Some plants regenerate by duplicating their DNA

Animal biology professor Ken Paige (left) and postdoctoral fellow Daniel Scholes found that a plant's ability to duplicate its genome within individual cells influences its ability to regenerate. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. When munched by grazing animals (or mauled by scientists in the lab), some herbaceous plants overcompensate - producing more plant matter and becoming more fertile than they otherwise would. Scientists say they now know how these plants accomplish this feat of regeneration. They report their findings in the journal Molecular Ecology. Their study is the first to show that a plant's ability to dramatically rebound after being cut down relies on a process called genome duplication, in which individual cells make multiple copies of all of their genetic content. Genome duplication is not new to science; researchers have known about the phenomenon for decades.