Review: Fire-released seed dormancy – a global synthesis In 1991, Jon E. Keely wrote the first review about the role of fire as a dormancy-breaking cue in California’s Mediterranean ecosystems. In this review, almost 30 years after Keely’s work, Pausas and Lamont provide us with an updated and worldwide vision of the subject. Four dormancy […]
At some point, most biology students learn the term “dioecy” (two houses), which refers to the separation of male and female function into different individuals, a characteristic that is common in animals but less so in flowering plants. About 6% of angiosperms and 65% of gymnosperms are dioecious, including familiar plants such as asparagus, cannabis, […]
Special issue: Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants, Philosophical Transactions B At some point, most biology students learn the term “dioecy” (two houses), which refers to the separation of male and female function into different individuals, a characteristic that is common in animals but less so in flowering plants. About 6% of […]
By Sjon Hartman, PhD Prof. Yunde Zhao completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Michigan under the supervision of Prof. Michael Marletta. He subsequently pursued a postdoc at Joanne Chory’s lab at the Salk Institute. In 2002, he started his lab at the University of California, San Diego, where he is until this […]
NLPs (Necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1–like proteins) are small peptides produced by a variety of plant pathogens. Some NLPs are cytolysins meaning that they trigger lysis of their target cells. Here, Pirc et al. use an assortment of tools including molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, neutron reflectometry (NR), and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to identify how […]
Chloroplast protein import determines plant proteostasis and retrograde signaling The neurological condition Huntington’s disease is caused by mutated versions of the Huntingtin gene that encode expanded stretches of polyglutamine repeats, resulting in protein aggregation. However, despite the widespread presence of polyglutamine repeat regions in plant proteomes, similar pathologies have yet to be observed. To investigate […]
Symbiotic associations with bacterial or fungal partners enhance nutrient uptake for most plants, and recent years have uncovered the very sophisticated means by which these associations are established and controlled. Peptides have emerged as key regulators of many facets of mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbioses. Here, Roy and Müller synthesize much of our current understanding of […]
Review: A rulebook for peptide control of legume–microbe endosymbiosis Symbiotic associations with bacterial or fungal partners enhance nutrient uptake for most plants, and recent years have uncovered the very sophisticated means by which these associations are established and controlled. Peptides have emerged as key regulators of many facets of mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbioses. Here, Roy […]
The availability of genome data from across the kingdom of plants has provided insights into plant evolution, and particularly the emergence of land plants. Here, Bowles et al. explore the genetic origins of three key innovations that supported the expansion of land plants: stomata, vascular tissues, and roots. They investigated the correlation between the emergence […]