Perspective: Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification through metabolic engineering As heterotrophs, we are what we eat. One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to end all forms of hunger, including the “hidden hunger” that results from nutrient deficiencies. Van Der Straeten et al. provide an overview of biofortification strategies. They review current […]
Plantae Presents – Elizabeth Vierling and Rodrigo Gutierrez Wednesday October 21 10am EDT, 4 pm CET Elizabeth Vierling: From Chaperones to Mitochondria: Surviving Stress Elizabeth Vierling is Professor at the University of Massachusettes Amherst and Founding Member of the ASPB Legacy Society. She majored in Botany as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, and […]
I guess if this were a normal year, we’d be spending time looking back over the past decade, but Covid-19 has made anything pre-2019 seem like a different lifetime. Still, here’s a retrospective you don’t want to miss. Meng and Ellis take us on a short walk down memory lane through the “second decade” of […]
Producing a genetically-modified or -edited plant requires two distinct processes: DNA modification, followed by regeneration of a plant from the edited cells. The first process has been greatly enhanced by CRISPR/Cas9, but the second has continued to present challenges. Here, Debernardi et al. demonstrate a strategy to increase the rate and efficiency of plant regeneration. […]
Review: The second decade of synthetic biology: 2010–2020 I guess if this were a normal year, we’d be spending time looking back over the past decade, but Covid-19 has made anything pre-2019 seem like a different lifetime. Still, here’s a retrospective you don’t want to miss. Meng and Ellis take us on a short walk […]
Plantae Presents – Claudia Köhler and Sunil K. Kenchanmane Raju Wednesday October 14 10am EDT, 4pm CET Claudia Köhler: Epigenetic regulation in the endosperm drives plant speciation Claudia Köhler is a Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at the Department of Plant Biology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). She obtained her PhD […]
The rate of carboxylation by Rubisco versus the rate of the competing oxygenation reaction limits photosynthesis in some conditions, so many researchers are investigating ways to enhance Rubisco. Rubisco is not limited to green plants but can be found in other lineages including red algae and photosynthetic bacteria other than cyanobacteria. The “red” Rubisco (found […]
Review: Less is more, natural loss-of-function mutation is a strategy for adaptation Gene gain through duplication and gene loss through loss-of-function (LoF) mutations determine genetic variation underlying diversification and adaptive evolution. In this review, Xu and Guo highlight the importance of LoF mutations in the evolutionary success of several organisms as revealed by advancements in […]
Every year, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC, formerly the Minority Affairs Committee, MAC), hosts a concurrent symposium during the Plant Biology meeting. This year, the meeting was held virtually, but participants were nevertheless treated to an excellent set of talks. Stay tuned for the 2021 EDIC symposium lineup! Here are the 2020 speakers, […]