Kim et al. explored the molecular basis for the drought tolerance previously observed for mutants of histone deacetylase HDA6. They observed that genes involved in acetate production are upregulated in hda6 mutants and in drought-stressed plants. Furthermore, acetate biosynthesis mutants are more sensitive to drought, indicating a role for acetate in drought tolerance. Finally, they […]
Samodelov and Zurbriggen describe approaches to exquisitely fine-tune protein and metabolite expression levels through a variety of synthetic and semi-synthetic biology approaches. For example, optigenetics tools enable gene expression to be activated precisely via a light beam; when combined with downstream regulators including miRNAs and inducible protein degradation tags, the gene product can be reliably […]
Variation provides the raw material for selection and improvement. Springer and Schmitz describe how natural and induced epigenetic variation supplements genetic variation. This review starts with a description of epigenetics, epigenomics (the genome-wide distribution of epigenetic information), and the origin and maintenance of epigenetic marks. Epigenetic variation can arise spontaneously but also from chemical treatments […]
Review: Exploiting induced and natural epigenetic variation for crop improvement Variation provides the raw material for selection and improvement. Springer and Schmitz describe how natural and induced epigenetic variation supplements genetic variation. This review starts with a description of epigenetics, epigenomics (the genome-wide distribution of epigenetic information), and the origin and maintenance of epigenetic marks. […]
Watson and Ghosh et al. describe protocols to accelerate the lifecycle of several crop species using “speed breeding”, which essentially involves extending the daylength to 22 hours with supplemental lighting. They describe methods and results from glasshouse and growth chamber speed breeding. In spite of greatly shortened generation times, seed production was similar for the […]
Regulation of transcription factor (TF) localization is a common strategy for gene expression regulation. Wang et al. identified a membrane-anchored TF, MfNACsa, as contributing to drought stress responses. In unstressed plants, MfNACsa is anchored to the plasma membrane through covalent-attachment of a palmitic group (a fatty acid) to a cysteine (known as S-palmitoylation). Upon drought stress, […]
Keiko Sugimoto, an Editor of The Plant Cell, was recently profiled by her undergraduate institution. Read more about The Plant Cell Editorial Board here. “At the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, the research team I lead as a Principal Investigator (PI) focuses on the two themes of “development” and “regeneration.” “Development” focuses on the […]
This week’s edition of What We’re Reading is guest edited by K.K. Sabu. Sabu is educated in the field of Plant Sciences and has working experience in plant genetics and genomics since 1995. His research interests include response of plants against environmental changes, natural variations in plant genetic resources and incorporation of genomics tools for […]
This edition of What We’re Reading is guest edited by Mather A Khan, a Postdoc Fellow in the Mendoza Lab at Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA. He is very much concerned about hunger, poverty, and global food security. His research is always been motivated by these factors. “Plant Science research always […]