Scientists make a fundamental discovery to creating better food crops

A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered the specific gene that controls an important symbiotic relationship between plants and soil fungi, and successfully facilitated the symbiosis in a plant that typically resists it.  (Labbé et al., Mediation of plant-mycorrhizal interaction by a lectin receptor-like kinase; Nature Plants 5(7): 676)

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See additional story in BioTechniques regarding this discovery.

Getting Fire From A Tree Without Burning The Wood

Following the published article in National Geographic (see “Trees Release Flammable Methane”), NPR did a feature store on this as part of Joe Palca’s Big Idea.  Interviewed were scientists Christopher Schadt and Melissa Cregger, who spoke about trapped methane in Cottonwood trees.

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Trees Release Flammable Methane

In the recently published National Geographic article, by Andrew Revkin, the release of methane by forest trees is discussed and what that means for climate change.  Christopher Schadt’s work is cited (Yip et al., 2018. New Phytologist doi: 10.1111/nph.15346).

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/trees-release-