Plants

MIT chemical engineers have designed a sensor that can be embedded into plant leaves and measure hydrogen peroxide levels, which indicate that damage has occurred. The signal can be sent to a nearby smartphone.

Nanosensor can alert a smartphone when plants are stressed

Carbon nanotubes embedded in leaves detect chemical signals that are produced when a plant is damaged.

April 15, 2020

Assistant Professor Gabriela Schlau-Cohen has observed, for the first time, a mechanism that plants use to protect themselves from sun damage.

How plants protect themselves from sun damage

Study reveals a mechanism that plants can use to dissipate excess sunlight as heat.

March 10, 2020

Christopher Voigt and Eszter Majer (pictured) collaborated with chloroplast and mitochondria experts from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Germany and the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, during their seed grant period, collaborations that were made possible by J-WAFS seed grants.

Making real a biotechnology dream: nitrogen-fixing cereal crops

Voigt Lab's work could eventually replace cereal crops’ need for nitrogen from chemical fertilizers.

January 10, 2020

“Many of the epigenetic phenomena we know about were first discovered in plants, and in terms of understanding the molecular mechanisms, work on plants has also led the way,” says Associate Professor Mary Gehring.

Mary Gehring: Using flowering plants to explore epigenetic inheritance

Biologist’s studies illuminate a control system that influences how traits are passed along to new generations.

December 14, 2019

Researchers have used silk derived from ordinary silkworm cocoons, like those seen here, mixed with bacteria and nutrients, to make a coating for seeds that can help them germinate and grow even in salty soil.

Coated seeds may enable agriculture on marginal lands

A specialized silk covering could protect seeds from salinity while also providing fertilizer-generating microbes.

November 25, 2019

The Hive Garden, a first-of-its-kind pollinator garden at MIT, recently opened on Saxon Lawn.

MIT’s new sustainability garden creates a buzz

Collaborative process makes space for community, plants, and pollinators alike.

November 25, 2019

Uncovering the riches of traditional global medicine

Researchers solve how the kava plant produces its pain-relieving and anti-anxiety molecules, demonstrate an extensible method to scale and optimize production.

July 23, 2019

Glowing nanobionic watercress illuminates the book “Paradise Lost.”

Ambient plant illumination could light the way for greener buildings

Collaboration between MIT architect and chemical engineer could be at the center of new sustainable infrastructure for buildings.

May 9, 2019

Researchers in MIT’s Open Agriculture Initiative grow basil under controlled environmental conditions to study how taste and other features are affected.

The future of agriculture is computerized

Machine learning can reveal optimal growing conditions to maximize taste and other features.

April 3, 2019

MIT engineers have developed a way to deliver genes to the chloroplasts of plant cells. In these images, mesophyll cells (right) and epidermal cells (left) in an arugula leaf have been engineered to express a yellow fluorescent protein in their chloroplasts. Cell walls are stained red and chloroplasts are stained blue.

An easier way to engineer plants

MIT-led team uses nanoparticles to deliver genes into plant chloroplasts.

February 25, 2019

Researchers mapped out pathways of energy flow that connect the high energy side of the absorbed solar spectrum to the low energy side.

How plants expand their capacity to use solar energy

Research from the lab of assistant professor of chemistry Gabriela Schlau-Cohen advances the understanding of plants' photosynthetic machinery.

February 6, 2019

The toughness of Sporopollenin, a polymer within the shells of pollen grains (seen here magnified 500X using a scanning electron microscope), has made it possible for plant life to survive on land — but has also frustrated attempts to study its fundamental composition, until now.

Cracking a tough case

Whitehead Institute and MIT researchers uncover the detailed molecular structure of the sporopollenin polymer, an inert material key for the emergence of land plants.

December 17, 2018

Illumination of a book (“Paradise Lost,” by John Milton) with the nanobionic light-emitting plants (two 3.5-week-old watercress plants). The book and the light-emitting watercress plants were placed in front of a reflective paper to increase the influence from the light emitting plants to the book pages.

Engineers create plants that glow

Illumination from nanobionic plants might one day replace some electrical lighting.

December 12, 2017

Artist's impression of the sensor comprised of conductive ink printed across a stoma with two micropillars.

Sensors applied to plant leaves warn of water shortage

Electronic circuits reveal when a plant begins to experience drought conditions.

November 8, 2017

David Des Marais recently joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty, and will work in the department’s Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering.

Finding the root cause of plant resilience

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering welcomes plant ecologist Dave Des Marais to the MIT faculty.

October 10, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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