Entries by Linda Palmer

Getting to Know Each Cell in an Arabidopsis Root

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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 […]

Hijacking the ER membrane – lessons from Turnip mosaic virus

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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, […]

How Plants Activate Drought-Responsive Genes

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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 […]

Metabolite to Gene: A High-Resolution Resource for Maize

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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 […]

OsSHI1 shapes plant architecture in rice

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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 […]

How Does Light Cause Arabidopsis Cotyledons to Open?

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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 […]

To grow, or not to grow, that is the question

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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 […]

Acetylation in the Assembly of Cell-Wall Architecture

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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 […]

Adaptive Loss-of-Function Mutations

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Xu et al. study the effects of loss-of-function mutations in over 1000 Arabidopsis accessions. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00321  By Yong-Chao Xu and Ya-Long Guo Background:  The gain of genes is thought to play important roles in the adaptation and diversification of plants. Loss-of-function mutations lead to pseudogenization or gene loss, which might contribute to adaptation and diversification as […]