Stromules are stroma-filled tubules that extend from plant and algal plastids. Their formation is dynamic, and their abundance increases following many different stresses and hormone treatments, yet questions remain about their function. In a recent article, Rahpeyma et al. set about to understand the roles of stromules in cultured tobacco BY-2 cells. The article starts […]
The inflorescence meristem is the tiny structure that is foundational to most of our food supply. A new work by Moreno-Ramírez et al. reveals insights into these little marvels through the use of single-nucleus transcriptomics. Their analysis identified 18 cell-type clusters that they assigned to known developmental domains by their expression of previously identified genes […]
A lichen super-pangenome spotlights its genetic architecture and interaction secrets A lichen is a unique composite organism formed through close interactions between a filamentous fungus (mycobiont) and its photosynthetic partners [algae and/ or cyanobacteria, referred together as photobiont(s)]. In an effort to better understand these mutualistic interactions, Joisten-Rosenthal et al. created a high-quality super-pangenome from […]
Current Biology has an excellent special issue on plant evolution full of fascinating articles. As an example, a Primer by Zhuo Feng looks at how plants were catastrophically impacted by the end-Permian mass extinction event approximately 250 million years ago. The fossil record from the Cathaysian Flora, found mostly in China and surrounding regions, hints […]
As close relatives of land plants, green algae provide insights into variations on photosynthesis. Many algae including Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have carbon-concentrating structures called pyrenoids that enrich CO2 around Rubisco, minimizing the competing oxygenation reaction. In a recent preprint, Ergun et al. investigated the structure of the pyrenoid, particularly how the tubules containing CO2 are integrated […]
Many metabolic reactions take place in specialized compartments (e.g., plastids, peroxisomes), enhancing their efficiency by concentrating enzymes and substrates. Plastoglobules (PGs) are dynamic lipoprotein compartments that are found inside plastids anchored to the thylakoid membranes. A recent study by Chen et al. investigated the role of plastoglobules in nitrogen metabolism in maize. The authors observed […]
Special Issue of Current Biology on plant evolution Current Biology has an excellent special issue on plant evolution full of fascinating articles. As an example, a Primer by Zhuo Feng looks at how plants were catastrophically impacted by the end-Permian mass extinction event approximately 250 million years ago. The fossil record from the Cathaysian Flora, […]
Our food crops are threatened by ever-increasing environmental challenges as a consequence of climate change. It’s critical that we develop strategies to monitor and mitigate these stresses, but it’s also a huge undertaking. A new focus issue in Physiologia Plantarum provides a set of articles that span diverse methods and tools to assess crop stress […]
There are numerous ways that AI can support research productivity through its ability to evaluate large datasets. Plant Communications has assembled a collection of articles that describe some of these new tools and approaches. As an example, Jang et al. describe the use of digital twins as tools to evaluate plant-microbe interactions. They describe how […]