Genes Key To Hormone Production In Plants Identified - Animals use hormones to respond to internal or external cues. Believe it or not, plants also use hormones. While plants have fewer hormones than animals, plant hormones regulate virtually every aspect of growth and development. However, one thing that has puzzled scientists for some time is how the production of these essential hormones in plants is regulated by genes. A research team led by Dr. Jose Alonso has identified genes that control synthesis of auxin, an important plant hormone. Published in Cell.

Researcher Discovers Pathway Plants Use to Fight Back Against Pathogens - The human body is attacked constantly by viruses and bacteria. Luckily, almost every human being possesses an immune system to help combat these invaders. But, how does a plant, which lacks an immune system like the one animals contain, fight off viral and bacterial invaders? For quite some time, researchers have known that plants are able to sense an attack from a pathogen and could then activate plant defenses. The only question that remained was what happened between the two stages: sensing the pathogen and responding to the pathogen. Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia have discovered features of the complex signaling cascade that is activated when the pathogen attacks.