Nibbled plants grow back stronger
Posted by staff / January 4, 2012
A chromosome boost makes some plants come back stronger after they’ve been eaten, researchers say.
When these certain herbs are eaten down to the ground, they re-grow even larger, producing significantly more biomass, flowers, fruits, and seeds than plants of the same species that were not eaten.
Now, researchers may know the reason why, for they discovered what might be one mechanism behind these comeback plants. Remarkably, these plants increase their number of chromosomes after being damaged.
“Finding out that an organism can change its chromosome number under environmental stress was pretty surprising,” says Ken Paige, head of the department of animal biology at the University of Illinois. “This had not been shown in any form by any other living organism.”
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: University of Illinois
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