Entries by Mary Williams

Plant Science Research Weekly: March 27

Review. Signalling pathways underlying nitrogen-dependent changes in root system architecture: from model to crop species Nitrogen (N) is one of the seventeen essential nutrients for a plant to complete its life cycle and is one of the most important determinants of productivity of various crops globally. Nitrate (NO3‑) and ammonium (NH4+) are the major plant-available […]

Informational Interview with Prof. Patricio Munoz, Assistant Professor, Blueberry Breeding and Genomics, University of Florida

By Conviron Scholar Modesta Abugu In this interview, I spoke with Dr. Patricio Munoz, a scientist at the Horticultural Science department, University of Florida. He uses genomic data to predict the phenotype of blueberries, develop new cultivars and improve traits like yield, flavor, shelf and disease resistance. Dr. Munoz started his career as a forestry […]

Update: How plants sense and respond to stressful environments (Plant Phys)

A longstanding question in plant science is how plants “know” that they are under threat. The identification of cell-surface receptors that identify conserved pathogen patterns sheds some light on biotic stress perception, but what about abiotic stresses such as excessive heat or drought? Lamers et al. give an update on what we currently understand about […]

Plant Science Research Weekly: March 20

Update: How plants sense and respond to stressful environments A longstanding question in plant science is how plants “know” that they are under threat. The identification of cell-surface receptors that identify conserved pathogen patterns sheds some light on biotic stress perception, but what about abiotic stresses such as excessive heat or drought? Lamers et al. […]

Update: Twenty years of progress in physiological and biochemical investigation of RALF peptides (Plant Physiol)

RALFs (Rapid Alkalinzation Factors) were one of the first types of signaling peptides identified in plants, and as their name suggests they were shown to induce an increase in the pH (i.e., alkalinization) of culture medium, through inducing phosphorylation of a plasma-membrane proton pump. There are more than 30 RALF-encoding genes in Arabidopsis, and also […]

An ancestral signalling pathway is conserved in intracellular symbioses-forming plant lineages ($) (Nature Plants)

It’s widely thought that plants acquired the ability to live on land thanks to a little help from their friends, specifically arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Even now, most land plants form mutually beneficial associations with fungi or bacteria, and these often involve the plant cells acting as hosts for their intracellular symbionts. Some plants however have […]

Plant Science Research Weekly: March 13

Opinion: We aren’t good at picking candidate genes, and it’s slowing us down Recent advances have facilitated the generation of huge phenotypic datasets from plant populations. However, the means to inexpensively organise such datasets to unequivocally determine causal genes has evaded researchers. Here, Baxter discusses how human bias when selecting candidate genes is compromising research […]

Review: How mycorrhizal associations drive plant population and community biology ($) (Science)

Great strides have been made in discovering the molecular players that allow plants and mycorrhizal fungi to establish their symbiosis. Here, Tedersoo et al. look beyond the single plant and address how these associations affect plant communities. Notably, they review the functions of the four evolutionarily distinct types of mycorrhizal associations separately and identify commonalities […]

Review: Mechanisms regulating PIF transcription factor activity at the protein level ($) (Physiol. Plant.)

Absorption of red and far-red light by phytochromes dramatically affects plant development, and many of these effects are mediated by the PIF (PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR) family of transcription factors. Favero reviews the many ways that PIF activity is regulated beyond through their interactions with phytochrome. These include post-translational modifications leading to protein turnover, sequestration into […]