Sentences with phrase «study plant defenses»

Ecologists who study plant defenses have long predicted that while mature leaves can rely on physical toughness to thwart hungry insects and other animals, tender young leaves need something extra to protect themselves.

Not exact matches

The scientists are now planning further experiments study the co-evolution of dandelions and their root herbivores in order of find out whether the presence of root - feeding insects has shaped the plant defensive chemistry in the course of evolution and whether the insects show adaptations to dandelion defenses.

In studies of Arabidopsis thaliana, also known as mustard weed, a team of researchers at the University of Delaware found that when a plant has its leaf nicked, it plant sends out an emergency alert to neighboring plants, which begin beefing up their defenses.

In a previous study, Duke University biologist Xinnian Dong and colleagues discovered that plants fend off potential fungal infections by boosting their defenses in the morning, when many fungi are likely to release their spores and launch an attack.

Thus, this unbiased approach is one of our major contributions to the understanding of the complexity of plant defenses and insect adaptations,» explains Sagar Pandit, one of the senior authors of the study.