Entries by Muthamilarasan Mehanathan

A high‐throughput transient expression system for rice (Plant Cell Environ)

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Transient expression platforms allow short-term expression of candidate genes in the host plant, without the integration of DNA into the host genome. The expression cassettes are delivered to the host cells either by Agrobacterium- or microprojectile-mediated approaches. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is laborious as it needs mature plants, significant time-gap between transformation and observation of results, and […]

High-temporal-resolution transcriptome landscape of early maize seed development (Plant Cell)

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Seeds determine the yield and quality of the plants. In maize, seed development initiates from a double fertilization event where one pollen sperm fuses with the egg and the other with the central cell of female gametophyte to produce the progenitors of embryo and endosperm, respectively. The embryo carries genetic information to the next generation, […]

Review: MicroRNAs and their regulatory roles in plant–environment interactions (Annu Rev Plant Bio) ($)

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate the expression of target genes through mRNA cleavage, translational repression and DNA methylation. The last decade has seen an exponential increase in the studies performed to understand the biogenesis of plant miRNAs, their biological and molecular functions, and mechanisms and regulations of their actions. In […]

Review: Molecular networks of seed size control in plants ($) (Annu Rev Plant Biol)

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Crop yield is largely determined by the size of seeds, and studies are being conducted to understand the complex molecular network controlling the seed size. Li et al. review the possible molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks underlying seed size control and growth, including the factors originating in both maternal and zygotic tissues. The authors describe […]

A large‐scale circular RNA profiling reveals universal molecular mechanisms responsive to drought stress in maize and Arabidopsis ($)

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Recently, a novel class of noncoding RNAs named circular RNA (circRNA) has been shown to play roles in transcriptional regulation of gene expression in plants. However, a complete picture of circRNAome and their regulatory roles in controlling the stress response of plants was lacking. To address this, Zhang et al. have performed circRNA-seq and mRNA-seq […]

Crop variety management for climate adaptation supported by citizen science (PNAS)

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Current research is focused on developing better crop varieties that could withstand the adversities posed by climate change; however, these varieties might perform worse than the locally-grown varieties in field conditions. This could be due to the release of varieties to farmers without performing geographic analysis and without considering the local climatic as well as […]

Evolutionary origins of pseudogenes and association with regulatory sequences (Plant Cell)

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Protein-coding genes have undergone frameshifts, in-frame stop codons, and truncation to produce pseudogenes (Ψs), which had been thought to be non-functional. Recently, Ψs have been shown to play regulatory roles in gene expression by acting as a source of small interfering RNAs or sequestering microRNAs. Understanding the evolution and the molecular functions of Ψs will […]

ABC transporter-mediated transport of glutathione conjugates enhances seed yield and quality in chickpea (Plant Physiol)

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Identifying the genetic determinants of yield and quality traits is essential for crop improvement. Chickpea is the third-most cultivated legume species and is a prominent source of protein to global consumers. Genetic improvement of chickpea, in terms of enhancing its seed size and weight, has been impeded as the QTLs and genes identified so far […]

The Arabidopsis thaliana pan-NLRome; towards exploring NLR diversity in plants (bioRxiv)

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Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLRs) receptors are involved in the intracellular recognition of pathogen effectors. Hundreds of genes encode these NLRs, and the genes are highly polymorphic. So far, a limited number of NLRs were characterized, and three mechanisms of effector recognition have been reported. However, there could be additional mechanisms that operate in the plants […]