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ENTIRELY HAPLOID FEMALE MITES. "We used fluorescence microscopy and variation at nine microsatellite loci to show that the false spider mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis, consists of haploid female parthenogens. We show that this reproductive anomaly is caused by infection by an undescribed endosymbiotic bacterium, which results in feminization of haploid genetic males." https://lnkd.in/gYgazXK View in LinkedIn

ROOTING CHANGES. "The annual plant, Abutilon theophrasti, shows a differential response towards the presence of a competitor and heterogeneous resource distributions. Plants sensing neighbours and grown in uniform soil nutrient distributions exhibited reductions in rooting." https://lnkd.in/d_tsqB7 View in LinkedIn

DIPLOID DOMINANCE. "The dominance of the diploid state in higher organisms, with haploidy generally confined to the gametic phase, has led to the perception that diploidy is favored by selection. This view is highlighted by the fact that no known female organism within the Metazoa exists exclusively (or even for a prolonged period) in a haploid state." https://lnkd.in/gYgazXK View in LinkedIn

POT SHARING. "Previous studies of root allocation responses to neighbours have found that plants in shared pots also had reduced fitness, indicating a cost to increased root allocation." http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/4/435.short View in LinkedIn

Why India's farmers want to conserve indigenous heirloom rice https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/24/why-indias-farmers-want-to-conserve-indigenous-heirloom-rice?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

ROOT GROWTH SPECIFICITY. "Considerable specificity appears to be conveyed by roots: the growth patterns of roots have shown to depend on neighbour genotype, neighbour species, whether neighbouring roots are self- or non-self or connected by stolons, even in genetically identical individuals." http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/4/435.short View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this perspective on the nuanced and complicated lives of plants. It has been often stated that because they move slowly, human are often sublimely oblivious to these phenomena. But with the help of time lapse cinematography, we can appreciate a little more their animated live, growth and mating cycles. https://lnkd.in/gvP8Mxa View in LinkedIn

ROOT ALLOCATION. "Plants increase root allocation in the presence of neighbour roots, increasing below-ground competitive ability." https://lnkd.in/d7SNVuH View in LinkedIn

NEW PERSPECTIVES. "The fact that plants can recognize the shape of their neighbors and rearrange their leaf position in consequence is novel and very exciting. It could be a cooperative or an altruistic behavior in a species where populations are viscous, the other mechanism described by Hamilton (1964) allowing for kin selection, that is, where dispersal is rare enough for neighbors in a population to be closely related." https://lnkd.in/gWWRrBP View in LinkedIn

NEW PARADIGMS. "One of the objections for kin selection to actually occur in plants is that the kin recognition mechanisms were thought to be impossible in the plant kingdom (i.e. lack of sensors). This has recently been challenged by experimental studies showing differential response of root growth depending on the relatedness of neighbors, providing a major opportunity to explore new hypotheses and perspectives." https://lnkd.in/gWWRrBP View in LinkedIn