Scott Hayes, [email protected] The adoption of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant in the early 1980s led to a revolution in plant molecular genetics. Its diminutive size, rapid generation time and small genome made Arabidopsis a fantastic tool, allowing us to build a complex picture of the genetic…

In a fascinating twist to the gravitropism story, Yoshihara and Spalding have managed to make a plant with shoots that don’t ignore gravity, but actually respond in the entirely inappropriate away. The LAZY genes were first identified from a rice mutant with a decreased response to gravity. In Arabidopsis…

Chloroplasts are able to sense and respond to environmental signals. They send retrograde signals that inform the nucleus about their developmental stage and integrity. In response, the nucleus adjusts gene expression to optimize chloroplast recovery and adaptation. Back in 1993, a screen for genotypes…

This week we start with a short summary contributed by Charlotte Gommers hghlighting several papers published in 2019 that revealed new insights into an enigmatic plant gene, GUN1. Research update: GUN1 hit the mark in 2019 Chloroplasts are able to sense and respond to environmental signals. They…

Stem cells are maintained in the stem-cell niche by intercellular interactions and signaling networks in which a peptide hormone, the root meristem growth factor 1 (RGF1), is involved. RGF1 is also important in the control of the size of the meristematic zone and in the stability of the PLETHORA (PLT)…

COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a conserved multi-subunit complex in higher eukaryotes that was originally identified as a regulator of plant photomorphogenesis. It functions by regulating ubiquitin-mediated protein stability, through the deneddylase enzymatic acitivity of the CSN5 subunit. CSN5 is encoded…

Crop yields are vulnerable to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation. Here, Gaupp et al. model the projected crop yields at 1.5 versus 2.0 degrees of additional warming, as part of the HAPPI experiment (perhaps a misnomer: Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts).…

Much of our understanding of plant defense response is built upon the responses that occur in leaves. Many pathogens colonize the phloem system, which is both nutrient-rich and provides an easy conduit for spreading through systemically through the plant body. These phloem-inhabiting prokaryotic pathogens…