Entries by Mary Williams

Review: The sexual advantage of looking, smelling and tasting good, the metabolic network that produces signals for pollinators ($)

January 27, 2017 in , /by

The interaction between angiosperms and their pollinators provides an excellent system to study co-evolution, and underpins the evolution of the biosynthesis of numerous interesting and useful specialized metabolites, from pigments to fragrances. Borghi et al. review the metabolic pathways that produce these signals and rewards for pollinators. Classes of compounds discussed in terms of synthesis […]

Basal vs. Non-basal Polarity: Different Endomembrane Trafficking Pathways Establish Different Patterns

January 23, 2017 /0 Comments/in , , /by

IN BRIEF: Nancy R. Hofmann nhofmann@aspb.org Plant development and responses to the environment hinge on the ability to target proteins to different areas of the plasma membrane within a cell. Indeed, the establishment of polar distributions of proteins such as PIN auxin transporters is among the key responsibilities of the endomembrane trafficking system (reviewed in […]

Effector-binding by integrated decoy domain of immune receptor RGA5 required for resistance activation

January 19, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Magnaporthe oryzae is the fungus that causes rice blast disease, which is a serious threat to food security. Ortiz et al. explore the interaction between AVR-Pia, a fungal effector protein, and RGA5, a rice NLR (nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein) immune receptor protein. RGA5 has a C-terminal domain, RATX1, that acts as an integrated […]

ROS accumulation and antiviral defence control by microRNA528 in rice

January 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Several studies have implicated microRNAs in plant defenses against pathogens. Wu et al. previously showed that virus resistance is facilitated by the interaction of viral-inducible AGO18 (which is cleavage-inactive) and rice miR528. In this work, they identified the role of miR528 in viral resistance. Rice susceptibility to rice-stripe virus is positively correlated with miR528 expression […]

GET with it: Targeting of tail-anchored proteins via the GET system

January 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Students learn that membrane proteins are inserted into the endoplasmic-reticulum (ER) membrane co-translationally, but this mechanism does not hold for so-called tail-anchored (TA) proteins which carry a single C-terminal membrane spanning domain and insert into the ER membrane post-translationally. The mechanism of TA protein insertion was recently described in yeast as the GET (Guided Entry […]

CATchUP: A web database providing information on spatiotemporal specific gene expression

January 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Nakamura et al. have created a searchable database, CATchUP (http://plantomics.mind.meiji.ac.jp/CATchUP) that allows the user to explore the spatiotemporal expression of genes across eight plant species (monocots and dicots) using data from publically available databases of large-scale RNA-Seq data. The authors define a parameter, Δdmax, which defines the “maximum difference in relative gene expression levels between […]

Root xylem plasticity to improve water use and yield in water-stressed soybean

January 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Root architecture and anatomy contribute to water uptake efficiency and plant performance under water-limitation. Prince et al. explored root anatomy in a panel of soybean, and identified metaxylem number as a key trait influencing performance under water-limiting conditions. Increases in metaxylem number were correlated with improved hydraulic conductivity, which enhances water transport. The authors observe […]

Water deficit-induced changes in transcription factor expression in maize seedlings ($)

January 18, 2017 /0 Comments/in , /by

Understanding plant responses to water deficit is crucial for the development of drought-reliance, but complicated by the different ways plant researchers induce water deficit. Starting with the premise that transcription factors are important coordinators of water-deficit responses, Seeve et al. carried out a systematic analysis of maize transcription factor expression in response to defined water […]