Plant Physiol. Heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding (G) proteins participate in numerous processes including the regulation of hormonal responses and environmental stress. G proteins are composed of three subunits: Gα, Gβ, and Gγ. AGB1, a Gβ protein, forms a non-covalent dimer with a Gγ subunit, AGG. This AGB1-AGG dimer binds the Gα subunit GPA1. Yu et al. […]
Nature. Through the activity of hundreds of membrane receptors, plants can sense the extracellular environment and tune their growth and responses to abiotic and biotic stimuli in an elegant and complex way. Despite their pivotal role, only a dozen of receptors have been characterized in plants and very limited is known about how they interact […]
Plant Cell. Plants sense competitors through phytochromes. Phytochromes detect the reflection of far-red light from nearby plants, resulting in a reduced red:far-red (R:FR) ratio. The reduced ratio causes shade avoidance responses which modify shoot and root system architecture. This paper by van Gelderen and colleagues identifies a regulatory mechanism of root system architecture induced by […]
Ann. Botany. Melatonin was first identified in plants in 1995. Since then, it has been found to be involved in many aspects of plant response to biotic and abiotic stress. Chen et al. investigate the effect of melatonin during lateral root (LR) development in alfalfa and Arabidopsis seedlings. Exogenous application of melatonin was found to […]
BioRxiv. Barley powdery mildew is an important asmocycete disease caused by the fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Previous literature in this field has investigated susceptibility genes as important targets to develop resistance. A well-known example of this, is the MLO gene, a negative regulator of basal resistance, loss of which is associated with mildew […]
New. Phytol. Ustilago maydis causes corn smut disease on maize which is characterized by plant cancerous symptoms forming tumours on all aerial parts of host. The fungus deploys organ-specific effector proteins to re-program organ primordia to enormous tumours, however the cellular dissection of these symptoms remains unknown. Matei et al. have investigated the origin of […]
Plant Physiol. Extracellular ATP induces plant defense responses but the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. The paper by Tripathi et al. shows how extracellular ATP serves as a danger signal in plant defense and its interaction with the signalling pathways of other stress hormones, e.g. jasmonate (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). Using Arabidopsis thaliana leaves […]
Nature. Cuscuta sp. commonly known as dodder, is an obligate parasitic plant that colonizes a broad range of host plants and obtain water and nutrients by specialized feeding structure called haustorium. Literature suggests that this specialized structure is involved in bidirectional movement of viruses, proteins and mRNA between the host and parasite. Yet, the functional […]
Science. As our ecosystems are changing rapidly, more studies are needed to document them. One of these important events is “coral bleaching”, a phenomenon that occurs due to environmental stress and when coral hosts lose their algal symbionts or zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium spp.), showing the white skeleton of the coral. Coral mortality is increased when bleaching […]