First, we ought to say what cupins are: cupins are proteins, part of a so-called superfamily that includes enzymes and non-enzyme polypeptides. Since the first members of this group were described in plants – the cereal seed storage proteins, the germins – they’ve been identified in a wide range of organisms. Aside from a role […]

Have you ever wondered how the monthly Plant Cuttings’ collection comes to be? Do you think Mr P Cuttings knows in advance what he’s going to write about each month? He has a notional idea of the items he wants to cover, but he usually has no idea where a news item will actually go […]

Plants need appropriate amounts of essential nutrients if they are to grow fully and generate the yield of which they are capable. Quite often, however, one of those essentials – principally, nitrogen (N) – is in insufficient supply in the soil. To achieve maximum crop yields those missing nutrient(s) are added by humans. Traditionally, that […]

Arguably, one of the best known ‘structure-function’ relationships in plant biology is the role played by cellulose microfibrils within the walls of the guard cells in stomatal opening. Stomata* are the controllable orifices found primarily within the epidermis of the above-ground organs of higher plants. When open they permit ready exchange of gases (e.g. CO2, […]

Caught your attention? No, I’m not about to rubbish Botany, but this item does focus on a particular type of biological ‘rubbish’, leaf-litter.

And few eukaryotic things are smaller than diatoms, unicellular algae that are common, numerous and taxonomically extremely diverse, particularly in the oceans. Small? Yes, typically 20 – 200 µm in diameter. Good? Yes; their annual explosion in numbers during the first quarter of the year – the so-called spring phytoplankton bloom – essentially kick-starts productivity […]

Now, and please be honest, if you saw an article entitled, “Faecal mimicry by seeds ensures dispersal by dung beetles” you’d want to read it, right?

Plants are generally sessile organisms that, unlike their puny animal ‘cousins’, can’t get up and run away if the environment is not to their liking. Botanicals by-and-large put up and shut up. Accordingly, that fundamental fact of their existence has led them to adapt to a remarkable array of abiotic factors, e.g. temperature, drought, high […]

The high flammability of plant material, fuelled by photosynthesis and oxygen production, poses a significant problem, especially in wildfires.

Researchers discovered that earthworms produce drilodefensins, metabolites that counteract the inhibitory effects of polyphenols on their gut enzymes, enabling them to digest these well-defended leaves.

A lack of a Nobel prize in Biology makes botanical Nobel prizes rare.

Nigel Chaffey discovers there is a fountain of youth, but only if you're a firebug.