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Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
 GeneticsIt's a gas: New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants In a research report in the November 2009 journal Genetics, scientists show how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes), in the weed Arabidopsis thaliana, are responsible for production of ethylene. This gas affects many aspects of plant development, and this information, which will be applicable to other plants, lays the foundation for future genetic manipulation that could make plants disease resistant, able to survive and thrive in difficult terrain, and increase yields. Contact: Tracey DePellegrin Connelly
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceNew maize map to aid plant breeding efforts A massive survey of genetic diversity in maize has produced a gene map that should pave the way to significant improvements in a plant that is a major source of food, fuel, animal feed and fiber around the world. 
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Pat Bailey
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Plant PhysiologyMaize cell wall genes identified, giving boost to biofuel research Purdue University scientists have helped identify and group the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in maize, an effort that expands their ability to discover ways to produce the biomass best suited for biofuels production. Contact: Brian Wallheimer
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories. Contact: Ron Walli
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceReference genome of maize, most important US crop, is published by team co-led by CSHL scientists A four-year, multi-institutional effort co-led by three Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists culminated today in publication of a landmark series of papers in the journal Science revealing in unprecedented detail the DNA sequence of maize. Maize, or corn, as it is commonly called by North American consumers, is one of the world's most important plants and the most valuable agricultural crop grown in the United States, representing $47 billion in annual value.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Defense
Contact: Peter Tarr
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceU of M plant scientist uncovers clues to yield-boosting quirks of corn genome The offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both of their parents. Characterizing the gene-level variability that leads to this phenomenon, known as heterosis or hybrid vigor, could boost our ability to custom-tailor crops for specific traits, such as high protein content for human consumption or high glucose content for biomass fuel. Contact: Patty Mattern
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
PLoS GeneticsPLoS Genetics 2009 maize genome collection Maize is an important crop in many countries of the world. It is widely used for human consumption, animal feed and industrial materials. It also is considered an exemplar plant species for studying domestication, molecular evolution and genome architecture. The authors of the research presented in this special collection used the first description of the B73 maize genome to probe some of the most intriguing questions in genetics and plant biology. Contact: Tamsin Milewicz
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceSweet corn story begins in UW-Madison lab This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin-Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science. Contact: David C. Schwartz
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceLike humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities.
US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation
Contact: Cameron Currie
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceAfter mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, National Science Foundation
Contact: John Williams
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
American Journal of BotanyThe benefits of stress ... in plants This study finds that certain wild flax plants growing in poor soils have succeeded in balancing the stress in their lives -- these plants are less likely to experience infection from a fungal pathogen. This is the first study to attempt to quantitatively explain how plants have evolved a specialization to serpentine soils and ultimately may help to explain floristic diversity in these unique environments.
