At the height of the Covid pandemic, epidemiologists carried out mass sequencing of the circulating virus populations to track their movements and the emergence of new variants. Such molecular epidemiological studies are rarer for plant pathogens but can be equally effective in learning about their patterns of spread. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that […]
Phytoplasmas are bacterial pathogens that induce significant morphological changes in a host plant including prominent leaf yellowing. They are known to be transmitted by piercing-sucking insects or phloem-feeding arthropods. Phytoplasmas alter plant developmental process through specific effectors. In a study by Zhang et al., an effector protein secreted by rice orange leaf phytoplasma (ROLP) induced […]
Studies on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) plant genomes are scarse and CAM evolution is known to be an ecological driver of diversification. The subgenus Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae) is one of the fastest diversifying clades in the plant kingdom and is known for its adaptive CAM trait. It has recently been subect to comparative genomic studies by […]
CLAVATA 3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-related (CLE) peptides and CLAVATA type receptors have been well charecterized for their role in root and shoot apical meristem maintenance in Arabidopsis. CLE peptides are also referred to as “peptide hormones” for their role in contolling physiological and developmental changes in plants. In this review by Bashyal et al., the roles […]
Benzoxazinoids (BXs) are alkaloid specialized metabolites produced by important crops like maize. Their role in shaping the root and rhizosphere microbiomes and in plant defense against pest and pathogens is well known, although the mechanism remains unknown. One of the major BXs produced by maize is DIMBOA-Glc, which is rapidly converted to MBOA in the […]
Functional genomic studies across plants are incomplete without deciphering the putative gene functions in model as well as non-model plants. With an aim to facilitate gene function identification and cross-species expression analysis, Sreedasyam et al. describe the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) Plant Gene Atlas, an updateable large-scale data-resource from 18 diverse plant species spanning single […]
Although CRISPR/Cas9 tools have provided new opportunities for genome editing, using these systems to introduce large pieces of DNA has been challenging. A new genome editing technique, “PrimeRoot” (Prime editing-mediated Recombination Of Opportune Targets), was introduced by Sun et al. and shown to precisely insert large DNA donors/cargos in rice without double stranded break intermediates. […]
The phytohormone ethylene is known for its importance in plant development and mostly for its role in fruit ripening. However, in this review Huang et al. summarize recent findings on ethylene’s role in temperature (hot and cold) stress response and ethylene crosstalk with other hormones. Interestingly, different plants respond to heat stress differently. For example, […]