Entries by Mary Williams

Dynamics of monoterpene formation in spike lavender plants

Metabolites. Terpenes are derived from isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which are produced in two separate pathways: in the cytosol (via mevalonate, MVA) and the plastid (via methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate, MEP). The products of terpene metabolism include numerous valuable compounds including many with medicinal properties, and are being explored as target for enhancement through metabolic […]

Perception and reading strategies of scientific papers depends on academic career stage

PLOS One. Katharine Hubbard (@KEHplantsci) and Sonja Dunbar (@PlantSciSonja) are enthusiastic proponents of student-centered teaching, including guiding undergraduate students through the reading of scientific papers. In this new work they’ve evaluated how  undergraduate students compare to graduate students, postdocs and PIs in their approach to and appreciation of scientific papers. Their key conclusions: “We propose […]

What We’re Reading: January 12th edition

Focus Issue: Cellular Dynamics Plant Physiology has released a focus issue on the topic of Cellular Dynamics, which includes Updates on topics ranging from Actin Dynamics to Wall Growth. The Editorial by Szymanski, Bassham, Munnik, and Sakamoto provides an excellent overview of the current state of our understanding of plant cell dynamics. As they observe, […]

Highlights of Plant Science 2017

During the final week of 2017 we reminded you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These stories were highly accessed through the ASPB and Plantae.org blogs, our many social media sites, and our journal websites. Originally publised as a set of six posts, we’ve assembled the full year’s […]

Commentary: Is it ordered correctly? Validating genome assemblies by optical mapping

One of the hardest parts of any sequencing project is putting the pieces together. Physical sequence alignments can be cross checked against genetic linkage maps when they are available, but what about for species without genetic linkage data? Udall and Dawe describe the use of optical mapping, using Bionano Genomics or Nabsys technologies, as an […]

Highlights of plant science 2017. Nov-Dec

The last week of the year is the time to look back and reflect. We like to take this opportunity to recognize the good work done by the plant science community. During this final week of 2017 we’ve been reminding you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These […]

Highlights of plant science 2017. Sept-Oct

The last week of the year is the time to look back and reflect. We like to take this opportunity to recognize the good work done by the plant science community. During this week we’ve been reminding you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These stories were highly […]

Highlights of plant science 2017. Jul-Aug

The last week of the year is the time to look back and reflect. We like to take this opportunity to recognize the good work done by the plant science community. Over the next few days we’ll remind you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These stories were […]

Highlights of plant science 2017. May-Jun

The last week of the year is the time to look back and reflect. We like to take this opportunity to recognize the good work done by the plant science community. Over the next few days we’ll remind you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These stories were […]