Entries by Mary Williams

Plant Science Research Weekly: April 2, 2021

Update: Lateral root formation and nutrients: nitrogen in the spotlight We marvel at the ability of starfish to regenerate an arm, or a lizard a new tail, but even more impressive than these feats is the ability of a plant root system to create lateral roots when and where they are needed. This root system […]

Review: Microbiota-root-shoot-environment axis and stress tolerance in plants ($) (COPB)

Roots and shoots exist in different environments and have different functions, but each depends on the actions of the other. In recent years, many factors have been identified that move from root to shoot or vice versa to integrate their actions; these include hormones, small RNAs, peptides, and transcription factors. This fascinating review article takes […]

Phytochrome regulates cellular response plasticity and the basic molecular machinery of leaf development (Plant Physiol)

The effects of light on plant growth are incredibly complex and depend on where it is perceived, light quantity, light quality (wavelength), and when within the circadian cycle it is perceived. Romanowski et al. examined the effect of late-day far-red light perception in Arabidopsis leaves. This treatment is known to induce shade-avoidance syndrome, which is […]

Molecular switch architecture determines response properties of signaling pathways (PNAS)

Genetic studies have provided us with countless examples of regulatory switches that transduce a signal into a response. Mutant analysis is usually sufficient to identify these controlling elements, but often in an all-or-nothing way. Here, Ghusinga et al. have taken a theoretical kinetic approach to examine how three types of switch architectures affect the properties […]

Plant Science Research Weekly: March 26, 2021

Review: Microbiota-root-shoot-environment axis and stress tolerance in plants ($) Roots and shoots exist in different environments and have different functions, but each depends on the actions of the other. In recent years, many factors have been identified that move from root to shoot or vice versa to integrate their actions; these include hormones, small RNAs, […]

Plantae Presents: Yuling Jiao and Lilan Hong

Plantae Presents: Yuling Jiao and Lilan Hong Recorded March 24 Yuling Jiao: Stochastic gene expression drives mesophyll protoplast regeneration in Arabidopsis Yuling Jiao is a Research Group Leader at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a position he has hold since 2010. He earned his BS from Peking University, MS […]

Review: Can smart nutrient applications optimize the plant’s hidden half to improve drought resistance? (Physiol. Plant.)

The root system has three key functions: support/anchoring, uptake of water, and uptake of nutrients. Many questions remain about how roots integrate all of these functions into the architecture of a single system. Here, Bardhan et al. explore whether modifying the nutrient environment (hence root’s foraging responses) can enhance root water uptake capabilities. The authors […]