The application of systems biology is quite phenomenal these days for prediction-based modeling and interactive data visualization. Along with the genome sequencing of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, there has been a parallel increase in systems biology tools. Unfortunately, these tools have been developed by different groups or institutions for various purposes, whereas a unifying […]
Chloroplast biogenesis and leaf development are closely linked processes that have been difficult to tease apart, until recently. Dubreuil et al. used a pluripotent inducible cell line from Arabidopsis, basically plant stem cells, which develop chloroplasts on demand when exposed to light. Using this system as well as developing maize leaves, the researchers proposed a […]
In land plant genomes, transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitously methylated in CG and non-CG sequence contexts. Apart from methylation of TEs, DNA methylation also occurs on bodies of actively transcribed genes, typically in the CG context, with very low or no non-CG methylation, and is referred to as gene body methylation (gbM). To begin to […]
Temperature is one of the major factors affecting plant growth and development. Martins et al. showed that elevated temperature increases root growth through elongated cell size, but reduced both meristem size and number of meristematic cells. The elongation of root growth during elevated temperature is independent of auxin and confirmed through the study of auxin […]
The histone H3 variant H3.3 is distinguished by its expression throughout the cell cycle, while H3.1 is expressed predominantly during DNA replication. Genome-wide ChIP studies in plants have shown that H3.3 is associated with actively transcribed genes, and enriched near the transcriptional end sites. This pattern also overlaps with the enrichment of RNA Polymerase II. […]
Zhang et al. showed that POSITIVE REGULATOR OF IRON HOMEOSTASIS 1 (OsPRI1), a bHLH transcription factor, is an interacting partner of the iron-binding sensor OsHRZ1. A loss-of-function mutation of OsPRI1 is responsible for a hypersensitive response to Fe deficiency. OsPRI1 works downstream of OsHRZ1 and directly controls the expression of OsIRO2 and OsIRO3 by binding […]
Cadmium is a toxic metal in our environment. Bruno et al. explored cadmium-mediated root-growth inhibition using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Cadmium affects root growth longitudinally by reducing root meristem cell number and radially by controlling the number and width of stele cells. The authors showed that misexpression of the trasncription factor SCARECROW (SCR) occurs […]
Fungal invasion exploits plant cell membrane trafficking components. For instance, plant immunity against fungi such as Vlumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Bgh) is defined through two stages: pre- and post-invasive immunity. Nielsen et al. found that Vacuolar Protein Sorting 9a (VPS9a) acts as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor which activates the Rab5 GTPase family (ARA6, ARA7 […]
ARMADILLO-REPEAT KINESIN 1 (ARK1) promotes microtubule disassembly and NIMA-RELATED KINASE 6 (NEK6) organizes microtubule arrays. Previous studies showed that NEK6 interacts with ARK1 through Armadillo-repeat (ARM) cargo domain. Eng et al. looked at two constructs: one which lacks ARM (ARK1▲ARM-GFP) and another one with only the ARM domain (ARM-GFP). Interestingly, the authors have found that […]