Defects in the response to fire-generated karrikins turn out to be responsible for root anomalies that were previously ascribed to other plant hormones.
In plants ranging from liverworts to wheat, parasitic water molds build intracellular structures analogous to the nutrient-exchanging structures of symbiotic fungi.
An entrepreneurial attitude helped this Vienna-based researcher begin to unravel the complex receptor network that Arabidopsis uses to develop and defend itself.