Entries by Mary Williams

CrY2H-seq: a massively multiplexed assay for deep-coverage interactome mapping ($)

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Protein-protein interactions are crucial to our understanding of biology but can be hard to detect. Trigg et al. developed a sophisticated yeast two-hybrid assay augmented with Cre recombinase (CrY2H-seq) to identify the Arabidopsis transcription factor protein-protein interactome.  In this method, plasmid libraries carrying transcription factor open-reading frames (ORFs) fused to GAL4 activation domains or DNA-binding […]

Structure of a symmetric photosynthetic reaction center–photosystem ($)

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Plants, green algae and cyanobacteria carry out oxygenic photosynthesis through the coordination of two photosystems, PSI and PSII. Many other photosynthetic prokaryotes use a single reaction center to carry out anoxygenic photosynthesis. Gisriel et al. describe the structure of a photosynthetic reaction center from Heliobactrium modesticaldum, “a thermophilic anaerobe isolated from volcanic soil in Iceland.” […]

In vivo FRET–FLIM reveals cell-type-specific protein interactions in Arabidopsis roots ($)

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Long et al. examined transcription factor complex formation in vivo in Arabidopsis roots using a technique that combines FRET (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) and FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime imaging Microscopy). Using this method, the authors were able to observe cell-type specific complex formation between transcription factors known to specify root development, specifically, SHORT-ROOT (SHR), SCARECROW (SCR). […]

Metabolic engineering of anthocyanin and betalain pigments for health and aesthetics: Purple rice, blue chrysanthemums and violet tomatoes

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Pigment engineering was featured in three recent papers. Anthocyanins are blue pigments valued for their antioxidant health benefits and for their beauty, but their biosynthesis and chemistry is complex. Noda et al. introduced two genes to produce blue anthocyanins in chrysanthemum petals (Sci Advances 10.1126/sciadv,1602785). They found that the blue pigment formed as a copigment […]

Rhamnose-containing cell wall polymers suppress helical plant growth independently of microtubule orientation

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Saffer et al. identified an Arabidpsis mutant with swirled petals and with petal epidermal cells that show a left-handed (but never right-handed) twist. They mapped the mutation to the RHAMNOSE BIOSYNTHESIS1 (RHM1) gene, which is most highly expressed in petal epidermal cells and encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of UDP-L-rhamnose, a component of […]

LAZY1 family contributes to gravity signaling within statocytes and branch angle control of roots and shoots

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It’s easy to demonstrate that plants sense gravity, and we also know that statocytes are involved in the perception of gravity. Statocytes are gravity-sensing cells that contain dense starch-containing amyloplasts that move within the cell in the direction of gravity. Differential growth to accommodate a change in gravity orientation involves auxin transport, but the steps […]

Stem parasitic plant Cuscuta australis (dodder) transfers herbivory-induced signals among plants

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Parasitic plants such as Cuscuta astralis (dodder) form connections with their host plants through which nutrients and other molecules pass. Using mutant plants and transcriptomic assays, Hettenhausen and Li et al. showed that two or more plants connected by Cuscuta bridges shared information through these bridges. Specifically, when one host plant was wounded or subjected […]

How to Review a Manuscript, from MBoC

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A 2011 editorial from the journal Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC). Any jackass can trash a manuscript, but it takes good scholarship to create one (how MBoC promotes civil and constructive peer review) http://www.molbiolcell.org/content/22/5/525.long Key points: Review a manuscript only if you can do so objectively Review a manuscript only if you can do […]