Plant biology Content

Plant Biologists Win VinFuture Prize for Developing Self-Cloning Crops

Andy Fell — December 08, 2025 - 2:11pm

Two researchers at the University of California, Davis, have been awarded a VinFuture Prize in recognition of their work developing self-cloning crops, a breakthrough for sustainable agriculture.

Plants Balance Adaptability in Skin Cells with Stability in Sex Cells

Andy Fell — November 12, 2025 - 3:10pm

Mutations drive evolution, but they can also be risky. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how plants control mutation rates in different stem cells to balance adaptability with safety and stability. The findings have implications for breeding some of the world’s most important fruit and vegetable crops, such as potatoes and bananas.

Christmas Trees’ Distinctive Aroma Helps Ward off Pathogens and Pests

Andy Fell — November 25, 2024 - 8:30am

Each year, nearly 30 million Americans purchase a real tree for the holidays. Growing the perfect Christmas tree takes about seven years, during which farmers need to keep insects, fungal pathogens and hungry deer at bay. While researchers suspect the distinctive piney smell the trees emit plays a role in deterring these pests, not all trees smell the same, and which chemical blends confer resistance is unclear.

Making High-yielding Rice Affordable and Sustainable

Andy Fell — November 20, 2024 - 10:53am

Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world’s population, but most farmers don’t grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the University of California’s Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains of rice and other crops.

How Plants Become Bushy, or Not

Andy Fell — August 06, 2024 - 3:50pm

For many plants, more branches means more fruit. But what causes a plant to grow branches? New research from the University of California, Davis shows how plants break down the hormone strigolactone, which suppresses branching, to become more “bushy.” Understanding how strigolactone is regulated could have big implications for many crop plants.

The study was published August 1 in Nature Communications.

Plant Biologist Siobhan Brady Named HHMI Investigator

Andy Fell — July 23, 2024 - 12:11pm

Siobhan Brady, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center at the University of California, Davis, has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. The prestigious Investigator program, which Brady describes as “life changing,” will provide her with roughly $9 million in research support over a seven-year term, with the option to renew.

Plant Biologist Venkatesan Sundaresan Wins 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture

Andy Fell — July 17, 2024 - 9:36am

Venkatesan Sundaresan, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Plant Biology and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.

How Plants Sense Scent

Andy Fell — April 25, 2024 - 4:10pm

Plants need to be able to communicate with themselves, for example sending signals from their leaves to their roots or flowers, so that they can coordinate growth and optimize resource use. They also need to communicate with other plants and organisms, which they achieve by releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tiny molecules that are often associated with distinct smells. Scientists know a lot about how plants emit these odorous signals, however very little is known about how they receive and interpret them.