Entries by Mary Williams

Review: The nanoscale organization of the plasma membrane and its importance in signaling – a proteolipid perspective (Plant Physiol)

/in /by

Ample evidence shows that rather than being homogenous, plasma membrane lipids and proteins form distinct nanodomains. Jallais and Ott review plant plasma membrane nanodomains, and their important contributions to receptor-mediated signaling. The authors discuss methods for the study of membrane nanodomains, and their function and composition including the roles of flotillins and plant-specific remorins.  Lipids, […]

Review: Tomato fruit water accumulation and solute metabolism under water shortage (J. Exp. Bot.)

/in /by

Deficit irrigation is water-conserving strategy in which a growing plant is given just enough but never too much water. Previous studies have shown myriad physiological changes caused by deficit irrigation including decreased growth rate and shoot:root ratio, and also a lower fruit water content. Here, Hou et al. review tomato fruit quality grown under deficit […]

Review: Genebank genomics bridges the gap between the conservation of crop diversity and plant breeding (Nature Genetics)

/in /by

Crop diversity is fundamental to safeguarding global food security. The high-yielding, input-responsive cultivars developed post-green revolution led to the replacement of traditional landraces that harbour beneficial genes and alleles governing biotic and abiotic stress resistance and nutritional quality improvement. Genebanks conserve these invaluable plant genetic resources (PGRs) for future crop improvement. The review by Masher […]

A SAC phosphoinositide phosphatase controls rice development via hydrolyzing PI4P and PI(4,5)P2 (Plant Physiol)

/in /by

As their name suggests, phosphoinositide (PI) phosphatases remove phosphates from phosphoinositides (try saying that fast!). Because the phosphorylation status of a membrane-bound PI determines which proteins it interacts with, PI phosphatases and kinases contribute to membrane functions and dynamics. Here, Guo et al. explore the function of a SAC family PI phosphatase, which they identified […]

Plasma membrane domain patterning and self-reinforcing polarity in Arabidopsis (Devel. Cell)

/in /by

Phosphoinositides (PIs) are specialized membrane lipids that contribute to membrane nanodomains, which affect protein localizations and vesicle trafficking. Previous studies have implicated PIs in the polar localization of auxin-transporter PIN proteins, and, in roots, the PIN-regulators PAX and BRX. Here, Marhava et al. show that BRX and PAX recruit phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinases [PIP5Ks; kinases that convert […]

Over‐accumulation of abscisic acid in transgenic tomato plants increases the risk of hydraulic failure (Plant Cell Environ.)

/in /by

ABA enhances stomatal closure and so decreases transpiration. Several studies have shown that increasing ABA levels can increase water-use efficiency, so this strategy has been investigated with the goal of obtaining “more crop per drop”. Lamarque et al. investigated physiological and hydraulic effects of a tomato variety (sp12) overproducing ABA, starting with the hypothesis that […]

Plant Science Research Weekly: January 3rd

/in , /by

Review: The nanoscale organization of the plasma membrane and its importance in signaling – a proteolipid perspective Ample evidence shows that rather than being homogenous, plasma membrane lipids and proteins form distinct nanodomains. Jallais and Ott review plant plasma membrane nanodomains, and their important contributions to receptor-mediated signaling. The authors discuss methods for the study […]

ASPB at PAG! (Jan 12-14, 2020)

/in , /by

Are you planning to be in San Diego in January for the Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) meeting? The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is exhibiting there and we would love to meet you. Come by and see us at booth 634. Learn more about our journals, The Plant Cell, Plant Physiology, and Plant […]