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Love that maca
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nodulin-like gene. Normally, nodulin-like genes are involved in Rhizobium infection of the roots. TS
Transpiration, more evil than necessary? One of the most memorable quotes of plant physiology, ‘transpiration (evaporative water loss from plant surfaces) is a necessary evil’, relates to the perception that transpirational water loss, primarily through stomata, is the cost suffered for the benefit of being able to take up CO2 to drive photosynthesis. Although transpiration is assumed to be necessary for long-distance transport of dissolved inorganic nutrients, research by Widmar Tanner and Harry Beevers [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 98 (2001) 9443–9447] questions even this ‘benefit’. Using sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) in which transpiration was dissociated from mineral supply, they show that transpiration is not essential for longdistance mineral distribution. NC
Love that maca There is a long history of the search for aphrodisiacs, and a wartlike growth found on plant roots in the Andes might contain the latest potency. Preliminary results come from a team of Peruvian scientists and show that the root growth known as maca can increase sperm production and virility in men aged 20 to 40. Gustavo Gonzales told the newswire Agence France Presse (16 August 2001) that within two weeks of taking the secret compound, the number of sperm in test subjects increased from 87 million to 183 million sperm. Gonzales also noted an increase in libido during the test period. Maca is already in Peruvian markets and exports are starting. TS
It pays to be cool Whereas some scientists research global warming and the effects of elevated temperatures on plant function, Chris Hawes of Oxford Brookes University (UK) has interests at the other end of the temperature scale. Recently, this research has been rewarded with the award of £264 956 from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The funding over a three-year period from 1 January 2002 will enable the purchase of state-of-the-art high-pressurehttp://plants.trends.com
TRENDS in Plant Science Vol.6 No.11 November 2001
freezing equipment to study the dynamics of the plant secretory pathway. In July, Hawes was also elected Vice President of the UK’s Royal Microscopical Society. NC
Agrobacterium genome on the Web Although not a plant, the bacterium Agrobacterium has transformed modern plant biology. As one of the most widely used ‘systems’ for introducing foreign genes into plant cells it has fuelled much of the present research capability of plant genetic engineering. Now, as a result of a multinational collaborative project, the genome of A. tumefaciens is freelyavailable on the Internet at the University of Washington’s (USA) Crown Gall Group’s website (http://www.agrobacterium.org). NC
505
biotech critic, Jane Rissler (Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, USA; www.ucsusa.org), noted that one Bt corn variety was harmful to monarch larvae, but that for unrelated reasons, the variety is being discontinued. [Vorman, J. (2001) Reuters, 11 September] TS
Solid water
Green earth Researchers have evidence that for the past 20 years, the northern latitudes have been becoming greener. NASA satellite data [J. Geophysical Res. (2001) 106, 20] shows that existing vegetation is becoming denser above the 40° latitude line. Liming Zhou, a member of the research team from Boston University (MA, USA), told reporters, ‘When we looked at temperature and satellite vegetation data, we saw that year-to-year changes in growth and duration of the growing season of northern vegetation are tightly linked to year-to-year changes in temperatures.’ Whereas the growing season has extended by up to 12 days in North America, in Eurasia, it has extended by 18 days. (www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/ 20010904greenhouse.html) TS
Bt versus monarchs, part II Two years ago, researchers provided evidence that corn transgenic for Bt, the pesticide from Bacillus thuringiensis, was harmful to monarch butterfly larvae. Now US researchers from the private and public sectors respond with their own studies that show that there is little if any risk from Bt corn pollen. Six studies appeared in the Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. (published online 14 September 2001; www.pnas.org), that, in general, agree that Bt corn has a low risk. One author, Mark Sears (University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada), told reporters, ‘there is less than a 1 or 2% risk of a monarch caterpillar being exposed.’ One
Chinese scientists have developed ‘solid water’ in their efforts to deal with drought in arid northern sections. The developers process the substance from normal water sources. Researchers have not disclosed the nature of the solidifying chemical, but the official Chinese media says that it is environmentally friendly. Tests in a Mongolian desert showed that 85% of newly planted trees survived when scientists used solid water. One kilogram of the water will slowly release water enabling a small tree to survive for up to 90 days. Currently in China, the government is planting tens of millions of trees to produce a belt around encroaching desert as part of the state’s greening campaign. [Murray, G. (2001) Japan Economic Newswire, 7 September] TS
Hemp on the move A novel use for hemp (Cannabis sativa) has recently come to notice [New Sci. 29 July 2001, p. 17]. A Mercedes motorcar powered by hemp-seed oil is touring the USA as part of a drive to promote drug law reform and show just how useful hemp plants are. It has even been suggested that much of the USA’s present energy needs could be met if hemp was grown for fuel, and would be less environmentally harmful than petrol. Apparently, it is legal to drive the vehicle, providing you do not inhale the exhaust fumes. NC
