Michigan State University is getting a $900,000 National Science Foundation grant to help boost the study of plants.
The East Lansing school says a team will study plants' stomata, which are specialized pores on the surface of leaves, and look at how plants can avoid diseases.
Brad Day, associate professor of plant, soil and microbial science and the grant's co-lead investigator, says those involved want to find out how plants battle bacterial pathogens at the molecular level.
They'll explore how plants respond to environmental threats.
As part of the grant, researchers also will work to help communicate how advances in the lab can have a direct impact on daily life and the agriculture industry.
Editor's note: The Associated Press has issued a correction in this story to show that the grant is worth $900,000, not $3.6 million, based on new information from Michigan State University.
