentially for cultivation on land where deep roots are an advantage.
A field study in collaboration with the Bunda College of Agriculture in Malawi shows that a lower number of cortical cells reduces the energetic cost of soil exploration by the roots.
By combining this trait with other plant traits such as improved disease resistance the researchers expect that there is potential to produce improved seeds for agriculture.
and plant tissues killed and collected on known dates from 1905 to 2008. The samples included elephant tusks and molars hippo tusks and canine teeth oryx horn hair from monkeys and elephant tails and some grasses collected in Kenya in 1962.
but with a mechanism they had never been able to observe according to Dr. Hays Rye Texas A&m Agrilife Research biochemist.
and how they interact with each other in a complicated network said Rye who also is associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&m.
Rye explained that individual amino acids get linked together like beads on a string as a protein is made in the cell.
Rye said researchers have been trying to understand this process for more than 50 years but in a living cell the process is complicated by the presence of many proteins in a concentrated environment.
and just sort of buzz along inside a cell driving a protein folding reaction every few seconds Rye said.
They are bound together like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle Rye explained. And the proteins--those little beads on the string that are designed to fold up like origami--are folded to position all these beads in three-dimensional space to perfectly wrap around those molecules
or folds incorrectly it turns into an aggregate which Rye described as white goo that looks kind of like a mayonnaise like crud in the test tube.
Rye's team focused on a key molecular chaperone--the HSP60. They're called HSP for'heat shock protein
and unfold Rye said. The cell is built to respond by making more of the chaperones to try
and literally puts it inside a little'box'Rye said. He added that the mystery had long been how the folding worked
Rye and the team zeroed in on a chemically modified mutant that in other experiments had seemed to stall at an important step in the process that the machine goes through to start the folding action.
and view a structure as a three-dimensional model Rye said. What the team saw was this:
Rye collaborated on the research with Dong-Hua Chen and Wah Chiu at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Damian Madan and Zohn Lin at Princeton university Jeremy Weaver at Texas A&m
but with a mechanism they had never been able to observe according to Dr. Hays Rye Texas A&m Agrilife Research biochemist.
and how they interact with each other in a complicated network said Rye who also is associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&m.
Rye explained that individual amino acids get linked together like beads on a string as a protein is made in the cell.
Rye said researchers have been trying to understand this process for more than 50 years but in a living cell the process is complicated by the presence of many proteins in a concentrated environment.
and just sort of buzz along inside a cell driving a protein folding reaction every few seconds Rye said.
They are bound together like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle Rye explained. And the proteins--those little beads on the string that are designed to fold up like origami--are folded to position all these beads in three-dimensional space to perfectly wrap around those molecules
or folds incorrectly it turns into an aggregate which Rye described as white goo that looks kind of like a mayonnaise like crud in the test tube.
Rye's team focused on a key molecular chaperone--the HSP60. They're called HSP for'heat shock protein
and unfold Rye said. The cell is built to respond by making more of the chaperones to try
and literally puts it inside a little'box'Rye said. He added that the mystery had long been how the folding worked
Rye and the team zeroed in on a chemically modified mutant that in other experiments had seemed to stall at an important step in the process that the machine goes through to start the folding action.
and view a structure as a three-dimensional model Rye said. What the team saw was this:
Rye collaborated on the research with Dong-Hua Chen and Wah Chiu at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Damian Madan and Zohn Lin at Princeton university Jeremy Weaver at Texas A&m
While mature trees can use their roots to tap water deeper in the soil competition with dense understory vegetation can make it difficult for seedlings to survive.
and increase tree survival after wildfire as well as provide a seed source for future trees Dodson said.
Resistance gene found against Ug99 wheat stem rust pathogenthe world's food supply got a little more plentiful thanks to a scientific breakthrough.
stem rust pathogen--called Ug99--that was discovered first in Uganda in 1999. The discovery may help scientists develop new wheat varieties
and strategies that protect the world's food crops against the wheat stem rust pathogen that is spreading from Africa to the breadbaskets of Asia
The team's study Identification of Wheat Gene Sr35 that Confers Resistance to Ug99 Stem Rust Race Group appears in the journal Science.
It identifies the stem rust resistance gene named Sr35 and appears alongside a study from an Australian group that identifies another effective resistance gene called Sr33.
Wheat stem rust is caused by a fungal pathogen. According to Akhunov since the 1950s wheat breeders have been able to develop wheat varieties that are largely resistant to this pathogen.
First they chemically mutagenized the resistant accession of wheat to identify plants that become susceptible to the stem rust pathogen.
and showed resistance to the Ug99 race of stem rust. Now that the resistance gene has been found Akhunov
Their larvae emerge the following spring and feast on the roots of newly planted corn.
During these timber salvage operations crews are building roads and moving a lot of soil and seed.
The older seed-producing trees were often found upwind from the sites of the recent ailanthus growth.
Pistil leads pollen in life -and-death dancepollination essential to much of life on earth requires the explosive death of the male pollen tube in the female ovule.
In new research Brown University scientists describe the genetic and regulatory factors that compel the male's role in the process.
