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 […]
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 six days we’ll remind you of some of the big stories and successes that came from our community. These stories were […]
Transposable elements are a major part of plant genomes. Long-terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR (LTR-RTs) alone make up 78% of the maize genome (retrotransposons use a “copy and paste” transposition method meaning that a single source element can generate numerous clones of itself, leading to tremendous amplification). In the absence of selection, LTR-RTs are particularly subject […]
Plants have several mechanisms to protect themselves from damage from excess light, including a set of reactions collectively described as non-photochemical quenching or NPQ. One of these is a sustained and slowly reversible form of NPQ, which the authors have named qH. How this sustained NPQ functions is not known. Starting with a previously identified […]
Much of our understanding of strigolactones (SLs) as developmental hormones and rhizosphere signals comes from studies of angiosperms. Understanding the ancestral role for strigolactones is complicated by the fact that some of the SL-related genes are closely related to those responsive to karrikins (smoke-derived factors), and as yet unidentified endogenous karrikin-like (KL) factors. Walker and […]
Wax covering the outer surface of the shoot (epicuticular wax) is crucial in the ability of the plant to conserve water. Wang et al. identified a drought hypersensitive plant that overexpresses an E3 ubiquitin ligase which they named DROUGHT HYPERSENSITIVE. In these overexpression plants, there was a significant reduction in wax deposition. The authors speculated […]
Rodococcus bacteria are often identified as causal agents in disease outbreaks. Savory et al. analyzed 60 isolates from diseased plants. By comparing these new isolates and previous isolates, they found that 64 of 66 pathogenic isolates carry a linear virulence plasmid, and that all but four carried genes previously associated with pathogenicity. A comparison of […]
Review: On the selectivity, specificity and signaling potential of long-distance movement of messenger RNA Regulation of transcription occurs at the cell-type specific level, but transcribed messenger RNA is mobile and can move between tissues through plant vasculature, serving as a long distance messenger. Many mRNA molecules have been identified in the phloem sap, suggesting that […]
“Horizon scanning” describes the process of trying to rationally predict the future. Wintle et al. describe the results from a horizon-scanning exercise to identify emerging issues in biological engineering. The authors used an iterative approach to identify key issues in the near and longer-term future. In this Point of View, they elaborate on 20 issues […]