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Rubisco catalyses the conversion of atmospheric CO2 into organic compounds in photosynthesis, and therefore plays a pivotal role in plant metabolism. The complex cellular machineries invovled in the assembly and metabolic repair of this most abundant enzyme are explored in this Review.
Transgenic American cotton resistant to lepidopteran pests increases yields and revenues while reducing pesticide use compared to non-GM varieties. However, when grown without artificial irrigation the economic benefits over Asiatic cotton are less clear.
Consistent with their historical focus on the functional utility of plants, botanical gardens have an important opportunity to help ensure global food and ecosystem security by expanding their living collections, research and education programmes to emphasize agriculture and its impacts.
Gibberellin is a major hormone in plant growth. Mixing old-style grafting with modern molecular genetics in Arabidopsis shows that the GA12 precursor is the chemical form of gibberellin undergoing long-distance transport across plant organs.
The balance of beneficial and detrimental effects of nitrogen-fixing plants hinges on the degree to which plants regulate fixation to meet their needs. Legumes show a large diversity of fixation regimes due to differing evolutionary strategies.
Invasive Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle) is larger than in its native range as declines in native competitors make water more available. Such opening of niches may be a factor in the widespread success of invasives.
Innate immunity is the first layer of defence in plants. However, pathogens inject effectors that supress this mechanism. Here the authors show that photosynthesis is a key component of plant defence, and that chloroplasts are targeted by pathogens.
Biogenesis of miRNAs involves the transcription of primary miRNAs and subsequent processing by DCL proteins. Now it is revealed that the Elongator complex couples the two processes by mediating the chromatin association of both primary miRNAs and the protein DCL1.
The natural variation in an Arabidopsis population contributed to variation in root-associated bacteria. This variation affected the plants’ fitness showing that small host-mediated changes in the microbiome can have large effects on host health.
Cells associated with the male germlines of grasses produce huge amounts of small RNAs. A large survey of two types of small RNA in maize uncovers unique characteristics associated with male fertility, but the molecular mechanism by which these germline-associated small RNAs function remains unclear.
The majority of biological research is concentrated on a handful of species for valid practical reasons. But it is important that such pragmatism does not distort our view of life's complexity.
Orchid seeds are conventionally thought to be wind dispersed. However, extensive observation with motion sensor cameras shows that birds such as the brown-eared bulbul eat and disperse the seeds of at least one orchid, Cyrtosia septentrionalis.
Overexpressing a receptor–ligand pair specifically in their native tissue domains dramatically promotes wood formation and biomass production in trees.