|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Public Release: 9-Feb-2010
 Journal of Insect PhysiologyResistant wheat goes for the gut to protect against Hessian flies Resistant wheat plants stave off attacks by Hessian fly larvae by essentially destroying the fly's midgut and its ability to absorb nutrients, according to a study by Purdue University and the US Department of Agriculture. 
US Department of Agriculture ARS Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit
Contact: Brian Wallheimer
Public Release: 8-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesBrown biologist solves mystery of tropical grasses' origin Brown University biologist Erika Edwards and a colleague have found that rainfall, not temperature, was the primary trigger for the evolutionary beginnings of C4 tropical grasses. Their results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Contact: Richard Lewis
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
ScienceMoss helps chart the conquest of land by plants Clues to how the first land plants managed to avoid drying out might be provided by bryophytes, a group that includes the mosses, many of which retain remarkable drought tolerance. Some mosses can become so dry they crumble in the hand, but, if remoistened, will begin making proteins within minutes. Research published in the Jan. 29 issue of the journal Science, reveals several components of the signaling pathway that underlies the moss' Lazarus-like behavior. Contact: Diana Lutz
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
Plant DiseaseARS scientists turn to a wild oat to combat crown rust Agricultural Research Service scientists are tapping into the DNA of a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to see if it can help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide.
Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dennis O'Brien
Public Release: 3-Feb-2010
PLoS ONEInvasive plants are beneficiaries of climate change in Thoreau's woods Invasive plants could become even more prevalent and destructive as climate change continues, according to a new analysis of data stretching back more than 150 years. The Harvard University scientists who conducted the study say that non-native plants, and especially invasive species, appear to thrive during times of climate change because they're better able to adjust the timing of annual activities like flowering and fruiting.
Harvard University
Contact: Steve Bradt
Public Release: 3-Feb-2010
Cereal ChemistrySecrets to superb malting barleys explored by ARS researchers ARS scientists are discovering more about what goes on inside malting barley grains as they germinate, or sprout, in the malt house.
US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Marcia Wood
Public Release: 3-Feb-2010
NatureScientists find quantum mechanics at work in photosynthesis A team of University of Toronto chemists have made a major contribution to the emerging field of quantum biology, observing quantum mechanics at work in photosynthesis in marine algae.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Contact: Sean Bettam
Public Release: 2-Feb-2010
ARS researchers develop method to speed up breeding of scab-resistant barley cultivars Agricultural Research Service scientists have developed an efficient and cost-effective method to speed up the breeding of scab-resistant barley cultivars, thus improving crop quality for small-grain breeders in the Northern Plains.
Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Alfredo Flores
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVirus pulls bait and switch on insect vectors A common plant virus lures aphids to infected plants by making the plants more attractive, but when the insects taste the plant, they quickly leave for tastier, healthier ones. In the process, the insects rapidly transmit the disease, according to Penn State entomologists.
US Department of Agriculture
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesHumble garden pea helps Kew scientists develop 'cool,' noninvasive diagnostic test of seed quality Scientists from Kew's Millennium Seed Bank in the United Kingdom and the University of Graz, Austria, have developed a rapid, new method to diagnose seed quality non-invasively and in real time. Contact: Ilse Kranner
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
NatureResearchers fight world hunger by mapping the soybean genome A team of researchers, including University of Missouri researchers, recently completed a study identifying 1.1 million base pairs of DNA in the soybean genome, including more than 90 distinct traits that affect plant development, productive characteristics, disease resistance, seed quality and nutrition, which could lead to extensive crop improvements. Contact: Kelsey Jackson
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Cereal ChemistryStudies provide insight into key oat chemical Studies conducted by Agricultural Research Service scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate production of avenanthramides, metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, in oat grain.
