Plants

How a microbial biorefinery regulates genes
02/15/2013 - 10:09

Digesting lignin, a highly stable polymer that accounts for up to a third of biomass, is a limiting step to producing a variety of biofuels. Researchers at Brown have figured out the microscopic chemical switch that allows Streptomyces bacteria to get to work, breaking lignin down into its constituent parts.

 

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Avoiding virus dangers in ‘domesticating’ wild plants for biofuel use
02/15/2013 - 10:00

In our ongoing quest for alternative energy sources, researchers are looking more to plants that grow in the wild for use in biofuels, plants such as switchgrass. However, attempts to “domesticate” wild-growing plants have a downside, as it could make the plants more susceptible to any number of plant viruses.

 

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Value of modified corn is more in reducing losses than boosting yields
02/14/2013 - 14:30

While there's no end of robust and heated conversation about genetically modified foods, there are strikingly few comprehensive studies that put a numeric value on the costs and benefits.

 

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Only when light, age and energy conditions are right do plants flower
02/09/2013 - 08:46

A plant can reproduce successfully only if it flowers at the appropriate time. Therefore, a complex network of photoreceptors and other proteins has evolved to monitor environmental conditions such as light and temperature. It has long been thought that plants must also ensure that they have sufficient resources for the energy intensive process of building flowers. As scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen now report, the sugar molecule trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) takes on a key role in monitoring energy reserves in thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana, thereby controlling flowering time in relation to energy reserves.

 

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'Zoomable' map of poplar proteins offers new view of bioenergy crop
01/29/2013 - 12:35

Researchers seeking to improve production of ethanol from woody crops have a new resource in the form of an extensive molecular map of poplar tree proteins, published by a team from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Global plant diversity still hinges on local battles against invasives, study suggests
01/19/2013 - 11:28

In Missouri forests, dense thickets of invasive honeysuckle decrease the light available to other plants, hog the attention of pollinators, and offer nutrient-stingy berries to migrating birds. They even release toxins to make it less likely native plants will germinate near them.

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