The ability to participate in nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis shows an interesting phylogenetic pattern, with some families showing a large number of nodulating species interspersed with non-nodulating ones, and some families showing only a few nodulating species. A current model suggests that in some families, there is a pre-disposition towards nodulation, which lowers the bar […]
Small secreted peptides including CLEs have been identified as contributing to plant development. CLE26 and CLE45 have been shown to regulate protophloem differentiation in the root tip. Anne et al. used a combination of genetic screening and transcriptomics to identify factors downstream of these peptides. The two approaches converged on a gene encoding a previously […]
The interaction between phytochromes and phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) is key to light signaling. Both sequestration and degradation of PIFs occurs, and Park et al. have explored the relative contributions of these two PIF fates to the light response. They studied two mutants, one with a point mutation in the N-end (phyBG111D), and one with a […]
Iowa State University AMES, Iowa – Plant scientists at Iowa State University have completed a new study that describes the genetic pathways at work when corn plants respond to stress brought on by heat, a step that could lead to crops better capable of withstanding stress. The findings, published as a “large-scale biology” paper in […]
By Heven Sze and Salil Chanroj. Plants remodel their cells through the dynamic endomembrane system. Intracellular pH is important for membrane trafficking, but the determinants of pH homeostasis are poorly defined in plants. Electrogenic proton (H+) pumps depend on counter-ion fluxes to establish transmembrane pH gradients at the plasma membrane and endomembranes. Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase-mediated acidification […]
By Rumen Ivanov and David G. Robinson Our knowledge of vacuole biogenesis and the transport of proteins to the vacuole has advanced consistently over the last 30 years. In meristematic cells, the tonoplast appears to develop directly out of the endoplasmic reticulum (Viotti et al., 2013). Once it is established as a functioning organelle, tonoplast […]
Every year, genome assembly gets faster and cheaper. Li and Harkness provide a practical guide to today’s methods, with caveats and precautions that need to be considered at each step, even questions to ask before embarking on a sequencing project. Topics include how to estimate genome size and complexity, pros and cons of different sequencing […]
When you try to tip rocks out of a bucket, nothing happens until the steepness of the angle is sufficient to start them shifting (the “avalanche angle”). By contrast, water starts moving with even the slightest tilt to the bucket. Now think about the gravity sensing particles in plant cells, starch-rich statoliths, which are quite […]
Like all plant hormones, ABA controls diverse processes, including stomatal aperture and seed dormancy, and growth rate. Miao et al. have used CRISPR/Cas9 technology in rice to selectively mutant subsets of the 13-member PYL family of ABA receptors. They found notable differences when mutating group I (PYL1–PYL6 and PYL12) versus group II (PYL7–PYL11 and PYL13) […]