The timing and synchrony of male and female flowering in wheat is a crucial determinant of seed set and may be an important factor affecting gene flow and resilience to climate change. Lukac et al.  assess the anther and stigma activity of each floret on developing ears of wheat, Triticum aestivum, and find that synchrony between [...]

Plant science is key to addressing the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. In an article published in The Plant Cell, the two researchers argue that the development of new technology is key to transforming plant biology in order to meet human needs. Plants serve as the conduit of energy into the biosphere, [...]

You can afford to worry about medical research once you have enough food to eat.

Studies have suggested that plant sexual reproduction is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and a number of ecologically and evolutionarily relevant genes have recently been identified. Shimizu et al. consider that studying gene functions in naturally fluctuating conditions is very important in order to predict responses to changing environments. For example, modelling has shown that FLC in [...]

Breeding crops with roots a metre deeper in the ground could lower atmospheric CO2 levels dramatically, with significant environmental benefits, according to research by a leading University of Manchester scientist, published in Annals of Botany.