Yang et al. show how rice recognizes a Magnaporthe oryzae chitinase to trigger immune responses to this fungal pathogen. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00382 By Chao Yang and Jun Liu Background: Plants, like us, have an immune system that protects them from the majority of pathogen infections. Plants employ specific proteins (receptors) that recognize the conserved […]
Jiang et al. identified a genetic factor regulating seed shattering in rice. The Plant Cell (2019). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00304 By Liyun Jiang and Lubin Tan Background: ‘Seed shatter’ refers to the release of mature seeds from their mother plants, which allows offspring dispersal in the natural environment. In domesticated crops, however, the reduction of shatter is a […]
Soubeyrand et al. use genetic and biochemical evidence to show that Arabidopsis and tomato can derive the ubiquinone precursor 4-hydroxybenzoate from the B-ring of kaempferol. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00688. By Eric Soubeyrand, Timothy S. Johnson, and Scott Latimer, University of Florida, Gainesville. Background: Ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) is a vital cofactor required for cellular respiration and […]
Louveau et al. investigate plant natural products in the large family of enzymes called arabinosyltransferases https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00641 Background: Plants produce a diverse array of natural products. These compounds have important ecological functions, providing protection against pests, diseases, and adverse environmental conditions, e.g. drought and ultra-violet light damage. They also determine important crop traits such as disease […]
Sun et al. use CRISPR/Cas9 in Petunia to establish the essential role of SLF proteins in self-compatibility and reveal their complex interactions with S-RNases. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00615. By Linhan Sun and Teh-hui Kao, The Pennsylvania State University Background: Plant inbreeding results in reduced fitness of the progeny. Since plants cannot move around to select mates, […]
Xu et al. find that the transcription factor SlMYC1 is involved in trichome formation and regulates mono- and sesquiterpene biosynthesis differentially in leaf and stem trichomes in tomato. By Robert Schuurink, Department of Plant Physiology, University of Amsterdam, NL Background: Many plants have hairs (trichomes) on their leaves and stems to defend themselves against insects, […]
Wittmeyer et al. discover a CACTA element that regulates ufo1 epialleles. Plant Cell (2018) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00546 By Kameron Wittmeyer and Surinder Chopra Background: A single gene can produce different outcomes depending on when, where, and at what levels it is turned on. A classical example of this is the red pigment found in corn kernels. A […]
VanBuren et al. examine the evolution of desiccation tolerance in Lindernia. Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00517. By Robert VanBuren and Dorothea Bartels Background: Plants have evolved numerous strategies over the last ~400 million years to overcome water limitations. The most extreme way to cope with drought is to simply dry out when water is limited and […]
Schaefer et al. integrate co-expression networks from three diverse maize gene expression data sets with genome wide association study data to prioritize genes related to the maize grain ionome. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00299 Background: Genetics examines the relationships between DNA and the physical traits of organisms. While we can accurately describe simple traits with a small […]