A research team, led by Santosh Kumar Upadhyay, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, conducted a detailed study on the RBOH (respiratory burst oxidase homolog) genes of the bread wheat, Triticum aestivum (TaRBOH). RBOHs are vital proteins in plants, and their thorough characterisation in wheat and other crop plants could lead to the development of crops better equipped to withstand stress conditions.

Researchers from National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) have uncovered how plant cells attacked by insects communicate distress to other cells of the plant. In the first 5-10 minutes after the attack, a spike in calcium levels and the plant immune protein Plant Elicitor Peptide Receptor (PEPR) amplifies the damage signal, as plants brace for insect attack. The findings of this study can pave the way for protecting crops from pests.

Climate change, propelled by human activities, presents a substantial threat to insect populations worldwide, impacting their behavior, fitness, and distribution. Subhash Rajpurohit and his research group at Ahmedabad University, Gujarat, emphasises the vulnerability of ectothermic insects to fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels. His lab's work offers insights into the intricate relationship between environmental stress, dehydration, and insect reproductive success within the context of climate change.

A team of researchers at the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow, has investigated the functional activity of the plant protein Tma12, which is toxic to whiteflies. The study demonstrates that Tma12 kills whiteflies by degrading chitin. The findings of this research can be utilised by biorefineries in the production of biofuels and for expanding the horizons of biopesticides.

Streptophyte algae are considered the ancestors of land plants who shared habitats with primitive microbes. However, scientists have been intrigued by how the algae developed mechanisms to evolve as land plants and survive the soil conditions below the ground. In this exciting study, a team of researchers reveal the crucial role primitive microbes could have played in the evolutionary process of land plants.

Plants react to their immediate environment in a number of ways and use the information so gleaned to make crucial decisions about growth and survival. In a new study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have discovered a new molecular mechanism via which seedlings react to the absence of light and use it to modulate their growth rate to ensure optimum conditions for survival.

A new collaborative study by researchers at University of Calcutta and University of Kalyani has found that a close symbiotic relationship between three species - a plant, a fungus, and bacteria - can be harnessed to promote the growth of rice plants by allowing them to take up more nitrogen from the environment.