Not Just a Weed: Tires Made from Dandelions

Using thorough genome analysis and precision breeding, a pair of German scientists have doubled the amount of natural rubber produced by a specific strain of dandelion, a common and abundant weed. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME have successfully identified a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to the natural rubber tree, which has no synthetic replacement.

The rubber tree, or Hevea brasiliensis, is almost exclusively grown in the sub-tropical regions of Southeast Asia, and takes between 5-7 years to deliver its' first harvest. As global demand for rubber has grown, acres of precious rainforest have been converted into agricultural land.

Dandelions, on the other hand, are incredibly resilient, can grow in moderate climates, and can survive in soil unfit for the cultivation of food and feed crops. Additionally, they grow annually, so their rubber can be harvested on a more regular basis, consistent with the fluctuations of the rubber market.

The strain of dandelion, called the Russian dandelion, is cheaper and more sustainable than the natural rubber tree, however, it will not completely replace the traditional method of making rubber. To do so would require a plot of land the size of Austria completely dedicated to the cultivation of dandelions.

Tire company Continental has already created a prototype using the rubber, and their researcher, Dr. Carla Recker states, "the dandelion natural rubber has ideal material properties," and that "the tires are equivalent to those made from Hevea natural rubber."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-06-natural-rubber-dandelions.html#jCp

The Spider Mite

This article talks about how a group of international scientists were able to decipher the genome of the spider mite. The spider mite is also the first known genome of an arachnid. This helps bring new light to the evolution of arthropods and to help stop the destruction the spider mite causes. The spider mite feeds on crops and plant juices. The spider mite likes over 1100 different plant species including tomato, strawberry, peppers, cucumbers, and corn. They bite into the leaves of the plants and completely suck them dry. Spider mite bites are usually spotted because they leave a yellow spot behind. The tricky part about these spider mites is that they are not affected by many types of pesticides. They also produce silk which they then wrap around the plant or its leaves. Hopefully now that they were able to figure out the genome of the spider mite they can create a pesticide to stop them. We may be able to use their silk for material in the future as well.

Selaginella genome adds piece to plant evolutionary puzzle

A Purdue University-led sequencing of the Selaginella moellendorffii(spikemoss) genome - the first for a non-seed vascular plant - is expected to give scientists a better understanding of how plants of all kinds evolved over the past 500 million years and could open new doors for the identification of new pharmaceuticals.

A team of 100 from 11 different countries was to sequence the genome of Selaginella, a lycophyte. Lycophytes are the oldest living vascular plants, which shed pores to reproduce and have a singular vascular vein through their leaves.

Scientists also discovered that the Selaginella is the only plant that has not experienced a polyploidy event, which means it does not create one or more sets of extra chromosomes. It also is missing genes that most flowers have such as controlling flowering and the stages of changing from a juvenile phase to adult. They are unsure as to how it does what other plants can do with its missing genes.

The genome of the Selaginella would help scientists understand how its genes give the plants its unique characteristics and how other plants are evolutionarily connected to it. There research is to help them understand how plants evolved as well.

This article was interesting to read. I really was never aware of how much we still have to learn about almost everything. Scientists are researching so many things and we discover/learning so many important things that will help us later in life.