Scientists have been aware of a specific organelle in plant cells for more than a hundred years. However, UC Riverside scientists have only now discovered the organelle’s key role in aging.
The researchers initially set out to understand more generally which parts of plant cells control plant responses to stress from things like infections, too much salt, or too little light. Serendipitously, they found this organelle, and a protein responsible for maintaining the organelle, control whether plants survive being left too often in the dark.
Because they had not expected this discovery, which is described in a Nature Plants journal article, the research team was thrilled.
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