California Native Plant Society, Hardman Native Plant Research Fellowship, R. Poulin, UC Davis Genetic Resources Conservation Program
Contact: Richard Hund
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
NatureUCR plant scientist's research spawns new discoveries showing how crops survive drought Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a UC Riverside plant cell biologist has greatly accelerated scientists' knowledge on how plants and crops can survive difficult environmental conditions like drought. In only months since the discovery, six research papers in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature have been published that build on his work, a testament to the interest among plant scientists to nail down how exactly the stress signaling pathway works in plants.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
American Journal of BotanyPlants prefer their kin, but crowd out competition when sharing a pot with strangers Plants don't mind sharing space with their kin but when they're potted with strangers of the same species they start invigorating their leaves, a study by McMaster University reveals. Contact: Michelle Donovan
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Global Change BiologyNew research provides insights into potential ecological costs and cobenefits of REDD A new paper just published in Global Change Biology examines the potential of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism to provoke ecological damage and/or promote ecological cobenefits. Such analysis is key as negotiations and discussions continue between now and early December when the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change holds its 15th Conference of the Parties, where an agreement on REDD may emerge. Contact: Elizabeth Braun
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Global Change BiologyK-State researchers studying link between climate change and cattle nutritional stress A group of researchers has found that any future increases in precipitation would be unlikely to compensate for the declines in forage quality that accompany projected temperature increases. Contact: Joseph Craine
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
PLoS ONEBacterial 'ropes' tie down shifting Southwest Researchers from Arizona State University have discovered that several species of microbes, at least one found prominently in the deserts of the Southwest, have evolved the trait of rope-building to lasso shifting soil substrates. Contact: Margaret Coulombe
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesProtecting the future: How plant stem cells guard against genetic damage Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, have shown how plants can protect themselves against genetic damage caused by environmental stresses. The growing tips of plant roots and shoots have an in-built mechanism that, if it detects damage to the DNA, causes the cell to "commit suicide" rather than pass on its defective DNA.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, European Union
Contact: Andrew Chapple
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Current BiologyNew climate treaty could put species at risk Plans to be discussed at the forthcoming UN climate conference in Copenhagen to cut deforestation in developing countries could save some species from extinction but inadvertently increase the risk to others, scientists believe. Contact: Clare Ryan
Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
American Journal of BotanyCan a plant be altruistic? Although plants have the ability to sense and respond to other plants, their ability to recognize kin and act altruistically has been the subject of few studies. The authors explored kin recognition in Impatiens pallida (yellow jewelweed). By moving their resources into leaves, these plants not only positively affected their own growth, but also negatively affected their competitors' growth. This is the first instance where researchers demonstrated that a plant's response to an aboveground cue is dependent upon the presence of a belowground cue.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Contact: Richard Hund
Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
American Journal of BotanyNew fossil plant discovery links Patagonia to New Guinea in a warmer past Fossil plants provide clues as to what our planet looked like millions of years ago. Identifying fossil plants can be tricky, however, when plant organs fail to be preserved. Researchers recently discovered abundant fossilized specimens of a conifer (previously known as "Libocedrus" prechilensis) found in Argentinean Patagonia. Characterstics ofthese fossils match those currently found only in tropical, montane New Guinea and the Moluccas. This discovery helps to explain the remarkable plant and insect diversity found in Eocene Patagonia.
National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, others
Contact: Richard Hund
Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
Science ExpressIowa State University researcher discovers key to vital DNA, protein interaction Adam Bogdanove, associate professor in plant pathology, was researching the molecular basis of bacterial diseases of rice when he discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances."
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Adam Bogdanove
Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
American Journal of BotanyIn the war between the sexes, the one with the closest fungal relationship wins Researchers found differences in mycorrhizal colonization between males and females. Female plants were more likely to be colonized by the mycorrhizal fungi than male plants. Intersexual competition has been hypothesized to be a likely cause of the spatial segregation of the sexes in D. spicata populations. It may be that the female plants, with the assistance of mycorrhizal fungi, are able to out-compete the male plants for the coveted phosphorous-rich sites within the marsh.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Richard Hund
Public Release: 9-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesWell-traveled wasps provide hope for vanishing species They may only be 1.5 mm in size, but the tiny wasps that pollinate fig trees can travel over 160 km in less than 48 hours, according to research from scientists at the University of Leeds. The fig wasps are transporting pollen ten times further than previously recorded for any insect. The fig wasps travel these distances in search of trees to lay their eggs, which offers hope that trees pollinated by similar creatures have a good chance of surviving if they become isolated through deforestation.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council
Contact: Jo Kelly
Public Release: 9-Nov-2009
NatureDrought resistance explained Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Grenoble, France, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas in Valencia, Spain, discovered that the key to plants' responses to drought lies in the structure of a protein called PYR1 and how it interacts with the plant hormone abscisic acid. Their study, published online today in Nature, could open up new approaches to increasing crops' resistance to water shortage. Contact: Sonia Furtado
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
PLoS PathogensPathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Barry Whyte
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