In 2016, Kew Gardens released a report “The State of the World’s Plants”, which includes estimates of the total number of plant species on Earth and the percentage of those facing extinction. Pimm and Raven delve into those numbers and offer the opinion that many species will be lost before they are even discovered. They […]
High-throughput screening greatly extends the number of individuals that can be screened, so is particularly crucial for genetic or chemical genetic approaches. Burrell et al. report on a miniaturized robotic phenotyping platform, “Microphenotron” designed for chemical genetic screening. Seeds are planted in phytostrips, small tubes with flat sides for improved imaging. This platform allows the […]
Brassicaceae is one of the largest angiosperm families and provides many opportunities for studies of evolution. Of course, its most famous species, Arabidopsis thaliana is an important resource, but Brassicaceae also includes the very interesting Brassica crops (cabbage, turnip) that demonstrate the power of selection. Nikolov and Tsiantis provide a thorough overview of this plant […]
Most angiosperms are hermaphrodites and produce flowers that have both male (stamens / sperm) and female (carpels / egg) parts. Pannell reviews the developmental and genetic programs that lead to these “perfect” flowers, as well as those that underlie reproductive structure development in dioecious and monoecious species. His analysis further extends to bryophytes and vascular […]
Plant hormones are active at very small quantities and often act differently in different cell types. Various methods, primarily involving mass spectrometry and sensors, have been developed to identify and quantify hormones with cellular-level precision. Novák et al. review these methods and discuss their strengths and limitations, as well as future perspectives in “hormonomics”. Annu. […]
Review: Methods of cell-specific hormone analysis ($) Plant hormones are active at very small quantities and often act differently in different cell types. Various methods, primarily involving mass spectrometry and sensors, have been developed to identify and quantify hormones with cellular-level precision. Novák et al. review these methods and discuss their strengths and limitations, as […]
The editorial team at eLIFE has shared some of their tips for writing about your research in an accessible way. In addition to reporting on the outcomes of their plain-language summaries (eLIFE Digests), they provide an excellent set of guidelines to help you write your own plain-language summary. All articles are free to read. Reprinted […]
The journal Nature published a special “Insights” section featuring plant science research. All articles require a subscription to Nature. Editorial Plants Orli Bahcall, Angela K. Eggleston & Sadaf Shadan, Nature 543, 327 (15 March 2017) Articles Plant signalling in symbiosis and immunity Cyril Zipfel & Giles E. D. Oldroyd, Nature 543, 328–336 (15 March 2017) […]
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 Source: University of Western Australia A 60-year-old mystery has been solved by biochemists at The University of Western Australia investigating the origin of a type of digestion-inhibiting proteins thought only to exist in two plant families that contain the important legume and cereal crops. A gene for the ‘missing link’ between […]