The evolution of flowers solved one of the largest obstacles of plant reproduction, finding a compatible mate. Since plants are sedentary, they are unable to search for a compatible mate like other organisms. Instead they use pollinators to do the searching for them. Flowers use scent and color to attract pollinators, and many offer rewards […]
Changes in guard cell turgor pressure result in stomatal opening and closing, balancing CO2 uptake with transpiration. These dynamics have been studied as early as the 1800s and much knowledge has been gained regarding the components involved in this process, yet we are still far from a unified model and many questions still remain. Eisenach […]
We had a large number of guest submissions to What We’re Reading this week, thank you to all of the contributors! We even had two submissions of the same paper, so we’ve included both – clearly it’s a good paper to have a look at! Review: Multiple routes of light signaling during root photomorphogenesis Light […]
Natural variation in photosynthetic traits can be exploited for new targets for breeding or genetic engineering of crops. In an effort to identify traits which can lead to enhanced biomass production and therefore yield potential in rice, Qu et al. conducted a comprehensive survey of 14 photosynthetic parameters and four morphological traits of a global […]
The gene FLC (FLOWERING LOCUS C) is a repressor of flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana. It needs to be silenced after exposure to prolonged cold for plants to be able to flower. The memory of winter leads to changes in the methylation state of Histone 3 associated with FLC in two steps: first by recruiting H3K27m3 […]
Choose a program, have a life By Samantha H. Jones (Published in Science) As I formally accepted the offer to join my Ph.D. program, the massive weight on my chest began to dissolve, my shoulders relaxed, and my headache subsided. Choosing a program had been quite the roller coaster ride, filled with uncertainty and sleepless […]
Browsing the table of contents of the “The Making of a Plant” special issue of Current Biology feels like a birthday celebration; there are so many exciting goodies it’s hard to know which to open first. The issue consists of well-written and well-illustrated short reviews (and Quick Guides and Primers, as well as a Feature […]
Ion channels are proteins that regulate the passage of ions across membranes. Ion channels are regulated in diverse ways – some are calcium-regulated, some are pH sensitive, some are charge sensitive, and some are sensitive to mechanical stimulation i.e., membrane tension. Basu and Haswell review mechanosensitive ion channels in plants, which have been implicated in […]
Leaf size varies by over 100,000-fold across the plant kingdom. Leaf area has a direct impact on tissue temperature and thus directly affects photosynthetic efficiency. Empirical observations by 19th century plant geographers described that larger leaves are usually restricted to plants growing in wet tropics; nevertheless environmental factors driving leaf size haven’t been studied at […]