PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller

Computer model provides insights in stem cells behind plant growth

Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller
2024-11-07
(Press-News.org) Most research on plant stem cells focuses on the tips of roots and shoots, where growth occurs in height. But Ten Tusscher explains that thickness growth is just as essential. “Plants can’t grow endlessly in height. They also need to grow in thickness, or they would simply fall over,” she says. The growth in thickness, is what makes older trees visibly thicker and more robust over time. This growth is essential for structural strength, particularly in trees.

Stem cells in the plant’s cambium layer control this width growth, producing wood to support the plant’s structure. However, which genes enable these cambium stem cells to become active and how this is controlled remained unclear—until now.

Fundamental insights Biologist Kirsten Ten Tusscher and her team developed a computer model that played a central role in this international study, which brought together scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Helsinki, Durham University, and the University of California. Her computer model provided fundamental insights, supporting lab results from the other team members as well as providing important predictions.

Computer model simulates wood formation Ten Tusscher’s model explores how specific genes “switch on” cambium stem cells as the plant develops, allowing for wood formation. While genes for height growth have been studied before, this is the first model to examine genes that control thickness growth and what determines where these genes are switched on.

From the model’s output, Ten Tusscher’s team found that thickness growth is controlled by overlapping gradients of specific chemical signals within the cambium layer. These gradients intersect to form a precise zone where stem cells are “switched on,” guiding them to produce wood tissue. This interaction ensures that wood formation occurs steadily throughout the plant’s life, providing the structural strength and stability needed to support height growth.

Model plant The computer model revolves around the small plant Arabidopsis, a species studied extensively by biologists worldwide to gain knowledge about plant growth in general. The model shows how cambium stem cells are activated and maintained, enabling continuous growth in thickness throughout a plant’s life.

Improving forestry and CO2 storage Understanding thickness growth isn’t just a scientific milestone; it could lead to real-world applications in forestry and climate action. A deeper learning about plant growth is especially relevant for forestry, particularly in Finland, where forests play a major role in the economy, says Ten Tusscher.

“If you fully understand plant growth, and develop a tree that grows twice as fast in thickness, it’s a great benefit for more sustainable timber industry,” says Ten Tusscher. “It’s also advantageous for climate efforts, as faster-growing trees can store more CO₂. Perhaps, it could even help researchers tune thickness growth in crops for better agricultural yield.”

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller 2 Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Insect-killing fungi find unexpected harmony in war

Insect-killing fungi find unexpected harmony in war
2024-11-07
University of Maryland entomologists uncovered a unique relationship between two species of fungi known for their ability to invade, parasitize and kill insects efficiently. Instead of violently competing for the spoils of war, the two fungi peacefully cooperate and share their victims. The findings, published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLOS) Pathogens on November 7, 2024, offer insight into some of the biggest evolutionary successes in nature’s history, according to study co-authors Raymond St. Leger, a Distinguished University Professor of Entomology, and entomology Ph.D. candidate Huiyu Sheng. “It’s not survival ...

Unlocking predictors of success in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Unlocking predictors of success in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
2024-11-07
Not everyone responds equally well to treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). What will work for individual patients involves trial and error during the treatment process. Now, a team of researchers led by Charité – Universitätsmedizin, in collaboration with colleagues in Berlin and Bonn, has succeeded in identifying a biomarker that indicates whether or not treatment with a certain medication called an immunomodulator will be successful. Writing in the journal Gastroenterology,* the researchers note that this will permit more targeted use of the therapy. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) takes multiple ...

New PFAS removal process aims to stamp out pollution ahead of semiconductor industry growth

New PFAS removal process aims to stamp out pollution ahead of semiconductor industry growth
2024-11-07
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study is the first to describe an electrochemical strategy to capture, concentrate and destroy mixtures of diverse chemicals known as PFAS — including the increasingly prevalent ultra-short-chain PFAS — from water in a single process. This new development is poised to address the growing industrial problem of contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing. A previous U. of I. study showed that short- and long-chain PFAS can be removed from water using electrochemically driven adsorption, referred to as ...

Researchers identify reduction in heart failure-related risk factors following metabolic surgery

2024-11-07
Researchers Identify Reduction in Heart Failure-Related Risk Factors following Metabolic Surgery   Recent study suggests that metabolic surgery for patients with heart failure can reduce dependency on oral diuretics, which are used to manage heart failure symptoms FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  November 7, 2024  BATON ROUGE – Pennington Biomedical Research Center researchers at the Metamor Institute, along with colleagues from Our Lady of the Lake and LSU Health-New Orleans, have recently determined that metabolic surgery on patients with heart failure can result in a reduction in the need for oral diuretics, which are used to manage symptoms such as venous and ...

The Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center unveiled in Dallas

The Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center unveiled in Dallas
2024-11-07
For more than 50 years, as a leading pioneer of preventive medicine and the “father of aerobics,” Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., has revolutionized health and fitness worldwide. Similarly, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) has long been dedicated to education, patient care and research. Today (Nov. 4) TTUHSC officially welcomed The Cooper Institute as part of its organization with a special presentation and unveiling of its new name – the Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The Cooper ...

DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption

DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption
2024-11-07
In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius experienced one of its most significant eruptions, burying the Roman city of Pompeii and its inhabitants under a thick layer of small stones and ash known as lapilli. Many of Pompeii's inhabitants lost their lives as their homes collapsed under the weight of the lapilli raining down from many kilometres above. Those who survived the initial phase of the eruption eventually succumbed to the dangerous pyroclastic flows. This fast-moving stream of hot gas and volcanic matter instantly enveloped their bodies in a solid layer of ash, effectively preserving their bodies, including their features. Since the 1800s, casts had been made by pouring plaster into the ...

DNA evidence rewrites histories for people buried in volcanic eruption in ancient Pompeii

DNA evidence rewrites histories for people buried in volcanic eruption in ancient Pompeii
2024-11-07
In 79 CE, the active volcanic system in southern Italy known as Somma-Vesuvius erupted, burying the small Roman town of Pompeii and everyone in it. The “Pompeii eruption” covered everything in a layer of ash that preserved many of the bodies. Now, ancient DNA collected from the famed body casts alters the history that’s been written since the once forgotten town’s rediscovery in the 1700s. As reported on November 7, 2024, in Current Biology, the DNA evidence shows that individuals’ sexes and family relationships don’t match ...

People with schizophrenia show distinct brain activity when faced with conflicting information

People with schizophrenia show distinct brain activity when faced with conflicting information
2024-11-07
Scientists have known for decades that the classic symptoms of schizophrenia, such as jumping to conclusions or difficulty adjusting to new information, can be attributed to poor communication between the cerebral cortex and the thalamus, known as the brain’s central switchboard. By measuring brain cell activity between these two regions as volunteers completed ambiguous tasks, a team of Tufts University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine researchers found a way to use someone’s sensitivity to uncertainty as a diagnostic tool.  In a study published November 7 in the journal ...

Climate change: Significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions from private aviation

2024-11-07
Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from private aviation increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis published in Communications Earth & Environment. The results also show that some individuals who regularly use private aviation may produce almost 500 times more CO2 in a year than the average individual, and that there were significant emissions peaks around certain international events, including COP 28 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Private aviation is highly energy-intensive, emitting significantly more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights, but is used by approximately 0.003% ...

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists
2024-11-07
Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees’ ability to store large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. But, writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, an international group of scientists argue that tree planting at high latitudes will accelerate, rather than decelerate, global warming. As the climate continues to warm, trees can be planted further and further north, and large-scale tree-planting projects in the Arctic have been championed by governments and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Researchers develop robotic sensory cilia that monitor internal biomarkers to detect and assess airway diseases

Could crowdsourcing hold the key to early wildfire detection?

Reconstruction of historical seasonal influenza patterns and individual lifetime infection histories in humans based on antibody profiles

New study traces impact of COVID-19 pandemic on global movement and evolution of seasonal flu

Presenting a Janus channel of membranes for complete oil-and-water separation

COVID-19 restrictions altered global dispersal of influenza viruses

Disconnecting hepatic vagus nerve restores balance to liver and brain circadian clocks, reducing overeating in mice

Mechanosensory origins of “wet dog shakes” – a tactic used by many hairy mammals – uncovered in mice

New study links liver-brain communication to daily eating patterns

Defense or growth – How plants allocate resources

Study identifies hip implant materials with the lowest risk of needing revision

Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller

Insect-killing fungi find unexpected harmony in war

Unlocking predictors of success in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

New PFAS removal process aims to stamp out pollution ahead of semiconductor industry growth

Researchers identify reduction in heart failure-related risk factors following metabolic surgery

The Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center unveiled in Dallas

DNA evidence rewrites story of people buried in Pompeii eruption

DNA evidence rewrites histories for people buried in volcanic eruption in ancient Pompeii

People with schizophrenia show distinct brain activity when faced with conflicting information

Climate change: Significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions from private aviation

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

Finding function for noncoding RNAs using a new kind of CRISPR

Neurodevelopment in the first 2 years of life following prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Racial disparities in genetic detection rates for inherited retinal diseases

Stem cells shed insight into cardiovascular disease processes 

New study: Plastics pollution worsen the impacts of all Planetary Boundaries

Long-term risks from prostate cancer treatment detailed in new report

Does more virtual care mean more low-value care? Study suggests no

City of Hope Research Spotlight, October 2024

[Press-News.org] Study reveals how plants grow thicker, not just taller
Computer model provides insights in stem cells behind plant growth