Science. Oxygen levels have been declining in oceans since the middle of the 20th century, largely because of global warming phenomena and human-driven nutrient enrichment of coastal regions. These effects have enhanced microbial oxygen intake, altering the cycles of nutrients and carbon, and lowering oxygen solubility and rates of oxygen atmospheric resupply in some areas. […]
PLOS Comp. Biol. No doubt, science communication is a struggle for many scientists and science institutions. There is an increasing need to improve public science understanding and/or engagement. Good science communication is crucial to help recruit next generation scientist, highlight science’s role and impact in day-to-day life, and even help with dissemination of findings among […]
Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are proteins involved in cell wall growth and are therefore required for plant growth processes. Fabrice et al. use pollen tube development in Arabidopsis thaliana as a vegetative plant growth model to elucidate the role of LRXs in these cellular processes. All 4 LRX genes expressed in pollen (LRX8, LRX9, LRX10, […]
Bees and other pollinators experience the world in a different way to humans. They use different strategies in order to identify their surroundings, including their preferred flower species. Among these strategies, floral temperature. These differential “floral warming” happens due to floral thermogenesis or due to captured solar radiation. Harrap et al. report in their study […]
Plant-to-plant communication allows plant neighbors to be warned by plant peers of stresses such as herbivory activity, sometimes by triggering priming processes. Systemin is an 18-amino acid hormone, firstly identified in tomato as a inducer of the wound response. Coppola et al. report the role of systemin application/overexpression in communication between source tomaro plants (S) […]
In future years, climate change may cause significant economic losses to countries worldwide. Consequently, genetic improvement of crops fit for drought-stressed and semi-arid regions is becoming a must. In this review, Crossa et al. assess the advances in genetic selection (GS) and genomic-enabled prediction (GP) theory in comparison with the traditional phenotypic selection; and evaluate […]
In vascular plants, structure and composition of microbial endosphere associations has not been studied much in the specific context of vascular diseases. This is the case of Pierce’s disease which is caused by Xylella fastidiosa and affects multiple crops and ornamental plants. This bacterium is currently regarded as a major threat in Europe, affecting very […]
In plants the location of microbes to specific cell types, including endophytes, is still scarcely described in contrast with the situation in the animal kingdom. Shehata et al. describe a bacterial endophyte (Strain 3F11, possibly Enterobacter asburiae) from Zea nicaraguensis, a wild corn growing at a Nicaraguan swamp located above rock phosphorus (P) lava flowing […]