Feeling stressed? So is the poplar

Trees deal with a lot of stress just like humans do. This comes about from a lack of water, too much water, scarcity of a needed nutrient, pollution, or a changing climate. Helping trees and crops adapt to stress quickly and efficiently is a goal of plant biologists worldwide. Research led by scientists at the Michian Technological University has identified the molecular mechanism that Populus, which is common poplars, cottonwoods, and aspens, uses to adapt to the changing soil conditions. The scientists hope to apply what theyve recently learned to find new ways to use biotechnology or selective breeding to modify trees and make them more stress tolerant