Vascular cambium cells are meristematic cells responsible for secondary growth. Lineage tracing studies in Arabidopsis and poplar show the presence of single bifacial stem cells in each radial cell file that produce xylem inwards and phloem cells outwards. In a recent review, Wybouw et al. discuss the concept of stem cells in vascular cambium. The […]
Epigenetic stress memory in gymnosperms is the topic of a new review by Fossdal et al. Gymnosperms are long-lived, cone-bearing, tough trees, known to tolerate episodic stress. Their adaptive traits to stress are not passed on in a straightforward way, conforming to classical Mendelian inheritance. Instead, adaptive responses in gymnosperms are a result of epigenetic […]
The accumulation of metabolites such as proline as compatible osmolytes is a protective mechanism against drought stress in plants. Similarly, under drought conditions, there is an observable increase in the accumulation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including the essential amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. Shim et al. investigated rice OsDIAT (DROUGHT-INDUCED BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID […]
Humans are social creatures with a strong desire for companionship, intimacy, and belonging. Loneliness occurs when the relationships a person has do not match their desired relationships. Social loneliness is the absence of satisfactory social connections with friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors who provide support, belonging, companionship, and community. Emotional loneliness is the absence of […]
Harvest index (HI) is the ratio of grain yield to the sum of grain, leaf, and stem biomass. HI is affected by environmental conditions such as water availability. Previously, carbohydrate remobilization from stem to grain has been shown to be affected by drought (which in rice contributes to C remobilization) and to contribute to HI. […]
Arsenic (As) contamination in soil influences the physio-chemical properties of plants. Majumdar et al. propose the use of rice biochar (RBC) doped with iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles, an eco-friendly composite, to minimize As toxicity in plants. Rice plants grown on As-contaminated soil with the composite showed reduced stress markers, whereas the control plants grown in […]