Plant Biology News | Plant Biology | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

Jul 24, 2019

Plants defend against insects by inducing 'leaky gut syndrome'

Plants may induce "leaky gut syndrome" — permeability of the gut lining — in insects as part of a multipronged strategy for protecting themselves from being eaten, according to researchers at Penn State.

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Jul 22, 2019

Parasitic plants use stolen genes to make them better parasites

Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host’s nutrients. A new study led by researchers at Penn State and Virginia Tech reveals that the parasitic plant dodder has stolen a large amount of genetic material from its hosts, including over 100 functional genes.

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Jul 08, 2019

Some green ash trees show some resistance to emerald ash borers

Genes in green ash trees that may confer some resistance to attacks by the emerald ash borer express themselves only once the tree detects the invasive beetle's feeding, according to Penn State researchers.

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Jul 03, 2019

Cell Dynamics takes center stage at 2019 Plant Biology Symposium

The 22nd Penn State Plant Biology Symposium was "a great success," according to organizers, who joined it with the Plant Cell Dynamics VIII meeting in an effort to encourage wider collaborations.

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Apr 04, 2019

Insect-deterring sorghum compounds may be eco-friendly pesticide

Compounds produced by sorghum plants to defend against insect feeding could be isolated, synthesized and used as a targeted, nontoxic insect deterrent, according to researchers who studied plant-insect interactions that included field, greenhouse and laboratory components.

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Apr 03, 2019

Michael Axtell Among Five Receiving Faculty Scholar Medals

Five Penn State faculty members have received 2019 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement for excellence in scholarship, research and the arts.

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Apr 03, 2019

Guiltinan, Maximova receive the 2019 Kopp International Achievement Award

Mark Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology, and Siela Maximova, research professor of plant biotechnology, both in the College of Agricultural Sciences, are the recipients of Penn State's 2019 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award.

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Dr. Melissa Rolls with current and prospective graduate students

Jan 25, 2019

Prospective Grad Students Get A Taste of Life at Penn State

Students interested in the Bioinformatics and Genomics; Plant Biology; Neuroscience; and Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences graduate programs were given a warm welcome on a snowy weekend.

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Jan 08, 2019

Plant Biology Student Chris Benson Lands $90,000 Grant From United States Golf Association

Chris Benson's work concerns adaptability in the turfgrass species Poa annua, with plans to guide breeding efforts for a phenotypically stable variety with applications on golf course putting greens. That research has attracted significant support from the USGA.

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Farmers in Angonia, Mozambique, happy with the performance of new varieties of common bean developed by an international partnership of plant scientists that included researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, pose among plants in a bean field. Plant breeding field trials have been conducted with bean growers in multiple regions of the country in southeast Africa. IMAGE: JIMMY BURRIDGE

Nov 29, 2018

Penn State root research results in breeding of improved bean plants for Africa

In the culmination of more than a decade of research on root traits conducted by Penn State plant scientists, about three tons of seed for common bean plants specifically bred to thrive in the barren soils of Mozambique will be distributed there Dec. 11.

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