We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture,” by Agustin Zsögön and Lázaro E. P. Peres, available without subscription at Plantae.org. Manipulation of plant form and height has been instrumental in the domestication and improvement of crops. The balance between growth of vegetative (stems, […]
Swarup Roy Choudhury, first author of The role of Gβ protein in controlling cell expansion via potential interaction with lipid metabolic pathways Current Position: Assistant Professor, IISER, Tirupati, India Education: Ph.D. in Plant Science, Bose Institute, Kolkata, India; M.S. in Plant Science, University of Kalyani, India. Non-scientific Interests: Reading, Exercising, Traveling and Gardening Brief bio: As a Ph.D. […]
Clay Wright, first author of Plant Synthetic Biology: Quantifying the Known Unknowns and Discovering the Unknown Unknowns Current Position: Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Translational Plant Science Program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA USA. Education: Postdoctoral Fellow, Departments of Biology and Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, 2014-2018; Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 2014; B.S., Chemical […]
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare wrote, “that which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet,” but the truth is, most roses today don’t smell as sweet as the ones Shakespeare described; selection for prolonged cut flower life has largely been at the expense of fragrance. Roccia seek to redress this […]
Future research success demands that data are reliable, accessible and shareable. This means that as types and magnitudes of data change, best practices for how data are collected and stored must be regularly updated. Following a focused workshop, the International Arabidopsis Informatics Consortium has presented a vision for these best practices and how to implement […]
This week’s edition is guest edited by Arif Ashraf, a PhD student at Iwate University, Japan and Graduate Student Ambassador of ASPB (NOTE: Apply by January 15th to be an ASPB ambassador). His research interest is understanding the hormonal interplay in primary root development of Arabidopsis thaliana. He blogs about plant science (http://www.aribidopsis.com/). Arif is […]
Twenty years ago, a genetic screen of Lotus japonicas identified NIN (NODULE INCEPTION), a transcription factor required for both early (infection thread) and late (nodule primordium development) stages of nodule formation. In daphne (a weak allele of NIN), infection threads form but not nodule primordia, suggesting that the NIN gene is only partially effective and that […]
You probably saw this article being discussed in your favorite news channel (in the UK, coverage spanned from the Daily Mail to the Guardian). In an Opinion article, Naves et al. discuss the genetics, biochemistry, ecology and health-benefits of capsaicinoids (the “heat” in chili pepper), and consider the feasibility of increasing their production through engineering […]
Liyun Jiang, first author of The APETALA2-like transcription factor SUPERNUMRARY BRACT controls rice seed shattering and seed size Current Position: Ph.D candidate, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Education: 2012–B.S., Agronomy, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China Non-scientific interest: Discovering traditional Chinese food, gardening, and watching documentaries Brief bio: After getting […]