Biotrophic phytopathogens manipulate living hosts for the procurement of nutrients essential for growth and reproduction. It is therefore critical for invading biotrophs to evade or suppress immune responses without impacting overall plant function. In a recent study published in New Phytologist (2019),…

It’s January, which seems to be a month of weather extremes for many “temperate” parts of the globe. Here’s an excellent collection to curl up with as you try to stay warm or cool and out of the elements. The issue includes free-to-access reviews focused on using genomic data (e.g., genome-wide…

I feel guilty about using plastics but it’s hard to break free; they are so integral to a modern lifestyle. However, the problem of plastic pollution is frightening. About 80% of manufactured plastic ends up in landfills or the natural environment. It's appalling to learn that the "Great Pacific Garbage…

Plant cell walls are complex and somewhat difficult to study, but also idespensible for plants and central to many of the ways that people use plants (from wood to fibers to fuels). Two new articles review diverse aspects of plant cell wall synthesis. Polko and Kieber (Plant Cell 10.1105/tpc.18.00760…

Phenotypic plasticity, or the ability to change in response to the environment, is one of the most characteristic (and to me, endearing) qualities of plants. As Arnold et al. observe, it is also one of the most important in terms of future climate change; phenotypic plasticity will mean the difference…

Writing is one of the most important of a scientist’s skills but often overlooked during their training. As Freeling et al. observe, good writing takes time, both to learn and to teach, so what’s the incentive? In this Opinion article, they make an effort to quantify the impact (measured by citation…

The vascular cambium is a meristematic tissue that is responsible for lateral growth and the continued production of new xylem and phloem; in woody plants, the shoot vascular cambium makes wood. A new pair of papers investigates how the Arabidopsis root vascular cambium forms and how it functions. Through…

This is an interesting paper that touches on several topics. Bhatia et al. address the question of how polarity in leaves is first established: essentially, which comes first, polarity in auxin concentration or polarity in gene expression? The authors conclude that in the earliest leaf primordia, there…