Some trees growing in nutrient-poor forest soil may get what they need by cultivating specific root microbes to create compounds they require. These microbes are exceptionally efficient at turning inorganic minerals into nutrients that the trees can use.

Scientists have developed a new tool for deciphering the genetics of a native prairie grass being widely studied for its potential as a biofuel. The genetic map of switchgrass is expected to speed up the search for genes that will make the perennial plant a more viable source of bioenergy.

Researchers in Portugal and the U.S. studied the introgression -- the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another -- of rye alien chromatin in the wheat genome, and showed that genomes behave like social entities.

A new article reveals for the first time that microscopic marine algae known as phytoplankton have been declining globally over the 20th century. Phytoplankton forms the basis of the marine food chain and sustains diverse assemblages of species ranging from tiny zooplankton to large marine mammals, seabirds, and fish.

Shade-grown coffee farms support native bees that help maintain the health of some of the world's most biodiverse tropical regions, according to a new study.

Could a "hot" flower attract pollinators by serving as a reward in a plant-pollinator mutualism? Many flowering plants produce nectar and pollen as rewards in exchange for pollination services by insects and other animals. Interestingly, however, a few plants have flowers that also produce heat metabolically -- so what is the adaptive function of this flower heating?

Researchers have shown that even the most widely-varying species of plants share remarkable similarities in the composition of proteins in them that undergo phosphorylation, a regulatory mechanism involved in various cellular phenomena. A database released by the group, with information on over three thousand phosphorylated proteins and phosphorylation sites in rice, opens new doors in the study and engineering of plants.

Genetic analysis of giant pandas has shown that features of their landscape have a profound effect on the movement of genes within their population. Researchers found that physical barriers, such as areas lacking bamboo plants and other forest foliage, can separate giant pandas into isolated genetic groups.

An agricultural scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle, using a key ingredient of the brewer's art: hops.

With a little cross-breeding and some determination, plant physiologist and forage agronomist Dr. Dariusz Malinowski is trying to add more colors to the world of hibiscuses. Malinowski is working on breeding winter-hardy hibiscus in what started as a hobby about four years ago, but in the last year has been added to the strategic plan of the Vernon research program.

A research team has discovered a fundamental entry mechanism that allows dangerous fungal microbes to infect plants and cause disease. The discovery paves the way for the development of new intervention strategies to protect plant, and even some animal cells, from deadly fungal infections.

Citrus growers, beware. Florida winters are getting more extreme, causing plants to flower later and potentially shrinking the growing seasons for some of the state's most vital crops.

Recently, academic debate has been swirling around the existence of unusual quantum mechanical effects in the most ubiquitous of phenomena, including photosynthesis, the process by which organisms convert light into chemical energy. In a new paper, these ideas are put to the test.

Grains, vegetables and fruit taste delicious and are important sources of energy. However, humans cannot digest the main component of plants - the cellulose in the cell wall. Even in ruminants, animals that can metabolize cellulose, the digestibility of the cell wall plays a crucial role in feed utilization. Scientists are therefore looking for ways of increasing the digestibility of animal feed, and of utilizing plant cell walls to generate energy. To do this they must first understand how plant cells develop their cell walls from cellulose and identify the genes and proteins involved. Scientists have now discovered a hitherto unknown protein required for cellulose production.

The sepals of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana -- commonly known as the mouse-eared cress -- are characterized by an outer layer of cells that vary widely in their sizes, and are distributed in equally varied patterns and proportions. Scientists have long wondered how the plant regulates cell division to create these patterns. Melding time-lapse imaging and computer modeling, a team of scientists has provided a somewhat unexpected answer to this question.

By imaging the cell walls of a zinnia leaf down to the nanometer scale, energy researchers have a better idea about how to turn plants into biofuels. A team has used four different imaging techniques to systematically drill down deep into the cells of Zinnia elegans.

Scientists have uncovered a new piece in the puzzle about why some plants flower in spring/autumn and some in summer. They have isolated a gene responsible for regulating the expression of CONSTANS, an important inducer of flowering, in Arabidopsis. This knowledge will enable more predictable flowering, better scheduling and reduced wastage of crops.

The world is a cooler, wetter place because of flowering plants, according to new climate simulation. The effect is especially pronounced in the Amazon basin, where replacing flowering plants with non-flowering varieties would result in an 80 percent decrease in the area covered by ever-wet rainforest.

Researchers in Germany have isolated the substance in cowshed dust that possibly protects farm children from developing allergies and allergic asthma -- namely the plant sugar molecule arabinogalactan. If high concentrations are inhaled during the first year of life, it inhibits the immune system from excessive defense reactions. There are large quantities of this molecule in forage crops such as the Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis). Researchers have now demonstrated experimentally that the molecule affects immune system cells.

Although global grain production must double by 2050 to address rising population and demand, new data suggests crop yields will suffer unless new approaches to adapt crop plants to climate change are adopted. Improved agronomic traits responsible for the remarkable increases in yield accomplished during the past 50 years have reached their ceiling for some of the world's most important crops.