• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, October 24, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Just add water: New discovery in plant-disease mechanism

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 23, 2016
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

We all know that when it rains, plants grow. When it doesn't, they don't.

However, new research led by plant scientists at Michigan State University has found that too much rain, coupled with prolonged high levels of humidity, can result in more plant disease.

The research, detailed in the publication Nature, sheds new light on how climate conditions can influence disease outbreaks in all plants, including field crops, something of concern as we confront climate change.

The scientists discovered that certain virulent bacteria are able to directly inject a protein into a plant's cells that increases the levels of water content in a part of the plant known as the apoplast, where bacteria live.

This, in turn, results in an increase in the prevalence of disease.

"We discovered a new mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants," said Sheng-Yang He, a University Distinguished Professor of plant biology, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and a member of the research team. "What we discovered, in addition to their ability to suppress the plant's immune system, is that bacteria also create a watery environment inside the plant so that they can cause disease."

Add to that conditions of high humidity, He said, and you have a recipe for plant-disease disaster.

It's been a long-standing concept among plant scientists that for disease to occur, the plant needs to be susceptible and the pathogen that attacks it must be very virulent.

However, said Xiu-Fang Xin, MSU research associate and lead author of the paper, it turns out that's not enough.

"What we discovered in this study is that humidity is required for bacteria inside the leaf to accumulate water," she said. "Conditions need to be right. That's why we don't see widespread plant diseases every year."

It's easy to look through past historical weather records to see when a period of high humidity correlated with a disease outbreak. One example: A devastating outbreak of apple fire blight about 10 years ago that wiped out much of west Michigan's apple crop.

"The apples are always there and the pathogens that live in them are always there," He said. "That year, there were rains and long periods of high humidity during apple blossom season that created a perfect storm for disease."

The researchers are hopeful that this discovery will guide efforts to prevent future outbreaks.

"For example, if we were able to accurately forecast the weather we could take some precautionary measures to prevent this from happening," Xin said.

###

Media Contact

Tom Oswald
[email protected]
517-281-7129
@MSUnews

http://msutoday.msu.edu/journalists/

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Impact of Covid-19 on Pain and PTSD in Elderly

October 24, 2025

Evaluating Sweden’s Unique COVID-19 Public Health Strategy

October 24, 2025

Erythropoietin Levels in Hemoglobin E β-Thalassemia Patients

October 23, 2025

Psilocybin Combined with Mindfulness Offers Hope for Treating Depression in Healthcare Workers

October 23, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1277 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 319
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    308 shares
    Share 123 Tweet 77
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    170 shares
    Share 68 Tweet 43
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    132 shares
    Share 53 Tweet 33

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Impact of Covid-19 on Pain and PTSD in Elderly

Evaluating Sweden’s Unique COVID-19 Public Health Strategy

Erythropoietin Levels in Hemoglobin E β-Thalassemia Patients

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 66 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.