Plant cell walls are one of the great engineering feats of nature, providing immense structural strength and durability. The core components of plant cell walls (pectin, hemicellulose, and cellulose) can occur in different proportions and vary in their structure and assembly, thus allowing cell walls to be tailored for specific purposes. To achieve this variability, […]
Liu et al. identify new connections between known regulators of seed dormancy, acting through modulation of ABA biosynthesis and signaling. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00026 By Fei Liu and Yong Xiang, Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of […]
Plants that fail to flower at the right time will lose out on seed production. Hence, the transition from vegetative growth to the reproductive phase depends strongly on environmental signals. Cold winter temperatures and long days are seasonal cues that stimulate flowering through vernalization and photoperiodic pathways, whereas high ambient temperatures also promote floral transition […]
Sucher et al. reveal that regulatory divergence of conserved genes makes a major contribution during the response of Pentapetalae plants to a fungal pathogen. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00806 Background: Necrotrophic plant pathogens actively kill host cells to cause disease. This is notably the case for the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, causal agent of white and stem mold […]
In the legume-rhizobium root nodule, nitrogen fixing rhizobia are accommodated inside plant cells. In the Medicago – Sinorhizobium model system, the internalization of rhizobia into the host plant is triggered by Nod factors secreted from the symbiotic bacteria. The signals are perceived by the host receptor-like kinase NFP, which interacts with two other kinase receptors […]
Żmieńko et al. generate a catalog of large copy number variations in Arabidopsis, shedding light on the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00640 By Agnieszka Żmieńko and Marek Figlerowicz, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland Background: The genomes of individuals of a single species are not identical. There are […]
Thieffry et al. give a definitive answer to the question of divergent transcription initiation in Arabidopsis, and discover that if left unchecked, it would lead to rampant RNAi. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00815 By Albin Sandelin 1,2, Peter Brodersen 1 and Axel Thieffry 1,2, 1 Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, […]
Zhang et al. elucidate the role of flippases in the polarity and trafficking of PIN auxin transporters. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00869 By Xixi Zhang and Jiří Friml Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria Background: The plant hormone auxin participates in multiple developmental processes. An important feature of auxin […]
Zhou et al. develop and test potential gene regulatory networks in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00080 By Peng Zhou and Nathan Springer Background: Transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in regulating the expression of genes. A single TF can control the expression of many genes, including instances in which a TF regulates many genes with roles […]