Europeans discover genetic clues to hardier plants

A root is simply a way for plants to feed themselves, but the English language has a fascination with it. We can ‘root out evil’, ‘get to the root of a problem, ‘get back to our roots’ and any number of other permutations. To scientists, healthy roots mean healthy plants, which means good crops and, for farmers at least, good returns. So, findings by Belgian researchers on exactly which genes control root development represent good news.