Rice is one of the major staple crops in the world as it is an essential component of diets and livelihoods. Populations in poor regions that are highly dependent on rice (Africa and South Asia) will increase dramatically by 2050, revealing the urgent need to find tools to prevent a future humanitarian crisis. Wing et […]
The appearance and growing importance of genetically engineered (GE) food, and the extensive resistance to it, raises many issues specific to this technology. Scott et al. analyze the bases of lay opposition to GE food and evidence for how attitudes change towards this topic. The authors indicate that a lot of people are against GE […]
In plant development, auxin serves as a concentration-dependent signal that regulates cell differentiation, elongation and proliferation. The distribution of auxin is carried out by auxin efflux carriers such as PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins and the specific accumulation of auxin directs organ differentiation and organization. Marhava et al. developed a mutant of the BREVIS RADIX (BRX) gene […]
FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) are proteins required for seasonal sensing in plants. Specifically, FLC and FT control seed dormancy and flowering time. In the control of flowering time, FLC expression is regulated by the prolonged-cold induction of antisense transcripts at FLC known as COOLAIR, which facilitate FLC silencing. Previously Chen […]
Patrut et al. report that 8 of the 13 oldest and 5 of the 6 largest African Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) trees, known for their enormous size and great longevity, have died (or at least their largest and/or oldest parts/stems have collapsed and died). Included in the dead are Panke, the oldest Baobab in the […]
Plants are exposed to a wide variety of biotic stressors such as herbivores and microbial pathogens. Thus, they have developed a sophisticated response system which involves different signal molecules and accurate signaling pathway responses. Among them, phytosulfokine (PSK), a disulfated pentapeptide, has been suggested to be a key signaling molecule, but evidence that supports this […]
Autophagy has been defined as non-specific self-eating to obtain material that will be used for key processes within the cell. Even through authophagy has been demonstrated to be very important, its role during plant-bacteria interactions is not well known. Üstün et al. examined interactions between autophagy and the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), based on previous studies […]
Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers We all are different. We all like different things. We all think, behave and react differently. Therefore to suggest a list, to actions to follow with the aim to develop a niche and instruct how to be noticed in a specific field, is not an easy task. However, as a […]
Piercing-sucking insects secrete saliva while feeding through specialized mouth parts called stylets. Saliva plays critical roles in insect digestion and nutrition, and regulates plant defense responses, but the specific metabolites involved have not been characterized. Shangguan et al. reported the identification of a specific protein secreted in the saliva of Nilaparvata lugens, an important rice pest. […]