Welcome to Episode 3 of our weekly feature, Plants in the News. These stories are selected to provide educators with interesting and accessible news from the world of plant science. Although some of the stories we feature are based on articles with restricted access, we also provide links to news summaries that are available without restrictions. If you have a timely suggestion for this Friday feature, let us know during the week and maybe your story will be included!
Revealed: Gene-for-gene detection of pathogen
One of the key concepts in plant pathology has been that plants recognize pathogens through specific genetically-encoded interactions. This idea has been largely borne out. Receptor proteins made by plants can trigger immune responses when they bind to molecular signatures of pathogens. A new study revealed the crystal structure of a complex formed between a plant receptor and the pathogen protein it recognizes, revealing the details of this gene-for-gene recognition. Maqbool, A., Saitoh, H., Franceschetti, M., Stevenson, C.E.M., Uemura, A., Kanzaki, H., Kamoun, S., Terauchi, R. and Banfield, M.J. (2015). Structural basis of pathogen recognition by an integrated HMA domain in a plant NLR immune receptor. eLife. 4: e08709. See also press release.
Where there’s drought there’s fire; get used to it
Trees stressed by drought and bark beetle damage are contributing to one of the worst fire seasons ever in the American West and Northwest (see more at Active Fire Maps, American Geophysical Union blog, Los Angeles Times). This year is not an anomaly; globally fire events are on the rise. In a new study published in Nature Communications, Jolly et al show that “fire weather seasons have lengthened across 29.6 million km2 (25.3%) of the Earth’s vegetated surface, resulting in an 18.7% increase in global mean fire weather season length.” Jolly, W.M., Cochrane, M.A., Freeborn, P.H., Holden, Z.A., Brown, T.J., Williamson, G.J. and Bowman, D.M.J.S. (2015). Climate-induced variations in global wildfire danger from 1979 to 2013. Nat Commun. 6: 7537.
Native root microbiome has critical role in plant resilience
There is good evidence that a “natural” gut microbiome keeps animals healthier, and a new study demonstrates that the same applies to plants and their root microbiome. After several years of sowing sterilized seeds, a research plot showed increased rates of disease. Reintroduction of mixed native soil bacteria significantly reduced plant mortality. Remember, germ-free is not best; good bacteria are important for keeping away bad ones. And while we’re at it, another new paper reveals how fungal endophytes affect plants at the molecular level – take home message, a plant is not a plant, it’s a community! Santhanam, R., Luu, V.T., Weinhold, A., Goldberg, J., Oh, Y. and Baldwin, I.T. (2015). Native root-associated bacteria rescue a plant from a sudden-wilt disease that emerged during continuous cropping. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (in press). Dupont, P.-Y., Eaton, C.J., Wargent, J.J., Fechtner, S., Solomon, P., Schmid, J., Day, R.C., Scott, B. and Cox, M.P. (2015). Fungal endophyte infection of ryegrass reprograms host metabolism and alters development. New Phytol. (in press).
Plants are Cool, Too! visits Manhattan
Chris Martine (@MartineBotany) from Bucknell University has developed a video series called Plants are Cool, Too! Check out the latest, “Nature in New York”.
What’s big, smelly and has its own YouTube channel?
The irresistible allure of Amorphophallus titanium, also known as titan arum or corpse flower, is taking over the internet this week with not one but two live-streaming Bloom Cams following the action (here and here). If you can’t wait, here’s a time-lapse video. Why the stink? To attract pollinators, of course; here is a National Geographic video describing its pollination biology and showing how people react to the smell, which some say resembles a rotting corpse. To each its own.