Review: How mycorrhizal associations drive plant population and community biology ($) Great strides have been made in discovering the molecular players that allow plants and mycorrhizal fungi to establish their symbiosis. Here, Tedersoo et al. look beyond the single plant and address how these associations affect plant communities. Notably, they review the functions of the […]
Crop phenomics has lagged behind crop genomics because traditional methods are time-consuming, expensive, invasive and subjective. Recently, high-throughput, automated, sensor and machine-vision methods have been developed, as reviewed by Yang et al. This review describes a large number of phenotyping platforms, including the early efforts, and compares their applications, strengths and weakenesses. (It’s interesting to […]
Trees will help us ensure our future, but they are also a valuable record of our past. This fascinating review article by Caetano-Andrade et al. describes how anthropologists are taking advantage of data recorded in trees to understand more about not only the atmospheric and geological events of the past, but also the human activities. […]
The ability to directly sequence RNAs (RNA-seq) has revolutionized our understanding of gene expression, but it can miss or underestimate short-lived RNAs. Several methods have been developed to identify newly-synthesized mRNAs to provide a snapshot of transcription as it happens. Szabo present Neu-seq, an in vivo pulse-labeling method using a non-toxic uridine analog (5-EU; 5-ethynyl […]
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important signal involved in diverse stress responses both intracellularly and extracellularly, but until now it hasn’t been clear how the plant recognizes it. Wu et al. used a genetic screen to search for plants that fail to produce a calcium influx response in the presence of extracellular H2O2 (eH2O2) and […]
Angiosperm seeds develop within maternal tissues, yet in some species including Arabidopsis the developing embryos carry out photosynthesis. In Arabidopsis, this is transitory, and the embryonic chloroplasts lose chlorophyll and dedifferentiate into eoplasts as the seed matures. Sela et al. set out to investigate whether embryonic photosynthesis is beneficial to the post-germination plant. They identified […]
Review: Crop phenomics and high-throughput phenotyping Crop phenomics has lagged behind crop genomics because traditional methods are time-consuming, expensive, invasive and subjective. Recently, high-throughput, automated, sensor and machine-vision methods have been developed, as reviewed by Yang et al. This review describes a large number of phenotyping platforms, including the early efforts, and compares their applications, […]
Plant cell∣中国农大何绍贞、刘庆昌教授课题组在甘薯蔓割病抗性机理研究中取得突破性进展 近日，国际著名植物学期刊The Plant Cell在线发表了中国农业大学农学院、农业农村部甘薯生物学与生物技术重点实验室何绍贞/刘庆昌教授课题组题为“IbBBX24 Promotes the Jasmonic Acid Pathway and Enhances Fusarium Wilt Resistance in Sweet Potato”的研究论文，揭示了B-box锌指蛋白IbBBX24通过调控茉莉酸途径增强甘薯蔓割病抗性的分子机理。据悉，这是该杂志首次发表甘薯的研究论文。 甘薯（2n=B1B1B2B2B2B2=6x=90）是重要的粮食、饲料、工业原料和新型能源作物。由尖孢镰刀菌甘薯专化型Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.batatas（Fob）引起的甘薯蔓割病是甘薯生产上的主要病害之一，严重影响了甘薯的产量，降低了甘薯的营养价值。所以提高甘薯蔓割病抗性成为甘薯品种改良的主要目标之一。但是，目前甘薯对蔓割病的抗性机制尚不清楚。 先前的研究表明，植物中B-box转录因子家族参与调控植物的多个生命过程，如开花、种子萌发、避荫反应、非生物胁迫响应以及植物激素信号转导等，但是B-box锌指蛋白在植物应对生物胁迫中的功能知之甚少。该研究团队从甘薯抗病材料中克隆得到IbBBX24，并对其功能进行了探索。IbBBX24的表达在抗蔓割病甘薯材料中受到Fob和MeJA的显著诱导。过表达IbBBX24基因能够显著提高转基因甘薯的茉莉酸含量，并增强其蔓割病抗性且不引起产量下降，而RNAi沉默植株的抗性显著降低。 研究团队对蔓割病菌处理后的过表达及RNAi沉默甘薯株系进行了RNA-seq和ChIP-seq分析。结果表明，IbBBX24能够结合在茉莉酸信号转导途径关键基因IbJAZ10 和IbMYC2的启动子上，抑制IbJAZ10但激活IbMYC2的表达。此外， IbBBX24可以直接与IbJAZ10相互作用，从而减轻IbJAZ10对IbMYC2活性的抑制作用。因此， IbBBX24可以在转录水平及蛋白水平上调控茉莉酸信号转导途径的关键信号分子，从而通过茉莉酸途径增强甘薯的抗病性。 由于植物与病原体之间的相互作用较为复杂，此研究结果表明，MeJA处理能够直接抑制Fob的生长，且在Fob培养液中未检测到茉莉酸相关代谢物(JA、JA- ile和MeJA)，推测Fob不会通过产生类似茉莉酸的代谢物而干扰甘薯体内的JA信号通路。该研究为培育抗病性增强但产量不降低的甘薯新品种提供了候选基因。 何绍贞教授和刘庆昌教授为该论文的共同通讯作者，张欢博士和张铅博士研究生为该论文的共同第一作者，生物学院李继刚教授、农学院王向峰教授和翟红教授参与了该研究的指导工作，李继刚教授参与了部分论文的撰写和修改工作。该研究得到了国家自然科学基金、国家甘薯产业技术体系、北京市创新团队和中国博士后科学基金的经费支持。
It seems every other paper shows a nice diagram of a signaling cascade that includes a receptor interacting with its ligand. However, sometimes these diagrams are little more than speculation or guesswork. It’s not always easy to figure out if this interaction is real. Here, Sandoval and Santiago review (and nicely illustrate) the approaches that […]