Climate change is affecting the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events such as floods, reducing crop production severely. Submergence might lead to a lack of O2, light, and carbon dioxide, having an impact on the carbohydrate content and ATP synthesis. In this work, Xiangxiang et al. characterise…

Soil salinity is a major stress that hampers plant growth, but plants have evolved signaling pathways to sense and respond to salinity.  Zhou and colleagues have recently reported a novel pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana that that involves a peptide ligand, PAMP-INDUCED SECRETED PEPTIDE 3  (PIP3) and…

Release of scents or volatile compounds influence pollinator preference for or localisation of many flora. In excess of 1,700 distinct floral scents have been classified to date, yet our understanding of biosynthetic processes associated with many scents is limited. Kang et al. recently determined the…

Light, temperature, substrate moisture and oxygen availability are renowned germination triggers for wetland species. However, wetlands sediments are a significant source of gases that might shape the species germination behavior, such as ethylene –a renowned germination promoter. Still, little is…

Machine Learning (ML) is described by Wikipedia as ‘the study of computer algorithms that can improve automatically through experience and by the use of data’. In agronomy, machine learning can predict important crop traits (including yield) by analysing the large datasets such as data generated…

Review: The great diversity in kinds of seed dormancy: a revision of the Nikolaeva–Baskin classification system for primary seed dormancy ($) In 1967, Marianna G. Nikolaeva presented the first detailed system to classify seed dormancy based on its causes and the conditions required to break it.…

Liguo Jia, first author of "Potato tuber degradation is regulated by carbohydrate metabolism: Results of transcriptomic analysis" Current Position: Associate professor at College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Huhhot, China. Education: PhD (Plant Biology) in HongKong Baptist…

Franziska Fichtner, first author of "Plasticity of bud outgrowth varies at cauline and rosette nodes in Arabidopsis thaliana" Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, ARC Centre of Excellence in Nature and Agriculture and the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St…