A hands-on activity posted by Lucas Busta @PlantsRChemists In this activity, participants will work with test tubes of red cabbage juice to determine the pH of various other (plant-based) liquids and solutions. It’s a fun activity for all ages – even if participants are too young to understand acid/base chemistry, they really enjoy the color […]
Source: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Published: 2018-07-05 http://www.cas.cn/syky/201807/t20180704_4657121.shtml (Translation by Google Translate) Plants sense the presence of pathogens through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs ) located on the surface of the cell membrane to activate the immune response. Among them, the MAPK cascade signal composed of MAPKKK, MAPKK and MAPK is a key component […]
Nearly ten years ago, microRNA 399 (miR399) was recognized as a regulator of phosphate (Pi) homeostasis. miR399 expression is induced upon low Pi conditions, and, in Arabidopsis, rice, soybean and barley, miR399 suppresses PHO2, a negative regulator of Pi uptake. Du, Wang, Zou et al. found that contrary to previous indications, PHO2 is also a […]
Undergraduate life science curricula need to incorporate training in bioinformatics. Wilson Sayres et al. surveyed 1260 faculty from across the US to identify their thoughts on what such training should involve. Not surprisingly, 95% of those surveyed agreed with the statement “I think bioinformatics should be integrated into undergraduate life sciences education.” The article defines […]
Auxin Response Factors (ARFs) are transcription factors that bind to ARF binding sites (ARFbs) to mediate auxin responses. Stigliani et al. analzyed experimentally determined DNA interactions of two ARFs, the repressor ARF2 and the activator MP. They found that the binding site data are best interpreted using a position weight matrix (PWM). Using this method, […]
Auxin mediates many of its effects through transcriptional changes via the well-known interaction between its co-receptors and transcriptional regulators (TIR1/AFB – Aux/IAA), but some auxin responses happen too quickly to be explained by transcriptional changes. Fendrych et al. demonstrate that root growth rate slows within 30 seconds of auxin application, and accelerates within 2 minutes […]
Arabidopsis plants have epidermal pavement cells (the cells that make up the bulk of the epidermis, other than guard cells or trichomes) that are often described as “jigsaw puzzle” shaped, and, because Arabidopsis is such a useful model organism, we have nice models for how these distinctive shapes are formed. However, are they ubiquitous? Vofely […]
Guard cells are undoubtedly fascinating and frequently reviewed in terms of both their developmental programming and the intracellular signals that contribute to their function. This review, by Woolfenden, Baillie et al., covers a less familiar topic, that of the biophysical constraints to the mechanics of their action. The authors describe how the analysis of cell […]
Review: Plasmodesmata- form and function ($) Plasmodesmata are cell-cell junctions forming cytosolic bridges between neighbouring plant cells that provide an essential avenue for intercellular communication during a multitude of developmental and stress-related responses throughout the plant kingdom. In a recent ‘at a glance’ mini-review article, Sager and Lee discuss our current knowledge on both the […]