Gardeners the world over dread the appearance of aphids on their plants. There are around 4,000 species of these sap-sucking insects and about 250 are pests that can wreak havoc on crops in a garden or orchard.
Ecology
Sep 17, 2024
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1
Huperzia is a genus of lycophyte plants, sometimes known as the firmosses or fir clubmosses. It contains about 25 species that mainly occur in temperate and boreal climatic zones of the world.
Plants & Animals
Sep 6, 2024
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Aspergillus fumigatus is a mold that is found all over the world. Unlike closely related species, it can cause serious, often fatal infections in humans. What makes A. fumigatus so dangerous? An international research team ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 4, 2024
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460
What can we learn from a fungus that eats most of the flies in your home from the inside, turns them into zombies and then lures other flies to necrophilic intercourse? Possibly quite a lot, according to researchers at the ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2024
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144
A study published in Nature Chemical Biology leverages the natural resilience of spores, which can endure extreme environmental conditions, by programming them to secrete plastic-degrading enzymes under specific circumstances. ...
Biochemistry
Aug 22, 2024
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62
Every year, life-threatening invasive fungal infections afflict more than 2 million individuals globally. Mortality rates for these infections are high, even when patients receive treatment.
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 7, 2024
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31
An invasive fungus that colonizes the skin of hibernating bats with deadly consequences is a stealthy invader that uses multiple strategies to slip into the small mammals' skin cells and quietly manipulate them to aid its ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 11, 2024
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49
Bioaerosols include bacteria, fungi, fungal spores and plant pollen, as well as viruses and their secretions such as endotoxin, glucan and mycotoxins. Various respiratory diseases such as rhinitis, respiratory inflammation, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 2, 2024
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2
A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry's environmental footprint. Researchers led by the University of California San Diego have developed a biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2024
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A new study led by Cornell University is the first to analyze plant spore dispersion at its source, where rain droplets shake flexible leaves to initially disperse pathogens.
Plants & Animals
Jan 31, 2024
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In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoans. A chief difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores have very little stored food resources compared with seeds.
Spores are usually haploid and unicellular and are produced by meiosis in the sporangium by the sporophyte. Once conditions are favorable, the spore can develop into a new organism using mitotic division, producing a multicellular gametophyte, which eventually goes on to produce gametes.
Two gametes fuse to create a new sporophyte. This cycle is known as alternation of generations, but a better term is "biological life cycle", as there may be more than one phase and so it cannot be a direct alternation. Haploid spores produced by mitosis (known as mitospores) are used by many fungi for asexual reproduction.
Many ferns, especially those adapted to dry conditions, produce diploid spores. This form of asexual reproduction is called apogamy. It is a form of apomixis.
Spores are the units of asexual reproduction, because a single spore develops into a new organism. By contrast, gametes are the units of sexual reproduction, as two gametes need to fuse to create a new organism.
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