The importance of the root system for agricultural yields is often underestimated. Whether roots can access water and nutrients effectively also determines the resilience of important crops to drought and climate change. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Bologna (Italy) have discovered and described a mutant in barley: Its roots grow downwards much more sharply than usual. This discovery potentially provides a starting point for breeding more drought-resistant varieties. The study has now been published in PNAS.

The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek, has visited the University of Bonn. The focus was on the developments in the Excellence Strategy. The University of Bonn had emerged from the current competition of the federal and state governments as the most successful applicant with six clusters of excellence and the status of a University of Excellence.

Jupiter’s clouds have water conditions that would allow Earth-like life to exist, but this isn’t possible in Venus’ clouds, according to the groundbreaking finding of new research led by a Queen’s University Belfast scientist with participation of the University of Bonn. The study has been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Mythological nymphs reincarnate as a group of corn smut proteins to launch a battle on maize immunity. One of these proteins appears to stand out among its sister Pleiades, much like its namesake character in Greek mythology. This is shown by a recent study led by the GMI – Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in which the University of Bonn was also involved. The results are published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Increasingly globalized trade, rising international tourism and climate change are increasing the likelihood that previously unknown harmful organisms will be introduced and carried into Germany and that heat-loving harmful organisms will be able to spread more easily. These include the disease Flavescence dorée, which is caused by bacteria (phytoplasmas) and affects grapevines, among others. A project involving researchers from the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn has now received funding of around two million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The aim of the "PhytoMo" project is the early detection of dangerous phytoplasmoses. The Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner presented the researchers with the funding notification this week via video conference.