When air temperatures rise above the comfortable level, plants initiate a cooling mechanism to prevent heat stress. High ambient temperatures induce a specific set of growth responses, termed thermomorphogenesis, which includes enhanced hypocotyl and petiole elongation, and leaf hyponasty (reviewed by Casal and Balasubramanian, 2019). These phenotypes are mainly induced via the warm temperature-mediated inactivation […]
Wheat (Triticum spp.), one of the oldest cultivated cereals, is a major food crop grown in many regions with temperate climates. At present, wheat is grown over a wider area than any other commercial crop. Given its importance, extensive marker-assisted breeding of wheat varieties has been undertaken to improve the quality and reliability of cultivated […]
Chu et al. demonstrate that a special address code is required for efficient protein import into root plastids. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00702 By Hsou-min Li, Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan Background: Chloroplasts are the most famous member of the essential family of organelles called plastids. Plastids develop into distinct functional types […]
Magdalena Julkowska [email protected] Reacting to the environment requires not only activating signaling cascades but also modulating the activity of individual components in a context- and time-dependent manner. For example, under non-stress conditions protein phosphatases 2C (PP2C) keep the SnRK2 abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent protein kinases in an inactive state (Dupeux et al., 2011). Upon exposure to […]
Doll et al. examine the structure of maize seeds and identify a distinct cell type in the endosperm next to the embryo. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00756 Nicolas M. Doll, Peter M. Rogowsky and Thomas Widiez Laboratoire Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, F-69342, Lyon, France. Background: Seeds are […]
Lokdarshi et al. demonstrate that cytosolic protein synthesis under abiotic stress is regulated by the GCN2 kinase-eIF2a module under the command of reactive oxygen species originating from chloroplasts. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00751 By Ansul Lokdarshi and Albrecht von Arnim (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) Background: Protein synthesis is extensively regulated by environmental conditions. In plants, the protein […]
The gibberellin (GA) hormone signaling pathway is a key regulator of major plant developmental processes such as seed germination, cell elongation, and flowering time. The influence of GA is mediated by DELLA repressor proteins which, in the absence of GA, inhibit the activity of transcription factors. In addition to general developmental processes, GA signaling is […]
Nam et al. describe a general method to analyze and quantify the fatty acid biosynthetic profile of any sample with the use of an aspartate protease and LC-MS/MS. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00954 By Lauren M. Jenkinsa,b, Jeong-Won Nama, and Doug K. Allena,b (aDonald Danforth Plant Science Center and bUSDA-ARS) Background: Lipids are a major and most […]
Plant-viral interactions, like other plant-pathogen interactions, involve a molecular arms race. When plants mount a defense response against an unwanted viral invasion, the invaders eventually evolve mechanisms to thwart or sabotage the defense response, thus placing plants back under pressure to evolve immunity to the saboteurs. One component of the plant defense response that is […]