In a study published in New Phytologist, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating Fe homeostasis in rice (Oryza sativa), highlighting the critical roles of transcription factors OsbHLH062 and OsIRO3 in balancing Fe uptake and preventing toxicity.

Researchers have discovered a remarkable example of tool use in the insect world: the assassin bug (Pahabengkakia piliceps) weaponizes resin from stingless bee nests to trick its prey into attacking at the ideal predation part. The bugs chemically “hack” bee resin to turn colony defenses into a hunting aid. Published in PNAS, this finding provides the first comprehensive evidence of an invertebrate predator using tools to exploit the collective defenses of social insects.

A team of researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Forest Research Institute of Myanmar, has identified a new plant species of Zingiberaceae (ginger family), Monolophus unifolius, during fieldwork surveying plant diversity in Myanmar’s Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary.

Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a genome-wide analysis and discovered two homologs of AtSAP, designated as SlSAP1 and SlSAP2 which belong to the STERILE APETALA1 (SAP) family, respectively. They uncovered the molecular mechanisms behind tomato fruit size regulation, shedding light on how two critical genes, SlSAP1 and SlSAP2, control cell proliferation and expansion to determine fruit dimensions.

A collaborative study led by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of California, San Diego, has uncovered how prolonged artificial light exposure disrupts physiology and cognitive functions of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified a new plant species, Eumachia brevipedunculata, in the tropical rainforests of southern Yunnan, China, and northern Laos.

Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified a new plant species, Eumachia brevipedunculata, in the tropical rainforests of southern Yunnan, China, and northern Laos.

A team of researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators have identified a new species of Aspidistra (Asparagaceae) in the karst forests of Yunnan Province, China, further highlighting the region’s extraordinary biodiversity.

Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators provided insight to the intricate mechanisms shaping chemical diversity in tropical forests, emphasizing the critical role of intraspecific variation in plant metabolites. They presented the first metabolomic study of genetic and environmental drivers of intraspecific metabolite variation in tree species co-occurring within a tropical forest community.