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Green leaves in a row with varied degrees of black spots on a black background.
A New Drug Fixes a Leak Caused by Bacteria
Researchers discovered how virulent bacterial proteins leech nutrients from plant cells, leading to a potential treatment for diseased crops.
A New Drug Fixes a Leak Caused by Bacteria
A New Drug Fixes a Leak Caused by Bacteria

Researchers discovered how virulent bacterial proteins leech nutrients from plant cells, leading to a potential treatment for diseased crops.

Researchers discovered how virulent bacterial proteins leech nutrients from plant cells, leading to a potential treatment for diseased crops.

plant biology, microbiology

A mesquite tree in an arid environment
Climate Change May Favor Nitrogen-Fixing Plants
Andy Carstens | Oct 17, 2022 | 2 min read
Aridity appears to configure landscapes with a greater diversity of plant species that rely on symbiotic bacteria for nitrogen.
pollen tubes releasing sperm into ovule
Science Snapshot: Go Forth and Multiply
Lisa Winter | Oct 6, 2022 | 1 min read
An honorable mention in the 2022 Nikon Small World in Motion competition shows thale cress sperm being released into the ovule.
Natural sunbeams underwater through water surface in the Mediterranean sea on a seabed with neptune grass, Catalonia, Roses, Costa Brava, Spain
Marine Plant Partners with Microbes Like Terrestrial Plants Do
Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 14, 2022 | 3 min read
A seagrass relies on symbiotic bacteria inside its roots to fix nitrogen. This is the first time scientists have demonstrated that this relationship occurs in a marine plant.
Infographic showing how a new bacteria species called <em>Candidatus Celerinatantimonas neptuna</em> lives in seagrass and how it provides the plant with nitrogen
Infographic: Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Live Inside Seagrass Roots
Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 14, 2022 | 1 min read
Researchers can now explain how some marine plants obtain their nitrogen.
Man in personal protective equipment (glasses, gloves, cap, and coat) watching plants go through a piece of machinery.
Canada Approves World’s First Plant-Based COVID-19 Vaccine
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Feb 25, 2022 | 2 min read
Canada has ordered 76 million doses of Covifenz, the main ingredient of which was manufactured in the leaves of a tobacco relative.
wheat blast fungus zambia Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum
Wheat Blast Arrives in Zambia, First Time in Africa
Munyaradzi Makoni | Oct 19, 2020 | 4 min read
Experts fear the fungal pathogen will spread to other African countries, threatening wheat production.
Space-Grown Lettuce Is Safe and Astronaut-Approved
Amy Schleunes | Mar 9, 2020 | 2 min read
NASA’s vegetable production system, known as Veggie, may help pave the way for more sophisticated systems that could supplement astronauts’ diets during long trips to space.
Ants Produce Antibiotics that May Protect Plants
Emily Makowski | Mar 1, 2020 | 2 min read
The antimicrobial compounds ants excrete to defend themselves from pathogens may protect plants as well.
citrus greening antibiotic oxytetracycline
Antibiotic Ineffective Against Citrus Greening: Study
Ashley P. Taylor | Aug 19, 2019 | 2 min read
Oxytetracycline, approved by the US government to combat citrus scourge, may not work—at least not as a spray.
Image of the Day: Slimy Business
Sukanya Charuchandra | Aug 13, 2018 | 1 min read
A new study reports finding corn species in Mexico that can trap nitrogen.
Scientists Can’t Agree on What’s Making Pistachio Trees Sick
Catherine Offord | Aug 1, 2018 | 5 min read
A new study ignites debate on the cause of pistachio bushy top syndrome, a disease that has crippled farms in California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi Investigates How Pathogens Invade Plant Roots
Shawna Williams | Feb 1, 2018 | 2 min read
The Purdue University researcher is one of the first to examine the molecular processes that underlie infection by soil microbes.
How Viruses Attack Plants
Claire Asher | Jan 31, 2018 | 1 min read
Viruses are incapable of reproducing without the help of a host, whose cells copy their genetic material and fabricate the building blocks of new virus particles.
How Plant-Soil Feedback Affects Ecological Diversity
Ashley P. Taylor | Jan 12, 2017 | 4 min read
Researchers examine how underground microbes and nutrients affect plant populations.
Underground Immunity
Kara Manke | Jul 16, 2015 | 3 min read
Arabidopsis thaliana defense hormones shape the plant’s root microbiome. 
Week in Review: March 3–7
Tracy Vence | Mar 7, 2014 | 3 min read
The gene behind a butterfly’s mimicry; the evolution of adipose fins; bacteria and bowel cancer; plants lacking plastid genomes
Plant Talk
Dan Cossins | Jan 1, 2014 | 10+ min read
Plants communicate and interact with each other, both aboveground and below, in surprisingly subtle and sophisticated ways.
Fighting Microbes with Microbes
Amy Coombs | Jan 1, 2013 | 10 min read
Doctors turn to good microbes to fight disease. Will the same strategy work with crops?
Staying in Touch
Mary Beth Aberlin | Jan 1, 2013 | 3 min read
Searching for life beyond our teeming planet has led to some innovative collaborative approaches to generating knowledge right here at home.
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