Faster growth, darker leaves, a different way of branching - wild varieties of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana are often substantially different from the laboratory strain of this small mustard plant, a favorite of many plant biologists.

The mystery of how a major plant hormone works to defend plants against invaders has been revealed, thanks to collaborative research efforts by Michigan State University and Washington State University.

An arms race is under way in the plant world. It is an evolutionary battle in which plants are trying to beef up their defenses against the innovative strategies of pathogens. The latest example of this war is a bacterium (Pseudomonas syringae) that infects tomatoes by injecting a special protein into the plant's cells to undermine the plant's defense system.

Researchers at the University of Warwick are co-ordinating a global effort to sequence the genome of one of the World’s most important mushrooms - Agaricus bisporus. The secrets of its genetic make up could assist the creation of biofuels, support the effort to manage global carbon, and help remove heavy metals from contaminated soils.

The growth of most plants depends on the presence of sufficient amounts of nitrogen contained in the soil.

Across the southern United States, an invisible, yet deadly parasite known as the root-knot nematode is crippling soybean crops. While plant breeders are racing to develop cultivars resistant to the root-knot nematode, they are being slowed down by current time-consuming and expensive methods of screening for resistant plants.

An update on the increased spread of Sudden Oak Death, a plant disease devastating many of California's coastal oak and tanoak trees, and information on what Californians can do to help reduce its spread will be presented during a news conference on plant diseases that are of importance to California's economy and agriculture.

South Asia has witnessed a rapid growth in rice and wheat production that has defined the Green Revolution there. During the past 30 years, the Indian Punjab has transformed its agriculture through new technology that provides for high-producing plants, increased fertilization, and irrigation.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota have been evaluating the impact of antibiotic feeding in livestock production on the environment. This particular study, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), evaluated whether food crops accumulate antibiotics from soils spread with manure that contains antibiotics.

The latest on the rapid spread of citrus greening within Florida and its potential to spread into California and other citrus growing areas will be presented during a news conference on plant diseases and issues that are of importance to California's economy and agriculture. The news conference will be held Monday, July 30 at 11 a.m. PST at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

Most plants and animals show changes in activity over a 24-hour cycle. Now, for the first time, researchers have shown how a plant combines signals from its internal clock with those from the environment to show a daily rhythm of growth.

One of the basic tenets of evolution is speciation in which populations of the same species become so genetically and morphologically variable that they can be classified as two different species. Individuals of these species may be capable of mating, but they may not produce offspring, and if offspring are produced, they will be sterile or so defective that they die before they are able to reproduce.