Here is a summary of new research published in The Plant Cell, written by Martin Vorel and published on the Michigan State University website. Sometimes, when a science experiment doesn’t work out, unexpected opportunities open up. That’s what Yang Yang and the Benning lab have found in their latest work on sustainable biofuels. When they […]
Plant Direct Editor-in-Chief Ivan Baxter wants your input on new ideas for Plant Direct. This is your opportunity to help shape the editorial policies of the newest plant science journal. Read more and share your thoughts! Is Ivan on the right track? Why or why not? What other ideas would help to make this journal […]
Bacterial effectors are proteins produced by bacteria and introduced into their hosts, where the effectors support successful infection by the pathogen. Effectors can function in diverse cells and cell compartments, but many studies of effector localization have relied on overexpression systems which may have artifacts. Henry et al. used the GFP strand system to visualize […]
We live at a time of unprecedented insights into root anatomy, diversity, plasticity, and the genetic underpinnings of these traits. Colombi et al. examined how wheat root tip shape contributes to soil penetration and the root’s response to increasing soil density. Not surprisingly, pointier roots (with a lower ratio of tip diameter to tip length) […]
Abscisic acid (ABA) is one of the phytohormones that plays a pivotal role in a plant’s life from germination to senescence, and it drew additional attention of researchers owing to its involvement in abiotic stress. Leaf senescence is a natural phenomenon but if this process can be delayed by non-toxic means, it may have a […]
While this series highlights the latest research, a well-read scholar also needs to to know the classics. Google Scholar has a new initiative to feature highly-cited, ten-year old articles. The most-highly cited papers published in 2006 are listed by category. Plant scientists will find particular relevance in the papers from the categories Botany, Agronomy and […]
Plasmodesmata are pores between cells through which viruses, proteins, small RNAs and other molecules can pass. The pores are usually described as being lined with a layer of plasma membrane with a tube of endoplasmic-reticulum membrane through the center. These membranes and associated proteins are crucial to regulate transport through the plasmodesmata. Nicolas et al. […]
In the symbiotic relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plants, the fungal partner greatly enhances the uptake of mineral nutrients (particularly phosphate), while in return it is supplied with organic carbon from the photosynthetic partner. Luginbuehl et al. investigated whether this organic carbon is exchanged solely as sugars, or whether fatty acids are also transferred […]
Li et al. describe an important new genetic resource, a huge database of Kitaake rice mutants. Kitaake is a short-generation variety of Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica well suited for genetic studies. The authors sequenced more than 1500 fast-neutron-induced mutants and identified more than 91,000 mutations affecting 58% of all rice genes. They identified single-base […]