Parasitic worms hijack key plant protein to build their nest

Like all living organisms, plants require organic and inorganic nutrients to survive, reproduce, grow and maintain homeostasis. To identify nutrients that are essential for plant functioning, researchers have leveraged a technique called hydroponics. In hydroponic culture systems, plants are grown—without soil—in water-based solutions containing nutrients. At least 17 nutrients have been identified as essential elements required by plants. Plants acquire these elements from the...

Aseptic techniques prevent contamination, ensure experimental accuracy, and protect researchers and microbial cultures. These techniques are essential in clinical, industrial, and research settings where sterility is required.Maintaining Sterility in Laboratory PracticesScientists maintain sterility by sterilizing tools with heat or chemicals, disinfecting work surfaces, and handling cultures in controlled environments. Working near an open flame or within a laminar flow hood reduces the risk...

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

The plant cell wall gives plant cells shape, support, and protection. As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to the cell type. For example, the parenchyma cells of leaves possess only a thin, primary cell wall.

Plant hormones—or phytohormones—are chemical molecules that modulate one or more physiological processes of a plant. In animals, hormones are often produced in specific glands and circulated via the circulatory system. However, plants lack hormone-producing glands.

Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water. It depends on the quantity of solute that does not penetrate the membrane. Tonicity delimits the magnitude and direction of osmosis and results in three possible scenarios that alter the volume of a cell: hypertonicity, hypotonicity, and isotonicity. Due to differences in structure and physiology, tonicity of plant cells is different from that of animal cells in some scenarios.