Entries by Kumanan Govaichelvan

Review. Microbial tug-of-war: How plants and pathogens manipulate microbiomes

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The composition of plant-associated microbes is influenced by plant genetics, immune responses, environmental factors, and interactions between microbes. During disease development, the microbial community at infection sites changes due to tissue damage, altered immune responses, and manipulation via pathogen effector proteins. Mesny et al. argue that host-pathogen co-evolution involves not just the direct interaction between […]

Review: Root growth in response to water stress

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Maintaining root growth is a major plant adaptation to water deficit, enabling continued access to soil water. In a recent review, Voothuluru et al. discuss the inherent complexity of root systems in regard to water stress. Different root types, including primary, seminal, and nodal roots, show varying responses to water deficits, and the root system […]

Review: Stem cells of the vascular cambium

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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 […]

Review. From stressed to success: Unveiling the secret memory of gymnosperms

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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 […]

Branched chain amino acids accumulation contributes to drought tolerance in rice

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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 […]

Loneliness Among Sexual Minorities

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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 […]

Overcoming arsenic stress using iron-oxide doped rice biochar

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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 […]