Plant roots communicate with microbes in a sophisticated manner through chemical communication within the rhizosphere, thereby leading to biofilm formation of beneficial microbes and resulting in priming of defence, or induced resistance in the plant host to a wide range of pathogens (induced systemic…

Review: Genetic strategies for improving crop yields Simply put, as food demand increases due to population growth and increased affluence, crop yields are likely to decrease due to the changing climate. Plant scientists will be familiar with many research avenues that aim to address this disconnect,…

Fixed carbon derived from photosynthates serves critical roles as both a chemical energy reservoir and a building block for anabolic processes.  Environmental constraints that place limitations on a plant’s fixed-carbon economy, such as prolonged darkness and photosynthetic stress, can therefore be…

Ren et al. examine the structure of maize pollen actin. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00973 Zhanhong Ren (Ph.D. candidate), Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, Center for Biological Science and Technology, College of Life Sciences, Beijing…

Jane Fudyma, first author of Untargeted metabolomic profiling of Sphagnum fallax reveals novel antimicrobial metabolites Current Position: Research Specialist & Laboratory Manager, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Education: BS (Hons) General Science, Biology/Chemistry Concentrations, 2013 Non-Scientific…

Mengna Zhuo, first author of A Jasmonate-activated MYC2-Dof2.1-MYC2 Transcriptional Loop Promotes Leaf Senescence in Arabidopsis Current Position: PhD student, Biotechnology Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Japan Education: M.Sc. in Agriculture, The University of Tokyo, Japan; B.Sc. in Veterinary…

Mayumi Nakano, first author of Next-Generation Sequence Databases: RNA and Genomic Informatics Resources for Plants Current Position:  Scientific Manager, Meyers Lab, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Education: M.A. in Japanese Literature from University of Wisconsin-Madison, M.A. in Comparative…

Phytochromes (PHYs) are red/far-red light photoreceptors that are activated by light and deactivated by dark and high temperature. Upon light exposure, PHYs are translocated into the nucleus, where they interact with PHY-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) and induce the degradation of these transcription factors.…