Introducing new desirable traits in domesticated crops takes time and is limited by the need for existing trait variation in members of the same species or closely related species. Rodríguez-Leal et al. propose a system by which variation in a quantitative trait can be generated by editing the promoter (where numerous transcriptional regulatory sequences can […]
Seeds integrate environmental information and trigger molecular pathways that help with the decision making process of whether to germinate or not. Several studies in numerous species have shown details of global transcriptomic changes during germination. However, Narsai et al. dig a little deeper. By using next-generation sequencing, they explored not only transcriptomic changes (including unannotated […]
This issue is rooted in the 37th New Phytologist Symposium on ‘Plant developmental evolution’, 2016, that gathered researchers working on the developing field of plant evo-devo. The issue is a wonderful compendium of work presented during the symposium and the contribution of other researchers working in the field. The papers discuss and present work that […]
Nucleosomes, composed of histones, pack chromatin and make genes less available for transcription. Methylation of some histone positions is associated with repression of transcription and epigenetic silencing of some genes. After cell division during the cell cycle, maintenance of expression patterns requires restoration of those epigenetic marks after DNA replication in the G2 phase. Jiang […]
Flower development, unlike flowering timing, is a robust process not much affected by seasonal variation, such that the number of floral organs in each flower can be predicted quite precisely for different plant families. Most Brasiccaceae family species have flowers with fours petals, however, Cardamine hirsuta shows petal number variation at species, population and individual […]
Global change forecasts include projections of severe droughts that could affect many forested biomes, largely influencing future energy and element fluxes. There are two physiological mechanisms associated with tree mortality in response to drought: hydraulic failure (inhibition of water transport) and carbon starvation (imbalance between carbon demand and supply). Adams et al. studied the prevalence […]
Gibberellins (GA) have a role in cell proliferation in the shoot apical meristem (SAM). GA binds to the receptor GID1, leading to DELLA protein degradation, thus promoting stem growth. In absence of GA, DELLAs inhibit growth. In this paper, Serrano-Mislata et al. explore how DELLAs, mainly GAI and RGA, control stem growth. Their results show […]
Diversification in plants is driven by many factors, but one trait, plant size, has been systematically overlooked, in contrast with the zoological field where the influence of body size on diversification has long been recognized. In this Viewpoint paper, Boucher et al. try to convince us why we should consider this trait. Using height as […]
This week’s What We’re Reading is guest edited by Gaby Auge, a Senior Research Associate at Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET (www.leloir.org.ar), in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gaby’s research interests focus on how environmental changes shape plant responses (plasticity), and the ecological and evolutionary consequences such plasticity may have. Gaby is also interested in science communication to […]