Recent press releases

The APETALA1 gene in hairy bittercress plants lost the ability to ensure that its flowers all have the same number of petals. [more]

Scientists identify mechanism that controls leaf growth and shape [more]

The relationship between so-called rhizobia, nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are mostly from the order Rhizobiales, and leguminous plants is one of the best-characterized beneficial plant-microbe interactions in all of nature. [more]

Plant cells silence their flowering genes with the help of a small DNA-binding protein family which also stabilizes telomeres and promotes the expression of photosynthetic genes. A genetic barcodes shows this family what has to be done. These proteins are thus important mediators of epigenetic imprinting and determine cell fate in plants (Nature Genetics, doi: 10.1038/s41588-018-0109-9). [more]

A team of researchers from Germany and the US led by Kenichi Tsuda at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) in Cologne have now developed a method that can be used to probe the complexity of plant-bacteria interactions. [more]

The epidermal cells of many plant organs resemble the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle helping them withstand the high pressure in their interior [more]

New work from a team of scientists headed by Paul Schulze-Lefert at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne [more]