Новости науки и практики // Апрель 2021

Researchers show where and how plants detect the nutrient potassium

Newly discovered group of cells in the root tip reacts to potassium deficiency and directs signalling pathways mediating plant adaptation.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uom-rsw032321.php

A divided cell is a doubled cell. Division and growth of synthetic vesicles

One big challenge for the production of synthetic cells is that they must be able to divide to have offspring. Scientists have now introduced a reproducible division mechanism for synthetic vesicles. It is based on osmosis and can be controlled by an enzymatic reaction or light.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210325115335.htm

В ходе адаптации к теплу или холоду ферменты находят одни и те же решения типовых эволюционных задач

Адаптация к различным температурным условиям — процесс, можно сказать, вездесущий, ведь всем живым существам приходится так или иначе приспосабливаться к определенному диапазону температур. Поэтому на примере температурной адаптации удобно изучать общие закономерности эволюции ферментов.

https://elementy.ru/novosti_nauki/433780/V_khode_adaptatsii_k_teplu_ili_kholodu_fermenty_nakhodyat_odni_i_te_zhe_resheniya_tipovykh_evolyutsionnykh_zadach

A trade-off between plant and soil carbon storage under elevated CO₂

Terrer et al. synthesized data from 108 eCO₂ (elevated CO₂) experiments and found that the effect of eCO₂ on SOC (soil organic carbon) stocks is best explained by a negative relationship with plant biomass: when plant biomass is strongly stimulated by eCO₂, SOC storage declines; conversely, when biomass is weakly stimulated, SOC storage increases.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03306-8?utm_campaign=The%20Week%20in%20Botany&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter

Root hairs more important than root exudate in rhizosheath formation

Exudates did bind soil to the roots, but were unable to compensate for the absence of root hairs.

https://www.botany.one/2021/03/root-hairs-more-important-than-root-exudate-in-rhizosheath-formation/?utm_campaign=The%20Week%20in%20Botany&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter

The shape of “baby plants” in the amaranth family show adaptations to extreme habitats
Adaptation to extreme habitats starts in the seed.

https://www.botany.one/2021/03/the-shape-of-baby-plants-in-the-amaranth-family-show-adaptations-to-extreme-habitats/

Predicting transcriptional responses to cold stress across plant species
Meng et al. show that models trained using data on which genes respond to cold in one species can predict which genes will respond to cold in related species, even when the training and target species vary in their degree of tolerance to cold.

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/10/e2026330118

Plants remember drought

During drought, plants use a signalling molecule known from animals to limit their water loss. The molecule provides them with a kind of memory of how dry the day was.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210329122823.htm

Eat me: The cell signal of death

An 'eat-me' signal displayed on cell surfaces requires activation of a lipid-scrambling protein by a nuclear protein fragment. Scientists have revealed molecular mechanisms involved in eliminating unwanted cells in the body. A nuclear protein fragment released into the cytoplasm activates a plasma membrane protein to display a lipid on the cell surface, signalling other cells to get rid of it.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210326085234.htm

New protein helps carnivorous plants sense and trap their prey

The brush of an insect's wing is enough to trigger a Venus flytrap to snap shut, but the biology of how these plants sense and respond to touch is still poorly understood, especially at the molecular level. Now, a new study identifies what appears to be a key protein involved in touch sensitivity for flytraps and other carnivorous plants.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210325101221.htm

Photosynthesis could be as old as life itself

Researchers find that the earliest bacteria had the tools to perform a crucial step in photosynthesis, changing how we think life evolved on Earth.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210324142839.htm

Бактерии помогают растениям выдержать жару

Корневые микробы от жароустойчивых растений помогают пшенице справиться с температурным стрессом.

https://nkj.ru/news/41061/

Chemical signal in plants reduces growth processes in favor of defense

Beta-cyclocitral produced by plants after herbivore attack increases defense responses while inhibiting the production of metabolites for growth.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210309153848.htm

Plants as protein factories: Antioxidant boosts the yield of valuable biologics

A research team finds that spraying leaves with vitamin C prevents cell death and enhances production of high-value pharmaceutical proteins in plants.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210309114328.htm

Genome scalpel invented for industrial microalgae to efficiently turn CO2 into biofuel

Researchers have stripped hundred-kilobase genome from a type of oil-producing microalgae, knocking out genes non-essential for it to function. By doing so, they have created a "genome scalpel" that can trim microalgal genomes rapidly and creatively.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/caos-gsi031721.php

Starting small to answer the big questions about photosynthesis

Using hybrid membranes that mimic natural plant membranes and advanced microscopes, researchers are opening photosynthesis to nanoscale investigation - the study of life at less than one billionth of a metre - to reveal the behaviour of individual protein molecules.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uol-sst031121.php

Выяснилось, какой размер частиц меди наносит наибольший вред почве и растениям

Оказалось, что большие частицы размером в несколько миллиметров увеличивают концентрацию металла в растении до восьми раз, тогда как наноразмерные частицы — до десяти, что снижает показатели растения и его урожайность.

https://naked-science.ru/article/column/vyyasnilos-kakoj-razmer-chastits-medi-nanosit-naibolshij-vred-pochve-i-rasteniyam

The Amazement of Sandhof Lilies, Crinum paludosum

There are more photos if you follow the link.

https://janemming.com/2019/03/24/the-amazement-of-sandhof-lilies-crinum-paludosum/?utm_campaign=The%20Week%20in%20Botany&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter