An impressive body of evidence published this week reveals the answer to a mystery that has puzzled plant scientists for more than 30 years: the role of the molecule suberin in the leaves of some of our most productive crops.
A team of scientists have measured the relative importance of the different obstacles that carbon dioxide (CO2) encounters in its voyage from the atmosphere to the interior of plant cells. This research leading method provides much needed information that will help to increase the yield of important food crops.
Threatened Australian animal and plant species have been given a major lifeline, thanks to new funding for a new database that contains 100-years of flora and fauna DNA.
Research into the self-destruction of cells in humans and plants could lead to treatments for brain diseases and the development of disease-resistant plants.
Professor Owen Atkin is a Group Leader at RSB Plant Sciences, the Vice Chancellor's Entrepreneurial Professor at ANU, and the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT) - a collaboration between ANU and CSIRO, with investment from the ACT Government.
Source-to-sink allocation of, and sink-to-sink competition for, photoassimilates, mainly in the form of sucrose, play a key role in determining energy and resource distribution in plants for growth and reproduction.
Rhynchosporium commune is a pathogenic fungus causing barley scald disease. Although scald disease has become a significant issue for commercial barley growers, the molecular mechanisms underpinning the disease are poorly understood.
Seeds provide 70% of global food resources, being the most valuable output from plant production. They also play a critical role in agriculture because the lifecycle of most crops begins from seed germination.
C4 photosynthesis involves a number of biochemical and anatomical traits that significantly improve plant productivity under conditions that reduce the efficiency of C3 photosynthesis.
Nitrogen (N) is a primary nutrient that is essential to the survival of all living organisms. Crops are inefficient in their N use, losing 50-70% of applied N, which transforms to reactive nitrogen Nr, to the environment.
The interaction of C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDEs (CEPs) with CEP RECEPTOR1 (CEPR1) controls root growth and development, as well as nitrate uptake, but the underlying protein interactions involved are yet to be comprehensively defined.