Entries by Mather Khan

Metal Tolerance Protein 8 mediates Mn and Fe homeostasis in seeds

Plants and seeds are the main dietary source of essential micronutrients in the food chain. The processes regulating transport of micronutrients to and within seeds are critical for germination and enrichment of seeds. Metal transport protein 8 (MTP8) has been characterized as a tonoplast Mn transporter in Arabidopsis roots preventing plants from Mn toxicity. In […]

Role of LOTR1 in Nutrient Transport ($)

Casparian strips, named after the German botanist Robert Caspary who discovered them, are a cellular feature found in the roots of all higher plants. They are ring-like lignin polymers deposited in the middle of anticlinal cell walls (parallel to the root radius) between endodermal cells. Along with suberin lamellae (glycerolipid polymers), Casparian strips play a regulatory […]

Review: Source-sink interactions in plants ($)

With populations increasing globally, improving crop yield potential is one of the major challenges to the plant biologist, complicated by the changing climate. A better understanding of the source (material producer or exporter, e.g., leaves) – sink (material importer or consumer, e.g., roots, growing fruits and seeds) relationship is very important to develop crop plants with […]

Phloem unloading in Arabidopsis roots

It is well known that long distance transport and movement of molecules is enabled by phloem, but the precise mechanism of loading/unloading of phloem mobile compounds is not known. In this article, Ross-Elliott et al. used a combination of approaches (non-invasive imaging, 3D-electron microscopy, and mathematical modelling) to explore phloem unloading. The authors show that […]

Review: Nitrogen sensing in plants ($)

Like other organisms, plants have developed mechanisms to sense and respond to changes in the availability of nutrients. Nitrogen (N), being very essential for the growth and development of plants, must also be strongly monitored by plants. N sensing and signaling in plants are highly researched topics, but uncertainty remains in the nature of N-sensing […]

Iron acquisition and saline-alkaline tolerance in rice

Soil saline-alkalization is a major abiotic stress to agriculture worldwide, causing considerable damage to crop growth and loss of crop productivity. In alkaline soil, iron availability to plants also becomes very limiting. This paper explores the physiological and molecular mechanisms of rice plant’s tolerance to saline-alkaline conditions. Li et al. show that the rice genotype […]