Entries by Diwen Wang

Review: Challenges to improving plant growth through introduced microbes

Plants are closely associated with large numbers of microbes that live in, on, and around them; these are collectively called the plant microbiota. Microbes can be pathogenic, neutral, or beneficial. Beneficial microbes might enhance nutrient uptake by the plant or suppress pathogenic microbes. There is growing interest in using introduced microbes to support plant growth, […]

From friend to threat: the mutualist-pathogen transition of plant-fungal interaction is determined by a small gene cluster

The infection modes of microbes in hosts can be reversible and can range from pathogenic to mutualistic, depending on the environmental conditions. The plant-associated fungus Colletotrichum tofieldiae (Ct) has been shown to promote primary root growth and increase shoot fresh weight of Arabidopsis in phosphate deficit conditions. However, Hiruma et al. identified a strain, Ct3, […]

Happy Life, Happy Science

While many people are enjoying what feels like “life as usual” following the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is one truth we cannot deny: life has irrevocably altered. The technology enabling virtual communication and digital media has advanced extraordinarily over the past several years, during which people relied extensively on technology and the internet to connect […]