Auxin is a pleiotropic plant hormone with diverse functions, many of which are mediated through transcriptional reprograming. However, some auxin responses occur extremely rapidly, ruling out changes in transcription as a mechanism. In 2022, one of the components of an auxin receptor, F-box protein TIR1/AFB, was discovered to include an adenylate cyclase catalytic domain, suggesting […]
Much of our understanding of the molecular underpinning that control shoot architecture comes from studies of annual plants such as Arabidopsis, pea, and rice. This new work by Su et al. investigates shoot branching in a long-lived tree, silver birch (Betula pendula). They started with a naturally occurring bushy variant, which has a premature stop […]
Unlike legumes, which form symbiotic associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (diazotrophs), high-yielding cereal crops are usually supplemented with inorganic fertilizers that are both energetically and environmentally problematic. Some non-legumes can obtain nitrogen from associations with free-living diazotrophs, and several strategies are being pursued to optimize such associations. A major challenge is that in most of these […]
In recent years we have witnessed catastrophic fires throughout the world, including the redwood forests of California. Although these huge ancient trees are fire resistant, many have died due to the extreme heat generated by these recent fires. Here, Peltier et al. examined patterns of regrowth from burned trees. In a series of elegant studies, […]
Special issue: Human-machine collaboration in plant biology This is an excellent article to wrap up this year and lead us into the future. Introducing a special issue of Plant Cell Physiology, Nakajima et al. summarize an exciting collection of papers that look at diverse ways that plant biology can be enhanced through “human-machine collaborations”. Some […]
Humans and flowering plants spend most of their lives in a diploid state with two copies of each chromosome in most cells, but to reproduce they produce haploid gametes through meiosis. By contrast, bryophytes (liverworts, hornworts, and mosses), spend most of their lives in the haploid state. They produce gametes through mitosis and differentiation, and […]
Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been shown to have several cellular benefits, most notably serving as an antioxidant. Its effects in humans and plants have been primarily assayed using hydrogen-rich water (HRW, produced by bubbling H2 into water), but slower, more persistent release of H2 has been demonstrated from solid ammonia borane (NH3BH3). Here, Wang et […]
In angiosperms, pollen germination leads to a period of extensive polarized growth of the pollen tube, which carries the sperm nuclei to the ovule. Studies of tip growth in both pollen tubes and root hairs have contributed to a descriptive model that involves polarized vesicle movement along the cytoskeleton to release materials needed for growth, […]
The quality of student-advisor relationships is one of the top predictors of research progress and sense of belonging in science, yet in most cases the mentoring relationship is simply left to chance. In this preprint, Debray et al. surveyed a cohort of PhD students to understand what mentoring practices really support the students. The authors […]