1360-1385/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
nodulin-like gene. Normally, nodulin-like genes are involved in Rhizobium infection of the roots. TS
Transpiration, more evil than necessary? One of the most memorable quotes of plant physiology, ‘transpiration (evaporative water loss from plant surfaces) is a necessary evil’, relates to the perception that transpirational water loss, primarily through stomata, is the cost suffered for the benefit of being able to take up CO2 to drive photosynthesis. Although transpiration is assumed to be necessary for long-distance transport of dissolved inorganic nutrients, research by Widmar Tanner and Harry Beevers [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 98 (2001) 9443–9447] questions even this ‘benefit’. Using sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) in which transpiration was dissociated from mineral supply, they show that transpiration is not essential for longdistance mineral distribution. NC
Love that maca There is a long history of the search for aphrodisiacs, and a wartlike growth found on plant roots in the Andes might contain the latest potency. Preliminary results come from a team of Peruvian scientists and show that the root growth known as maca can increase sperm production and virility in men aged 20 to 40. Gustavo Gonzales told the newswire Agence France Presse (16 August 2001) that within two weeks of taking the secret compound, the number of sperm in test subjects increased from 87 million to 183 million sperm. Gonzales also noted an increase in libido during the test period. Maca is already in Peruvian markets and exports are starting. TS
It pays to be cool Whereas some scientists research global warming and the effects of elevated temperatures on plant function, Chris Hawes of Oxford Brookes University (UK) has interests at the other end of the temperature scale. Recently, this research has been rewarded with the award of £264 956 from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The funding over a three-year period from 1 January 2002 will enable the purchase of state-of-the-art high-pressurehttp://plants.trends.com
TRENDS in Plant Science Vol.6 No.11 November 2001
freezing equipment to study the dynamics of the plant secretory pathway. In July, Hawes was also elected Vice President of the UK’s Royal Microscopical Society. NC
Agrobacterium genome on the Web Although not a plant, the bacterium Agrobacterium has transformed modern plant biology. As one of the most widely used ‘systems’ for introducing foreign genes into plant cells it has fuelled much of the present research capability of plant genetic engineering. Now, as a result of a multinational collaborative project, the genome of A. tumefaciens is freelyavailable on the Internet at the University of Washington’s (USA) Crown Gall Group’s website (http://www.agrobacterium.org). NC
505
biotech critic, Jane Rissler (Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, USA; www.ucsusa.org), noted that one Bt corn variety was harmful to monarch larvae, but that for unrelated reasons, the variety is being discontinued. [Vorman, J. (2001) Reuters, 11 September] TS
Solid water
Green earth Researchers have evidence that for the past 20 years, the northern latitudes have been becoming greener. NASA satellite data [J. Geophysical Res. (2001) 106, 20] shows that existing vegetation is becoming denser above the 40° latitude line. Liming Zhou, a member of the research team from Boston University (MA, USA), told reporters, ‘When we looked at temperature and satellite vegetation data, we saw that year-to-year changes in growth and duration of the growing season of northern vegetation are tightly linked to year-to-year changes in temperatures.’ Whereas the growing season has extended by up to 12 days in North America, in Eurasia, it has extended by 18 days. (www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/ 20010904greenhouse.html) TS
Bt versus monarchs, part II Two years ago, researchers provided evidence that corn transgenic for Bt, the pesticide from Bacillus thuringiensis, was harmful to monarch butterfly larvae. Now US researchers from the private and public sectors respond with their own studies that show that there is little if any risk from Bt corn pollen. Six studies appeared in the Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. (published online 14 September 2001; www.pnas.org), that, in general, agree that Bt corn has a low risk. One author, Mark Sears (University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada), told reporters, ‘there is less than a 1 or 2% risk of a monarch caterpillar being exposed.’ One
Chinese scientists have developed ‘solid water’ in their efforts to deal with drought in arid northern sections. The developers process the substance from normal water sources. Researchers have not disclosed the nature of the solidifying chemical, but the official Chinese media says that it is environmentally friendly. Tests in a Mongolian desert showed that 85% of newly planted trees survived when scientists used solid water. One kilogram of the water will slowly release water enabling a small tree to survive for up to 90 days. Currently in China, the government is planting tens of millions of trees to produce a belt around encroaching desert as part of the state’s greening campaign. [Murray, G. (2001) Japan Economic Newswire, 7 September] TS
Hemp on the move A novel use for hemp (Cannabis sativa) has recently come to notice [New Sci. 29 July 2001, p. 17]. A Mercedes motorcar powered by hemp-seed oil is touring the USA as part of a drive to promote drug law reform and show just how useful hemp plants are. It has even been suggested that much of the USA’s present energy needs could be met if hemp was grown for fuel, and would be less environmentally harmful than petrol. Apparently, it is legal to drive the vehicle, providing you do not inhale the exhaust fumes. NC
1360-1385/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.