In recent years, studies in the model bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha have provided insights on how the Jasmonic Acid (JA) pathway works in early diverging land plants, starting from its biosynthesis (Yamamoto et al., 2015; Koeduka et al., 2015), followed by perception (Monte et al, 2018) and co-repressor (Monte et al, 2019), and now, the transcription […]
Insights into transcription factors (TFs) in non-flowering plants are increading thanks to the establishment of new bryophyte model organisms. In new work, Ishikawa et al. present STEMIN1, a Physcomitrella patens TF belonging to an uncharacterized subgroup of the AP2/ERF family. Physcomitrella undergo cell reprogramming when the leaf is cut, generating chloronema apical stem cells that […]
Marchantia polymorpha is an emerging model for plant molecular biology and has contributed to studies on development and plant-microbe interactions. Here, using RNA-seq and proteomics, Carella et al. present a detailed time-course analysis of Marchantia molecular responses to pathogen infection triggered by the oomycete Phytophtora palmitovora. By comparing Marchantia to tobacco responses, the authors show […]
As in animals, plants produce microRNAs that are also key developmental regulators. Unlike some animals, plants are more exposed to environmental factors that alter cellular processes. Ré et al. show here that phenotypic defects produced by loss-of-function mutations in key proteins of Arabidopsis miRNA biogenesis machinery, such as SERRATE (SE) and HYPONASTIC LEAVES 1 (HYL1), […]
The nucleus of plants cells, like other eukaryotes, is full of non-membranous compartments separated by liquid-liquid phases. These complexes are often called nuclear bodies and concentrate proteins and nucleic acids. Disordered protein domains play a critical in their formation. Here, Fang et al. aimed to study the function of FCA, an Arabidopsis protein required for […]
Machine learning is a booming research field, also in Plant Science. Here, Wu et al. use chromatin modifications and transcription factors to predict transcription levels in Arabidopsis and rice. This is not only important for prediction but also to understand the mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation. For chromatin modifications, they studied the combinatorial effect of histone […]
The peptide/hormones CLE (CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-related) and their receptors are a fascinating cell signal system that regulates meristems activity in angiosperms and is crucial for the establishment of 3D forms. How this system works in bryophytes is very relevant to understand its evolution in plants that develop different body plans. Differently to the moss Physcomitrella […]
Plants transitioned from water to land around 450 Million years ago. Since their emergence onto land, there have been at least a few reversion events to aquatic environments (e.g., duckweed, humped bladderwort). These big evolutionary events imply adaptation to completely different kinds of biotic and abiotic stresses, requiring many genetic innovations and gene-losses. Here, Baggs […]
Auxin is crucial for root development across angiosperms. All the auxin signal transduction pathway components are conserved in land plants, but their role is still not completely clear in early diverged lineages. Here, Fang et al. present a comprehensive analysis of exogenous auxin addition and polar transport inhibitor effects in the root development of Selaginella […]