US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Stephanie Yao
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesTobacco plant-made therapeutic thwarts West Nile virus A new therapeutic made from tobacco plants has been shown to arrest West Nile virus infection, according to a new study by Arizona State University scientist Qiang Chen and his colleagues.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Joe Caspermeyer
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesEcologists discover forests are growing faster Speed is not a word typically associated with trees; they can take centuries to grow. However, a new study to be published the week of Feb. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found evidence that forests in the Eastern United States are growing faster than they have in the past 225 years. The study offers a rare look at how an ecosystem is responding to climate change. Contact: Tina Tennessen
Public Release: 31-Jan-2010
Nature BiotechnologyGene function discovery: Guilt by association Scientists have created a new computational model that can be used to predict gene function of uncharacterized plant genes with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The network, dubbed AraNet, has over 19,600 genes associated to each other by over 1 million links and can increase the discovery rate of new genes affiliated with a given trait tenfold. It is a huge boost to fundamental plant biology and agricultural research.
Carnegie Institution for Science, National Research Foundation of Korea, Yonsei University, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Packard Foundation
Contact: Sue Rhee
Public Release: 29-Jan-2010
ARS genetic analysis helps spot sugarcane rusts Agricultural Research Service scientists have analyzed rust fungi from more than 160 sugarcane samples from 25 countries to provide a valuable resource for plant breeders and pathologists who are searching for genetic resistance to the deadly orange and brown rusts.
Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Sean Adams
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
American Journal of BotanyAre new genes always better? Revegetation seems like a beneficial strategy for conserving and restoring damaged ecosystems, and using a variety of species can help increase biodiversity in these systems. But what risks are involved with introducing seeds from other locations to plants located near the damaged site? When new, foreign genes are introduced to a damaged site, neighboring populations may experience initial negative effects; however, over time, the negative effects may diminish and the maladapted foreign genes will decrease.
Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science
Contact: Richard Hund
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
American NaturalistBetter food makes high-latitude animals bigger New research suggests that animals living at high latitudes grow better than their counterparts closer to the equator because higher-latitude vegetation is more nutritious. The study, published in the February issue of the American Naturalist, presents a novel explanation for Bergmann's Rule, the observation that animals tend to be bigger at higher latitudes. Contact: Kevin Stacey
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
The almond tree's secret weapon Has the almond tree developed a unique way of drawing potential pollinators? A group of researchers at the department of environmental and evolutionary biology and the department of science education at the University of Haifa-Oranim speculate that the toxin called amygdalin that is found in almond tree nectar is in fact an evolutionary development intended to give that tree an advantage over others in its surroundings. Contact: Rachel Feldman
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early EditionThe roots of food security Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, describe that the plant hormone auxin together with an increased cell cycle activity leads to a boost in root branching in the common thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana. In addition, they showed that two proteins that are crucial for embryo development also play a critical role in root branching. These results could be used to raise plants that are fast-growing even in dry and nutrient-poor soils.
Max Planck Society
Contact: Ive De Smet
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
PLoS BiologyGreen energy management Plants use energy derived from sunlight to form sugars from carbon dioxide and water by the process of photosynthesis. Recent discoveries made by a research group at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich provide new insights into the control circuit that enables plants to make optimal use of incident light. Contact: Prof. Dr. Dario Leister
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Helpful yeast battles food-contaminating aflatoxin Pistachios, almonds and other popular tree nuts might someday be routinely sprayed with a yeast called Pichia anomala to help protect against aflatoxin contamination, according to an Agricultural Research Service plant physiologist.
Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Sandy Miller Hays
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
The Plant CellGreen plant transport mystery solved Contrary to prevailing wisdom, a new study from plant biologists at UC Davis shows that proteins of the Hsp70 family do indeed chaperone proteins across the membranes of chloroplasts, just as they do for other cellular structures.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: Andy Fell
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
NaturwissenschaftenNatural pest control saves coffee berry A predator for the devastating coffee berry borer has just been discovered in Africa. Dr. Juliana Jaramillo from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya and Dr. Eric Chapman from the University of Kentucky have identified a previously unknown predatory thrips which feeds on the eggs and larvae of the coffee berry borer. Their study is published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften -- The Science of Nature.
German Research Foundation, University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station State Project
Contact: Joan Robinson
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Sweet success for sustainable biofuel research Scientists have found a way to increase fermentable sugar stores in plants which could lead to plant biomass being easier to convert into eco-friendly sustainable biofuels. Their research is highlighted in the latest issue of Business, the quarterly highlights magazine of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Contact: Tracey Jewitt
|
|
|
||||
|
|
 |
|