In this dance the female pistil leads the male pollen tubes follow and at the finish the tubes explode and die.
In normal pollination sperm-carrying pollen grains land on the pistil's tip or stigma and grow tubes down its style to reach the ovaries in the ovules at the pistil's base.
Once the tubes reach their destination they burst open and release their sperm to fertilize each of the two ovaries in every ovule.
Last year for instance Johnson and his research group showed how for all the hundreds of pollen tubes that grow through the pistil each ovule receives exactly two fertile sperm.
The moves in the dance between the pollen and the pistil are a back -and-forth of signals as the pollen tube is growing.
It's quite a dynamic system that happens over the course of a few hours. Making the male listenin the new paper Johnson's group led by third-year graduate student Alexander Leydon sought to discover what convinces the male pollen tubes to stop growing
and burst when they reach the ovule. Scientists have begun to understand the female's commands
What they knew from a prior study is that the gene expression in pollen tubes that had grown through a pistil was much different than that of pollen tubes grown in the lab. Leydon's first step
or transcription factors were at work in pistil-grown pollen tubes but not in the lab-grown ones.
and found under the microscope that these transcription factors accumulated in the nuclei of the pollen tubes as they grew in the pistil.
The pollen tubes from all three plants reliably made it to ovules but in 70 percent of the ovules encountered by the triple mutants the pollen tubes didn't stop growing and then burst.
Instead they kept growing coiling and remaining intact. The pollen tube gets to the right place
which you'd think is the hardest part Johnson said. But once it gets there it's unable to hear the message from the female to stop growing and burst.
which pollen tube-expressed genes were being regulated by the MYB transcription factors. In pollen tubes that had grown through pistils they found 11 that were grossly underexpressed in the mutated pollen tubes compared to normal ones.
Finally they looked at what those genes do. They encode a variety of tasks but one in particular got Leydon's attention
In other words expressing that gene could be pushing the pollen tube's self-destruct mechanism. This is not just a dialogue
and determining whether thionin is indeed the pollen tube buster that the genes and their MYB-related expression seem to indicate.
but fertilization often fails at the pollen tube burst -and-release step. Among crop plants pollination means food.
either central or peripheral on the corolla (or petals) of the flower. They found that both visual properties had significant effects on flower choice.
They develop gastrointestinal and other symptoms from eating wheat barley rye and other grains that contain gluten-related proteins.
or glabrous canary seed which lacks the tiny hairs of the seed traditionally produced as food for caged birds.
which allowed the team to track the carbon levels by periodically taking leaf root and dead animal samples.
At the same time the grasses stored more carbon in their roots in a response to being disturbed at low levels
In addition to sequencing the genome of Leucoagaricus gongylophorous the fungus cultivated by leaf-cutting ants the researchers looked at the genomes of entire living garden communities.
In a symbiotic relationship L. gongylophorous provides food for the leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes by developing fruiting bodies rich in fats amino acids and other nutrients.
To fuel production of these fruiting bodies the fungus needs sugar which comes in the form of long cellulose molecules packed inside the leaf clippings the ants deliver.
To get at the sugars the fungus produces enzymes that break the cellulose apart into glucose subunits.
Enzymes such as those of the leaf-cutting ants'fungus specialize in breaking down leaves but understanding how they work in the context of the ant community could help researchers create similar methods for processing cellulosic biofuel feedstocks such as corn stalks and grasses.
The researchers are discovering however that both the beauty and the challenge of the leaf-cutter ant garden lie in its complexity.
A peek into UW-Madison's resident colony in the Microbial Sciences Building reveals a metropolis of brown insects bustling around the pale pitted surface of the fungus garden many with leaf sections held aloft.
By coppicing the plants after a period of growth or cutting the plants back from a single stem just a few inches from the ground Kling explained that this process allows the plant to grow back with multiple stems coming from the base
The second experiment involved obtaining seed sources internationally through the USDA including seeds from Afghanistan Uzbekistan and Iran.
Seeds were taken also from the site of a remediated quarry area in Vermillion County where they found native black locust growing.
The seeds and seedlings for the two new evaluations were treated in greenhouses over the winter
if it's mowed the stiltgrass will just produce seeds on tiny little plants. It's better to wait until the grass matures a little--not to the point where it's actually making seeds
but just before that stage--and then pull it up by the roots. On the other hand Snetselaar notes pulling up Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) a notorious invader isn't recommended
because it can re-grow from even the tiniest bit of root. Herbicides and repeated cutting and bagging of the stems are prescribed the approaches.
Invasive plants are likely to keep most of us busy for a long time Snetselaar says and factors that we can't control such as climate change
and proteins involved in each of these branch pathways and this might help us manipulate the discrete functions this hormone regulates Ecker says.
and dead biomass as well as the belowground organic soil horizon mineral soil horizon and roots Friedland said. Co-authors included Dartmouth's Thomas Buchholz a former postdoctoral student and Claire Hornig a recent undergraduate student and researchers from the University of Vermont Lund University in Sweden and the Vermont Department
and even after adoption of the practice by many farmers harmful algal blooms were still occurring in surface waters.
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