We have been charged by ASPB to conduct a search for the next Editor-in-Chief of Plant Physiology. Earlier this year, we began the search process by meeting as a group to discuss potential candidates for this important role. We invited candidates and issued a call for nominations to the community. CVs were requested from a number […]
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 successes from conventional breeding, which include: zinc rice, wheat, and maize; […]
If there is one thing we agree on, it is that plants are underappreciated, leading to consequences spanning from ecosystem collapse to poor rates of funding. This effect, and efforts to remedy it, have been discussed in terms of “plant blindness”. In this Perspective, Parsley summarizes many of these proposed remedies and their impacts, but […]
Brassicas produce specialized metabolites called glucosinolates that can be enzymatically converted to release toxic compounds. The catalyzing enzyme is stored in a separate subcellular compartment, so upon wounding by a herbivore the enzyme and substrate mix and release the toxin. Phloem-feeding insects insert a slender stylet into plant tissues, which has been assumed to avoid […]
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 […]