To optimize their fitness in the field, plants need to respond rapidly, specifically and dynamically to an ever-changing and often hostile environment. By integrating external environmental cues with endogenous developmental programs, phytohormones play a critical role in the cross-talk between signal transduction networks. Juxtaposed between the plant defense and development pathways is the oxylipin signaling […]
Bhosale et al. computationally predicted and experimentally verified the DNA ploidy level of all cells in the Arabidopsis root tip, revealing that endoreplication is spatiotemporally regulated, stress-responsive, and likely important to coordinate cell expansion with changes in cell wall structure. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00983 By Rahul Bhosale, Steven Maere and Lieven De Veylder Background: Every new […]
OsELF3 Rhythmicity Affects Flowering under Long-day Conditions Zhu et al. identify OsELF3 ubiquitination and degradation by HAF1 in rice. The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00653 By Changyin Wu Background: The photoperiodic response is one of the most important factors determining heading date in rice. Ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation is essential for rhythmicity of flowering regulators. HAF1, a […]
Zhai et al. show that Trehalose 6-phosphate positively regulates fatty acid synthesis by stabilizing WRINKLED1. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00521 Background: In plants, oil synthesis is under the control of an “on switch” or transcription factor called WRINKLED1, that binds to DNA in the regulatory regions attached to approximately 20 genes that code for enzymes involved in […]
Li et al. take a new approach to identify a transcription factor that regulates γ-zein gene expression during maize endosperm development together with other transcription factors. By Chaobin Li and Rentao Song, China Agricultural University Background: Zeins are the most abundant storage proteins in maize seed, and as such, they affect its nutritional quality and […]
Martinez et al. show that a model based on three-dimensional cell shape successfully predicts the division planes of plant and animal cells, confirming a century-old hypothesis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00401 Background: Plant cell division has long been thought to mimic weightless soap films by placing new cell walls in a location that minimizes their surface areas. […]
Zhan et al. report on genome-wide analysis of genes regulated by the maize transcription factor Opaque-2. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00392 By Junpeng Zhan and Ramin Yadegari, University of Arizona Background: In flowering plants, development of seeds is initiated by double fertilization. During double fertilization, one of two sperm cells fuses with the egg cell (a female […]
Robinson et al. investigate scaling relationships between ploidy and size in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00344 By Dana O. Robinson and Adrienne H.K. Roeder Background: The term “ploidy” refers to the number of copies of the genome contained in a cell. Many eukaryotic cells (including plant and animal cells) are diploid (ploidy = 2), […]
Zhang et al. investigate how Blue light enhances cell wall thickening https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00315. Background: Plant vascular tissues provide plants with mechanical strength and long-distance transportation, and the thickened secondary cell walls of certain types of vascular cells help plants grow upright. Formation of the secondary cell wall is regulated by environmental and developmental signals. However, little […]
