Endangered Plants – PossibleThreat Articles

US corn yields get boost from a global warming 'hole'

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Climate, Endangered Plants, Environmental Awareness, Environmental Issues, Food and Agriculture, Global Warming, Nature

The global average temperature has increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. In contrast, the Corn Belt of the U.S., one of the most agriculturally productive regions of the world, has experienced a decrease in temperatures in the summer during the growing season. Known as the 'US warming hole,' this anomalous cooling phenomenon, which occurred in tandem with increasing rainfall, was responsible for boosting corn yields by 5 to 10 percent per year, according to a new study.

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Baby formula improved by ingredient often removed during homogenization

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Breastfeeding, Cell Biology, Cows, Sheep, Pigs, Endangered Plants, Infant and Preschool Learning, Infant's Health, Nutrition, Nutrition Research, Parenting

A clinical trial shows infants who consume formula containing milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) score higher in cognitive, language and motor development than infants consuming a milk-based formula that didn't contain MFGM.

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The pectin is protectin': Study uncovers a plant barrier against toxic aluminum

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Botany, Endangered Plants, Genetics, mice, Pests and Parasites, Seeds, Soil Types

Aluminum toxicity is a major contributor to poor crop growth, especially in regions with acidic soils. How aluminum enters at the growing root tips of plants is not well understood. Researchers have found that pectin, a chemical component of the plant cell wall, may play a key role as a barrier to prevent aluminum from entering rice plants. The study sheds light on how rice plants may resist aluminum toxicity.

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New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Charles Darwin, Endangered Plants, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Human Evolution, Nature, Origin of Life

There are over 500,000 plant species in the world today. They all evolved from a common ancestor. How this leap in biodiversity happened is still unclear. Researchers now present the results of a unique project on the evolution of plants. Using genetic data from 1,147 species the team created the most comprehensive evolutionary tree for green plants to date.

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Dry season increase in photosynthesis in Amazon rain forest

October 22, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Ecology Research, Endangered Plants, Forest, Geography, Global Warming, Nature, Rainforests

A new study demonstrated the potential of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument on board the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite to measure and track chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthesis of tropical forests in the Amazon.

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Butterflies and plants evolved in sync, but moth 'ears' predated bats

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Endangered Plants, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Fossils, Insects (including Butterflies), Nature, Origin of Life

A new study cross-examines classic hypotheses about the coevolution of butterflies with flowering plants and moths with bats, their key predators. The findings show flowering plants did drive much of these insects' diversity, but in a surprise twist, multiple moth lineages evolved 'ears' millions of years before the existence of bats, previously credited with triggering moths' development of hearing organs.

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Defining the centromere

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Biology, Botany, Cell Biology, Endangered Plants, Genetics, Life Sciences, Molecular Biology

Centromeres are the chromosomal domains at which the kinetochore, a protein complex required for the correct separation of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis, is assembled. The incorporation of the histone variant CenH3 into centromeric nucleosomes is a prerequisite for the proper assembly and function of the kinetochore. A new study describes the chaperone protein NASPSIM3 and how it affects the depositioning of CenH3.

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Plant physiology will be major contributor to future river flooding

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Climate, Endangered Plants, Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Nature, Soil Types, Water

Researchers describe the emerging role of ecophysiology in riparian flooding. As an adaptation to an overabundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees, plants and grasses constrict their stomatal pores to regulate the amount of the gas they consume, a mechanism that limits the release of water from leaves through evaporation. This saturates soils and causes more efficient run off and river flooding.

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How plant roots grow hair

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Endangered Plants, Genetics, Nature, New Species, Pests and Parasites, Seeds, Soil Types

The roots of plants can do a lot of things: They grow in length to reach water, they can bend to circumvent stones, and they form fine root hairs enabling them to absorb more nutrients from the soil. A team of researchers has now identified an important regulator of this process.

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Photosynthesis Olympics: Can the best wheat varieties be even better?

October 17, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Botany, Endangered Plants, Environmental Issues, Food and Agriculture, Geochemistry, Grassland, Water

Scientists have put elite wheat varieties through a sort of 'Photosynthesis Olympics' to find which varieties have the best performing photosynthesis. This could ultimately help grain growers to get more yield for less inputs in the farm.

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