Regulation of transcription occurs at the cell-type specific level, but transcribed messenger RNA is mobile and can move between tissues through plant vasculature, serving as a long distance messenger. Many mRNA molecules have been identified in the phloem sap, suggesting that mRNA transport goes through plasmodesmata from companion cells into the phloem sieve elements. Transport […]
The formation of the lobes at the Arabidopsis leaf margin are due to differences in local auxin accumulation, coordinated by auxin efflux carrier (PIN1) and transcriptional regulator (CUC2), but the molecular mechanisms acting upstream are not yet understood. Among viable leaf shape mutants, Wilson-Sanchez and colleagues identified that mutation of VASCULATURE COMPLEXITY AND CONNECTIVITY (VCC), […]
Plants can reach impressive heights, thanks to the mechanical stability provided by the cell walls. The required strength is ensured by coordination of cell wall deposition and cell expansion. Plant-specific calpain (DEK1) regulates axial stem growth, as lines overexpressing the calpain domain develop shorter stems than wild-type plants, while the opposite was observed for amiRNA […]
In order for a cell to expand, its volume needs to increase and the cell wall needs to loosen up. There are multiple processes resulting in cell wall loosening, but not all of them result in extension. Cosgrove differentiates different structural, mechanical and physiocochemical processes that lead to cell wall loosening. The interaction between cellulose […]
Wild relatives of domesticated plants, such as tomato, are valuable resource for breeding, but their genomes are often not very well sequenced. Razali et al. provide the first high-quality genome of wild tomato S.pimpinellifolium LA0480, and use Dragon Eukaryotic Analysis Platform to functionally annotate the genes. The comparison between cultivated tomato and LA0480 revealed that […]
While everyone knows that salt stress reduces root growth, Julkowska and colleagues examined salt-stress induced changes in Root System Architecture (RSA) by studying 347 Arabidopsis accessions. The authors collected 17 RSA traits and developed an app allowing interactive exploration of collected data. GWAS identified 100 loci, among which were CYP79B2 and HKT1. CYP79B2 was validated […]
Plants adapt their form, function and metabolism to the surrounding environment. According to Tardieu et al., understanding the plant phenome requires that plant phenotypes to be studied on different spatial and temporal scales. High precision platforms are instrumental for discovery of new physiological mechanisms, but larger scale experiments are necessary to understand relationship to yield […]
The jigsaw-puzzle shape of the epidermis layer has been puzzling the scientists for some time now. Majda et al. examine the shape of the epidermis cells from the cell wall perspective. Mutations leading to even minor changes in cell wall composition significantly affected pavement cell geometry. Using computational modeling the team discovered that in order […]
If you ever tried to compare the results from two different experiments, you probably realized that small variations in the environment have big impact on how the plants grow. There is a lot to be learned from how the variation in the environment affects plant phenotypes, but currently the description of experimental setup varies between […]