Dynamic Alternative Splicing Response to Cold
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCalixto et al. demonstrate a rapid wave of alternative splicing as temperatures drop. The Plant Cell (2018) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00177.
By Cristiane Calixto and John Brown
Background: Alternative splicing (AS) allows a single gene to produce more than one transcript, which can affect…
Old Gene, New Function
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellXie et al. discover an EPSP synthase gene involved in the transcriptional regulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway in Populus trichocarpa The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00168.
By Meng Xie, Wellington Mechuro, Jin-Gui Chen, and Gerald A. Tuskan
Background: 5-enolpyruvylshikimate…
Tectonic Movements Across the Tomato Genome
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCorem et al. demonstrate a switch in DNA methylation patterns across the tomato genome. The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00167.
By Shira Corem, Tzahi Arazi and Nicolas Bouché
Background: Crop genomes are covered by transposons, which are DNA sequences that can jump from one…
Autophagy During Viral Infection: Viruses Fight Back!
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellYang et al. investigate the role of autophagy in the ongoing arms race of plant defense and viral counterdefense. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00122
By Meng Yang and Dawei Li
Background: Most plants have defense mechanisms that enable resistance to pathogens. One of theses is…
Genome-Wide Assessment of Alternative Splicing in Maize
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellChen et al. higlight the importance of AS in diversifying gene function and regulating phenotypic variation. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00109
Background: Alternative splicing (AS) of precursor mRNAs is an essential regulatory mechanism that greatly enhances transcriptome and proteome…
Mitigating Yield Loss Under Global Warming
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMa et al. investigate epigenetic aspects of heat-induced male sterility in cotton.
By Yizan Ma, Ling Min and Xianlong Zhang
Background: Global warming causes extremely high temperatures in summer in some areas. Certain crops cultivated in summer cannot tolerate extreme heat stress and begin…
A Lipid Droplet-Associated Degradation System in Plants
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefOnce viewed merely as inert packets of metabolic energy that are mobilized during postgerminative growth, lipid droplets (LDs) have emerged as dynamic organelles with important roles in processes ranging from stress responses to hormone signaling (Pyc et al., 2017). LDs consist of a core of neutral lipids…
Tic-Tac-Toe: How TIC and TOC Coordinate Getting Proteins Across the Line
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefMost proteins within a cell are encoded in the nucleus and then translated in the cytosol, but how do they end up where they need to be? With the exception of the few proteins expressed within the chloroplast, the process of shipping nucleus-encoded proteins into the chloroplast is dependent on N-terminal…
What We're Reading: August 17th
WWR Full PostPerspective: The multiplanetary future of plant synthetic biology
The exploration of space is one of the most inspiring areas of scientific research and a major driver of technological innovation. One of the major factors limiting human expansion trough space is the immensely high cost of resupplying…