Another excellent entry in PLOS Computational Biology’s “Ten Simple Rules” series. Read “Ten simple rules for writing a response to reviewers” here. Short version: Rule 1: Provide an overview, then quote the full set of reviews Rule 2: Be polite and respectful of all reviewers Rule 3: Accept the blame Rule 4: Make the response […]
Because of their important roles in attracting pollinators, the secondary or specialized metabolites of flowers (color, fragrance) get a lot of attention. Borghi and Fernie argue that flower function is equally dependent on primary (central) metabolites, which not only provide the precursors for secondary metabolite production but also serve as food for pollinators and support […]
The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha is a fascinating plant for many reasons, including the fact that it is one of the earliest terrestrial species that split off from the rest of the land plants. Therefore, comparisons between Marchantia and green algae or Marchantia and the rest of the land plants tell us a lot about the […]
Plasmodesmata (PD) are complex, regulated channels between plant cells that facilitate the movement of signals, metabolites and pathogens, but their small size makes them difficult to study. Previously, Kraner et al. identified an Arabidopsis mutant that produced fewer, simpler plasmodesmata. In their new work, they used this mutant as a tool for a comparative proteomic […]
Pectin is a polymer that holds cell walls together and stiffens the walls, but what happens when those cell walls need to move, for example when cells (including guard cells) expand? Rui et al. started with a guard-cell specific transcriptome to identify genes encoding cell-wall modifying enzymes. They identified POLYGALACTURONASE INVOLVED IN EXPANSION3 (PGX3), a […]
Through insertional mutagenesis of rice, Cheng et al. identified a BTBN (Brac/Tramtrack/Broad complex and NPH3 domain)-encoding gene which they named WINDING 1 (WIN1), because the mutant phenotype (caused by ectopic expression in the shoot) causes the shoot to grow in a spiral. Ectopic expression of WIN1 in rice causes an asymmetric distribution of auxin and […]
Biosensors can reveal cellular or even sub-cellular distributions of hormones, greatly enhancing our understanding of hormone action. Rizza et al. have developed an in vivo, FRET-based gibberellin biosensor, GIBBERELLIN PERCEPTION SENSOR 1 (GPS1), that incorporates portions of two GA-binding proteins, (the receptor GID1 and a DELLA protein that GID1 interacts with when bound to GA) […]
If you whithold water from a plant it eventually will wilt, but before this visible change there are other measurable effects and responses. However, many plant processes change cyclically over a 24-hour period independently of early drought responses, so it can be difficult to separate drought-responsive changes in physiology or gene expression against their dynamic […]
Associations with mycorrhizal fungi greatly enhance phosphorus (P) uptake for most plants, but the Brassicaceae are nonmycorrhizal due to the loss of essential symbiosis genes. Almario et al. investigated the fungal microbiota of Arabis alpina, a Brassicaceae species that grows in very-low P soils. The authors identified fungi of the Helotiales order that are strongly […]