Recent Posts

How Calcium Signals Early Warning

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Liu et al. uncover a direct link between calcium signaling and a plant immune receptor http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/746.abstract Plants have evolved a sophisticated system to defend against pathogen attack that involves recognition of an invading pathogen and activation of the immune system.…

A Surprising Function for Gene Introns

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Gallegos and Rose investigate how introns affect transcript initiation http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/843.abstract. For the information stored in the DNA of genes to be converted into functional protein products, first a molecular copy of the information called messenger RNA is made, using…

How Rice Thrives in Flooded Fields

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Yamauchi et al. study the formation of aerenchyma in rice – spongy tissue filled with air spaces that develop in roots of wetland plants http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/775.abstract Plants, like animals, need oxygen for respiration (the metabolic process of breaking down sugars to get energy).…

Plant Physiology Focus Issue on Stomata published

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The June 2017 issue of Plant Physiology is a Focus Issue on stomata; here is the editorial overview to this issue by Michael R. Blatt, Plant Physiology, Editor-in-Chief, and Tim J. Brodribb and Keiko U. Torii, Plant Physiology Editors. Small Pores with a Big Impact The guard cells surrounding stomatal…

Technology Turbocharges Functional Genomics

Obtaining genomics and other –omics datasets is now routine and widely used across all biological systems, including plants. As a consequence, a wide range of plant species are being interrogated at the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, translatome, and proteome level, leading to new hypotheses about…

Senior Editor Jim Birchler, SEC Professor of the Year

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June 1, 2017 Source http://www.thesecu.com/news/for-sec-professor-of-the-year-teaching-is-in-the-genes/ For SEC Professor of the Year, Teaching is in the Genes Developing relationships with students has always been a priority for Dr. Jim Birchler, the 2017 SEC Professor of the Year. By: Bryant…

Alan Alda's Experiment: Helping Scientists Learn To Talk To The Rest Of Us

An NPR interview with Alan Alda about his efforts to help scientists learn to communicate. "People are dying because we can't communicate in ways that allow us to understand one another," he writes. "It sounds like an exaggeration, but I don't think it is. When patients can't relate to their doctors…

Mapping a Mentoring Roadmap and Developing a Supportive Network for Strategic Career Advancement

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By Beronda L. Montgomery, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA From SAGE Open, Vol 7, Issue 2, First published date: June-03-2017 http://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/izCuY6fGpyIi7B5JREqZ/full Abstract This article presents a proactive, individual-centered mentoring model which meets…

BASS Fishing: Genetic Screen Uncovers a New Transporter in Photorespiration

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South et al. discover a new transporter involved in photorespiration http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/808.abstract. Photosynthesis uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into sugars that provide the energy and chemical building blocks for plant growth. A key enzyme in photosynthesis…