The transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats exposed plants to low water availability, high light, radiation, and other environmental challenges. To overcome these challenges, plants developed morpho-physiological adaptations to tolerate dry environments and make photosynthesis more efficient.…

While traditionally known for having their ovules exposed to the environment, all gymnosperm lineages have species with fleshy seed-associated tissues. Here, Nigris and colleagues provide an overview of the vast diversity of fruit-like structures present in gymnosperms and the hypothesis available to…

The question “Are plants intelligent?” is raised regularly, with answer often “Well, it depends how you define intelligence.” Another interesting question is whether or not plants have cellular structures that are analogous to those that make up the animal nervous system. Robinson and Draguhn…

New mechanisms for the production and function of small RNAs continue to be discovered. Previous studies have shown a role for small RNAs in methylation reprogramming. Recently, Long et al. found that the epigenetic reprogramming that takes place in the male reproductive tissues also involves mobile…

Prions were first identified as the infectious protein agents causative of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease); when individuals eat something containing these prion proteins, the prion proteins induce conformational changes in their brains leading to neurological…

Review: Convergent evolution of gene regulatory networks underlying plant adaptations The transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats exposed plants to low water availability, high light, radiation, and other environmental challenges. To overcome these challenges, plants developed morpho-physiological…

Amundson et al. investigate the fate of parental DNA in crosses that produce uniparental dihaploids  By Kirk Amundson and Luca Comai  Background: Plants carrying only the chromosomes of one parent, i.e. haploids, are very useful for research and breeding. Certain crosses are known to yield haploid…

Sajina Bhandari, first author of "Triacylglycerol remodeling in Physaria fendleri indicates oil accumulation is dynamic and not a metabolic endpoint" Current Position: PhD candidate, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, WA Education: BS in Biotechnology,…