Entries by Min May Wong

Autophagy promotes photomorphogenesis during seedling development (bioRxiv)

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Autophagy is an intracellular evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that degrades cytoplasmic constituents and organelles in lytic vacuoles (micro- and macro-autophagy) or in the cytosol (mega-autophagy). Autophagy can be induced by biotic or abiotic stresses, sugar, carbon and nutrient starvation and also influences various developmental processes. Wijerathna-Yapa et al. investigated the abundance of organelle-specific marker proteins […]

A clustered mitochondria family protein mediates the plant mitophagy (Curr. Biol.)

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Mitochondria function as cellular powerhouses to generate energy via oxidative phosphorylation and facilitate the synthesis of essential macromolecules. To protect against proteotoxic stress, damaged mitochondria are selectively removed by autophagy via a process known as mitophagy. In mammalian cells, the selective mitophagy receptors and adaptors proteins have been extensively studied, but those homologs are mostly […]

Multi-omics analysis reveals interplay between BR and TORC signaling (bioRxiv)

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Plants have evolved well-coordinated crosstalk between different signaling pathways to respond and adapt to various environmental stresses. Brassinosteriods (BRs) and Target of Rapamycin Complex (TORC) have multiple roles, through transcription, translation and autophagy, to control the balance between plant growth and stress response. Montes et al. performed a comprehensive multi-omics analysis (transcriptome, proteome and phosphoproteome) […]

Chromatin phosphoproteomics identifies an AT-hook motif protein involved in PAMP-triggered immunity (PNAS)

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Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are conserved protein kinases in eukaryotes that participate in signaling from cytoplasmic to chromatin events to allow transcription reprogramming. MAPKs play prominent roles at the chromatin level. Rayapuram et al. report a chromatin-associated phosphoproteome from wild type Arabidopsis and mpk3/4/6 mutants, with and without a 15-min treatment with flg22. They identified […]

Review. The Fast and The Furious: Rapid long-range signaling in plants (Plant Physiol)

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Plants possess a complex series of local and systemic signaling networks driven by multiple stimuli. They translate this information into plant-wide response to coordinate their physiology and development.  Here, Johns et al. review these communication pathways, which function across different scales and timeframes. Mobile chemical signals such as auxin, RNAs, peptides and small molecules move […]

Exo70B2 functions as a exocyst subunit in secretion linked to immunity and autophagy (Plant Cell)

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The exocyst is a conserved protein complex that mediates tethering of secretory vesicle to the plasma membrane prior to SNARE-mediated membrane fusion. Exo70 is one of eight subunits and has expanded into 23 homologs in Arabidopsis. Brillada and Teh et al. identified Exo70B2 as a bona fide exocyst subunit that localize to the plasma membrane […]

SAURs protein antagonistically regulate a phosphatase activity during apical hook development and cotyledon opening (Plant Cell)

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Upon germination in dark, plants adopt a strategy known as skotomorphogenesis, or etiolation, to protect the shoot apical meristem and cotyledon from damage while the seedling moves through the soil. The seedlings de-etiolate when they perceive light and the apical hook and cotyledon open. Wang et al. identified the Small Auxin Up RNA proteins SAUR17 […]

Cell wall remodeling and vesicle trafficking mediate the root clock in Arabidopsis (Science)

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Cell wall remodeling and vesicle trafficking mediate the root clock in Arabidopsis Living organisms use biological clocks that are coordinated by temporal signals (time) and positional cues (space) during growth and development. In plants, the ‘root clock’ is generated by a mechanism involving rhythmic gene expression in a region called the oscillation zone (the border […]

Alternative CAM and water-saving flux modes into C3 leaf metabolic model (Plant Cell)

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Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a photosynthetic adaptation pathway in arid environments to minimize water loss by opening the stomata at night, when the temperature and therefore water loss due to transpiration is lower. Carbon dioxide is initially fixed at night and stored in the vacuole. Engineering CAM photosynthesis into a C3 crop plant is […]