Phytochrome is one of the key photoreceptors in plants, and famous for switching between active and inactive (Pfr and Pr) forms by absorption of far-red and red light; additionally, Pfr converts slowly to Pr independently of light. Furthermore, in the nucleus, the Pfr form can aggregate into photobodies. Huang et al. have identified PCH1 (PHOTOPERIODIC […]
Review: Functional status of xylem through time ($) If you haven’t been paying attention, you may have missed the great advances that have been taking place in xylem research recently. This excellent review by Brodersen et al. is your chance to catch up. Like all aspects of plant science, new tools and techniques have provided […]
Preparing your research story for peer review and publication Recorded Mary 2019 About this Webinar Considering how important writing is to a career in science, many scientists receive little formal training in the writing process. In this seminar, Mary shares tips to help overcome common writing problems, drawing on her 25 years of teaching […]
This is a great review by Judelson and Ah-Fong on the diverse signals that occur between plants and their oomycete pathogens. The authors start by describing the life- and infectivity-cycles of disease-causing oomycetes, including the familiar plant pathogens, “aggressive” Pythium and “stealthy” Phytophthora. They then cover the exchanges between host and microbe at the barrier […]
Crop losses due to flooding are occuring with increasing frequency. Whilst time submerged can be lethal, the post-submergence period is also potentially lethal. In this new review, Yeung et al. provide an overview of factors that contribute to plant survival after flooding. Being submerged leads to hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), which is then followed by re-oxygenation […]
Review. After the deluge: Plant revival post-flooding Crop losses due to flooding are occuring with increasing frequency. Whilst time submerged can be lethal, the post-submergence period is also potentially lethal. In this new review, Yeung et al. provide an overview of factors that contribute to plant survival after flooding. Being submerged leads to hypoxia (oxygen […]
I really enjoyed this review article, which very successfully introduces the reader to the why and how of how to apply network science to plant science. Bassel never veers off into abstraction or “math-speak”, but instead roots his explanations in familiar biological or ordinary terms. As an example, he describes a structural network as a […]
Plant synthetic biology is heating up, as ideas and methods initially developed for single-celled organisms are moving into the more interesting and complicated space of multicellular organisms; this leads to greater potentials as well as greater challenges. Why plants? One important reason is that they are photosynthetic, so don’t require the same level of energy […]
Switches and circuits are key parts of a synthetic biologist’s toolbox. Andres et al. provide historical background and core ideas as well as current understanding of these devices. Switches are defined as components that detect an input signal and transform it into an output signal. Inputs can be chemicals (e.g., tetracycline or dexamethasone) or, light, […]