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Scaling rocky heights to learn a plant’s survival secrets

Rose A. Marks abseils down South African cliffs to understand how the ‘resurrection’ plant stays alive for years during droughts.
  1. Abdullahi Tsanni

    1. Abdullahi Tsanni is a freelance science writer in Abuja, Nigeria.

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Rose Marks abseils down the cliffside in Mpumalanga, South Africa, while researching plants.

Rose A. Marks is a postdoctoral researcher in molecular and cell biology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Credit: Jennie Lyn Pretorius for Nature

I study how plants adapt to some of the most extreme conditions on Earth. My particular focus is the South African ‘resurrection’ plant (Myrothamnus flabellifolia), which can survive for years in a completely desiccated state. Understanding what makes these plants so resilient could help us to develop crops that will survive drought.

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Nature 579, 312 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00673-6

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