News
![[LINK] Sheng Yang He featured in National Geographic](/sites/_prl/cache/file/80D894A7-55C0-4C41-BE8155167EC43032_newslisting.jpg)
The article revolves around an exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History on our food supply’s vulnerability to plant disease, using an unconventional conduit: early 20th-century glass models of rotting fruit.
January 10, 2020
Berkley Walker's DNA synthesis proposal has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, to study how high temperatures impact plant enzymes that support photosynthesis.
January 8, 2020
For decades, scientists have unsuccessfully tried to dial up amino acid production in crops. One roadblock might be the target of rapamycin (TOR) protein, which detects nutrient availability in plant cells in order to control cell growth and metabolism.
December 18, 2019![Chasing order beyond the realm of the visible: a new tool tidies up molecules at the nano level [VIDEO]](/sites/_prl/cache/file/1681390F-9F55-4770-954B6FCC6DB01250_newslisting.jpg)
A protein from cyanobacteria has been redesigned into a homing beacon to attract molecular payloads. The long-term goal: to organize resources inside living cells for medical or industrial applications.
December 9, 2019
Cheryl Kerfeld will lead a team of five research groups in a $3.4 million NSF Understanding the Rules of Life grant to engineer a synthetic cell. The aim is to tackle two key science and engineering research areas: building a synthetic cell and epigenetics.
November 7, 2019
The new gene family helps control carbon dioxide fixation, which is the first step towards making high-energy molecules that feed the planet's organisms.
September 30, 2019![[LINK] Grad student, Anastasiya Lavell, talks mentoring and chloroplasts on Impact 89FM](/sites/_prl/cache/file/4FA7FB9A-4C09-4458-A5A00655B85E4B65_newslisting.jpg)
The Benning lab student was a guest on The Sci-Files podcast, where she addressed her research on a protein that seems to be important for lipid regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplasts.
August 27, 2019
Marine algae, the evolutionary ancestors of plants, could have hitched a ride with fungi to make it onto dry land.
July 17, 2019
High levels of photosynthetic productivity can dangerously alter a plant cell's chemical balance. GPT2 is a sort of 'brake' that helps recycle and store extra resources that are produced during those times.
July 9, 2019![[LINK] He lab in The Economist: Understanding how crop diseases and climate change interact](/sites/_prl/cache/file/DDF115ED-047A-4060-A08CD8B849F080ED_newslisting.jpg)
The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is mixed news for farmers. Although it is a cause for disruptions in weather patterns, it is also a source of more fuel for photosynthesis and therefore enhanced growth - up to 40%.
May 31, 2019
Various ways of affecting light-capturing antennae can cause cyanobacteria to either remain content or become stressed. The different responses depend on the species and the nature of the modification.
May 29, 2019
The enzyme, G6PDH, diverts and pumps resources into the Calvin-Benson cycle at critical moments to keep the cycle active and, by extension, plants happy and healthy.
May 20, 2019
Rhomboid-like proteins are found across a large number of organisms, like bacteria, flies, and humans. This is the first time such a protein – and how it influences lipid production and transport – has been studied in detail in plants.
May 14, 2019
The genetically engineered shell is based on natural structures and the principles of protein evolution. Scientists see such structures as a source of new industrial or medical technologies.
April 29, 2019
The HCP2 protein is an ancestor of proteins that are known to protect against damage caused by excess light exposure. The study is the first of its kind to structurally and biophysically analyze a protein from the recently discovered HCP family.
April 2, 2019
Plants use the shunt to quickly reboot the Calvin-Benson cycle, the crucial process that makes their food and nourishes the planet's food chain.
March 25, 2019![[LINK] Brandizzi lab to study the effect of space flight on seeds](/sites/_prl/cache/file/F178DE1E-9961-4CC2-BB19344AD88E1394_newslisting.jpg)
The goal is to help increase the nutritional value of plants grown in spaceflight. The seeds will be on NASA's Orion spacecraft, on its maiden voyage to the moon and back.
March 18, 2019
New research reveals a protein, TGNap1, that supports the poorly-understood Trans-Golgi Network in structure, function, and motion. The study also provides evidence for microtubule-driven organelle movement, a new line of thought in plant science.
January 29, 2019![[LINK] How do you grow plants in space? Michigan State researchers are on the case](/sites/_prl/cache/file/A873B302-C1CA-4BC5-A107BFCA635FFA5D_newslisting.jpg)
A Lansing State Journal story features Dr. Brandizzi, Evan Angelos, a fourth-year doctoral student, Starla Zemelis-Durfee, Brandizzi lab manager, and their research on how plants grow in and respond to stressful environments.
January 3, 2019
Can plants defend and grow simultaneously? The answer could help us understand natural ecosystems or help farmers increase yields without increasing dependence on pesticides.
October 22, 2018