Baldrich et al. identified membrane vesicles with tiny RNAs The Plant Cell (2019). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00872 By Roger Innes Background: All cells are defined by an outer membrane, which is made up of a lipid bilayer. Most cells shed small bubbles of membrane called extracellular vesicles (EVs). While EVs were once thought to simply be a trash […]
Jean-Baptiste et al. use single-cell transcriptomic profiling to map developmental trajectories and assess cell-type specific changes during heat shock, demonstrating that single-cell transcriptomics holds promise for studying plant development and plant physiology at unprecedented resolution. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00785 By Josh T. Cuperus and Ken Jean-Baptiste, Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA […]
By Lynn GL Richardson Positive-strand (+)RNA viruses account for the majority of plant viruses. Apart from their significant impact on worldwide agriculture, they also inform our understanding of basic virus biology (Scholthof et al., 2011). Upon entry into the cells of their host, (+)RNA viruses induce drastic rearrangements of host organellar membranes including peroxisomes, mitochondria, […]
Li et al. study a complex that regulates gene expression during drought stress. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00437 By Shuang Li, Ying-Chung Jimmy Lin, Vincent L. Chiang, and Wei Li Background: Plants may become drought tolerant by activating specific drought-responsive genes. Many such genes are modified by chemical marks, called epigenetic marks, such as H3K9ac […]
Zhou et al. provide a resource for structural and functional assignment of the many unknown maize metabolites. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00772 Background: Plants defend themselves against herbivores and pathogens by producing a myriad of specialized metabolites. This physiological process is encoded by biosynthetic and regulatory genes that are positioned throughout the plant genome. In staple crop […]
Duan et al. explore the mechanism underlying plant architecture establishment in rice. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00023 By Erchao Duan, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. Background: Rice is a major crop consumed by more than half of the world’s population. The yield of rice is collectively determined by three major agronomic traits: panicle number, grain number per […]
Dong et al. investigate cotyledon-specific light-regulated gene expression in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2019). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00803 By J. Dong, N. Sun, J. Yang, Z. Deng, J. Lan, G. Qin, H. He, X. W. Deng, V. F. Irish, H. Chen, and N. Wei Background: When germinating in darkness in the soil, an Arabidopsis seedling undergoes etiolation (or […]
Xin et al., identify a mechanistic model that governs cucumber fruit elongation through fine-tuning of ethylene homeostasis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00957 By Xueyong Yang and Tongxu Xin Background: Plant organ growth and development are determined by the subtle balance between growth stimulation and inhibition. Fruit size and shape are important quality traits influencing yield and market […]
Zhang et al. discover a deacetylase from rice that highlights the importance regulating acetylation in the cell wall. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00894 By Baocai Zhang and Yihua Zhou, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Background: Plant cells are encased in structurally diverse polymers, which are assembled into a fibrous network, forming the […]