Entries by Mary Williams

EIN2 mediates direct regulation of histone acetylation in the ethylene response

Perception of the phytohormone ethylene results in the cleavage of EIN2 and translocation to the nucleus of its C-terminal end, EIN2-C. Zhang et al. showed that EIN2-C is essential for chromatin modification that allows EIN3, the main ethylene signaling transcription factor, to transcriptionally regulate its target genes. The authors demonstrated that EIN2-C is a key […]

Frequent paramutation-like features of natural epialleles in tomato

Paramutation is a natural epigenetic process that occurs in plants and animals that is associated with methylation-mediated gene silencing. The curious thing about a paramutated allele is than it can transfer its silenced state to its homologous and active allele. This freshly paramutated allele then becomes silenced and acquires the ability to silence other active […]

Silencing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase phosphorylation in a CAM plant

Many plants living in arid environments conserve water by taking up CO2 at night through the action of the enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC); this process, which is widespread in the Crassulaceae family, is known as Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). The nocturnal activity of PPC is regulated post-transcriptionally through its phosphorylation by PPC kinase (PPCK). Boxall […]

Update: Plant Glandular Trichomes: Natural Cell Factories of High Biotechnological Interest

By Alexandre Huchelmann, Marc Boutry, and Charles Hachez Abstract Multicellular glandular trichomes are epidermal outgrowths characterized by the presence of a head made of cells that have the ability to secrete or store large quantities of specialized metabolites. Our understanding of the transcriptional control of glandular trichome initiation and development is still in its infancy. […]

Review: Promiscuity, impersonation and accommodation: Evolution of plant specialized metabolism ($)

The huge set of chemical pathways beyond the conserved primary metabolic network is described as specialized metabolism (formerly known as secondary metabolism). The diversity of specialized metabolites is due to recent evolutionary innovations in enzyme function, as reviewed by Leong and Last. Key processes include enzyme and substrate promiscuity, changes in substrate specificity, and of […]

Review: Cutin from agro-waste as a raw material for the production of bioplastic ($)

When we think about making things from plant biopolymers, we often think about cellulose, the “most common natural polymer on Earth, with an estimated annual biomass production between 1011 and 1012 tons” or ligin, with a biomass production on the order of 107 tons per year. Heredia-Guerrero et al. review efforts to use another cell […]