Stressful memories help plants resist caterpillars

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk750

Keywords:

food security, Plant biology, Plant immunity, Epigenetics, Herbivory

Abstract

Current agricultural practices heavily depend on harmful pesticides to protect crops against deadly pests and diseases. But what if plants could protect themselves? Our research uncovers an epigenetic mechanism that allows plants to 'remember' stress, providing them with long-lasting defense against pests like caterpillars. This discovery could pave the way for more sustainable crop protection strategies.

Author Biographies

Samuel W Wilkinson, University of Sheffield

Post-doctoral research associate

Adam Hannan Parker, University of Sheffield

PhD student

Jurriaan Ton, University of Sheffield

Professor

Original article reference

Wilkinson, S.W., Hannan Parker, A., Muench, A. et al. Long-lasting memory of jasmonic acid-dependent immunity requires DNA demethylation and ARGONAUTE1. Nat. Plants 9, 81–95 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01313-9

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Published

2023-09-29

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 4 (2023): TheScienceBreaker

Section

Plant Biology

License

Some rights reserved 2023 Samuel W Wilkinson, Adam Hannan Parker, Jurriaan Ton

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.