We’re not usually that big on plant genomes (“the complete set of genetic information in an organism”) in Cuttings items. We know what they are, and appreciate their importance, but until those genomes are translated...
The cut flower industry – wherein stems of intact growing flowering plants are removed, and transported from their place of growth to a place of purchase by a customer and ultimately displayed in a vase (“a container...
Name: Perennial ryegrass Scientific name: Lolium perenne L. Known for: Being a super yummy forage grass for grazing ruminants and liked as turf for sports people in temperate climates of the world Record broken: Two...
When it’s an eelgrass. OK, this needs some explanation. A popular notion is that the kingdom Plantae is essentially synonymous with the term land plants. And that is understandable; after all, this group of organisms is...
Darwin was fascinated by the unusual adaptations of carnivorous plants during his often frustrating studies of the evolution of flowering plants, which he referred to as an ‘abominable mystery’...
In several genera evolutionary chromosome change involves variation in DNA amount in diploids and genome downsizing in polyploids. In a new study in AoB PLANTS, Poggio et al. analysed the genome size and karyotypical...
Genome doubling and changes in genome size are fundamental evolutionary processes, with polyploidy being one of the most important forces influencing plant diversification. However, little is currently known about the...
Sticking with fungi (Aha! The ‘Melbourne Code card’ duly played!), but a more benign side this time is this uplifting tale. In the West we are generally aware of the power of plants to provide medicines; but we tend to...
A realistic scenario, if the production of major crops does not increase significantly. Estimated 9 billion people will need 70% more food than today. In June 2011, The G20 Agriculture Ministers agreed on an “Action...