For such an important structure, the centromere certainly is hard to pin down, particularly in regard to the relationship between its sequence composition and epigenetic state and its functions in chromosome pairing and kinetochore formation. In addition to undergoing rapid sequence evolution, centromeres can undergo changes in location over evolutionary time. In many cases, this […]
Takeuchi et al. examine the role of an algal protein during nitrogen starvation and quiescence. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00628 By Tomomi Takeuchi and Christoph Benning, Michigan State University Background: Living cells need energy to grow and divide. When their source of energy is scarce, many cells, regardless of their organismal origin, will stop energy-costly processes […]
Meisha Holloway-Phillips Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland [email protected] When trees are subjected to soil water deficits, some leaves and branches show signs of stress or die before others in the canopy. Why is that? Here I highlight recent work by Cardoso and colleagues (2019) demonstrating how the misbranded breakfast symbol of millennials […]
Ren et al. identify a downstream effector of Rab5a that associates with the tethering and fusion complexes to mediate membrane fusion of dense vesicles with the protein storage vacuoles. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00863 By Y.L. Ren, Y.H. Wang and T. Pan Background: Plants use a special type of vacuole, the protein storage vacuoles (PSVs), to store […]
When seeds germinate underground, the emerging seedlings must push upward through the soil to reach sunlight and begin photoautotrophic growth. As the hypocotyl emerges from the seed, mechanical pressure against the soil induces production of ethylene, which accumulates and promotes hypocotyl curling. This forms a structure known as the apical hook, which protects the young […]
Mandáková et al. investigate genome evolution and frequent centromere repositioning in the tribe Arabideae The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00557 By Martin A. Lysak, CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic. Background: The centromere is a chromosomal structure that ensures sister-chromatid cohesion and regular chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Despite their crucial importance, the […]
Leong et al. examine the roles of Kinesin-13 and -8 in moss mitosis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00521 By Shu Yao Leong (Nagoya University, currently Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen) & Moé Yamada (Nagoya University) Background: Microtubules (MTs) are dynamic macromolecular protein filaments of the cytoskeletal network that can undergo assembly and disassembly repeatedly. Regulation of MT […]
Sakuraba et al. show the existence of multilayered regulation systems for the rice ONAC054 transcription factor, which is involved in abscisic acid-induced leaf senescence in rice. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00569 By Nam-Chon Paek, Department of Plant Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea Background: In most plants, abscisic acid (ABA) induces premature leaf senescence. […]
Wu et al. investigated MED25 recruits splicing factors to regulate the alternative splicing of JAZ genes in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2019). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00583 Background: The jasmonate (JA) signaling pathway controls resource allocation between growth- and defense-related processes, thus playing a critical role in optimizing plant adaptation to rapidly changing and often hostile environmental conditions. […]