Plants Content

How Plants Become Bushy, or Not

Andy Fell — August 06, 2024 - 3:50pm

For many plants, more branches means more fruit. But what causes a plant to grow branches? New research from the University of California, Davis shows how plants break down the hormone strigolactone, which suppresses branching, to become more “bushy.” Understanding how strigolactone is regulated could have big implications for many crop plants.

The study was published August 1 in Nature Communications.

Modern Plants Show More Insect Damage Than Fossilized Plants

Andy Fell — October 14, 2022 - 4:26pm

Despite widespread insect declines, plants are experiencing “unprecedented levels of insect damage” in comparison to their fossilized counterparts, according to new research by a trio of scientists including 69�� entomologist Emily Meineke.

Study Challenges Evolutionary Theory That DNA Mutations Are Random

Amy M Quinton — January 12, 2022 - 8:00am

69�� researchers have found that DNA mutations are not random. This changes our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer.

Drought Changes Root Microbiome

Andy Fell — July 22, 2021 - 8:01am

Drought can have a lasting impact on the community of microbes that live in and around roots of rice plants, a team led by 69�� researchers has found. Root-associated microbes help plants take up nutrients from the soil, so the finding could help in understanding how rice responds to dry spells and how it can be made more resilient to drought. The work is published July 22 in Nature Plants.

California’s Climate Refugia: Mapping the Stable Places

Katherine E Kerlin — June 08, 2020 - 10:30am

Some landscapes can hold their own against climate change better than others. A study from the University of California, Davis, maps these places, called “climate refugia,” where existing vegetation is most likely to buffer the impacts of climate change through the end of the century.

What the Ancient CO2 Record May Mean for Future Climate Change

Katherine E Kerlin — October 24, 2016 - 11:08am

The last time Earth experienced both ice sheets and carbon dioxide levels within the range predicted for this century was a period of major sea level rise, melting ice sheets and upheaval of tropical forests.

The repeated restructuring of tropical forests at the time played a major role in driving climate cycles between cooler and warmer periods, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis and published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Diversity as Natural Pesticide

Katherine E Kerlin — October 12, 2016 - 11:50am

Monoculture crops provide the nutrient levels insect pests crave, explains a study led by the University of California, Davis, in the journal Nature. Returning plant diversity to farmland could be a key step toward sustainable pest control.

Plant Scientist Named as Hughes Scholar

Andy Fell — September 22, 2016 - 4:32pm

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has named Siobhan Brady, a plant scientist at 69��, among the 2016 class of HHMI Faculty Scholars. The award will support Brady’s research on gene networks that regulate growth of plant roots for the next five years.

Sunflowers Move by the Clock

Andy Fell — August 04, 2016 - 1:56pm

Plant biologists at 69�� and colleagues have discovered how sunflowers use their internal circadian clock, acting on growth hormones, to follow the sun during the day as they grow. Following the sun allows the plants to grow faster and put on more biomass. Mature flowers face east, where warm morning sun encourages pollinators.

Newly Identified Enzyme May Be the Culprit in Pierce’s Disease Grapevine Damage

Patricia Bailey — January 12, 2016 - 12:00am

69�� plant scientists have identified an enzyme that appears to play a key role in the insect-transmitted bacterial infection of grapevines with Pierce’s disease, which annually costs California’s grape and wine industries more than $100 million.

The researchers hope that the discovery, which runs counter to existing theories, will lead to new diagnostics and potential treatments for Pierce’s disease. Their findings are reported in Scientific Reports, an online journal of the Nature Publishing Group.