In a fascinating twist to the gravitropism story, Yoshihara and Spalding have managed to make a plant with shoots that don’t ignore gravity, but actually respond in the entirely inappropriate away. The LAZY genes were first identified from a rice mutant with a decreased response to gravity. In Arabidopsis there are five genes in this […]
Chloroplasts are able to sense and respond to environmental signals. They send retrograde signals that inform the nucleus about their developmental stage and integrity. In response, the nucleus adjusts gene expression to optimize chloroplast recovery and adaptation. Back in 1993, a screen for genotypes that lack the repression of nuclear photosynthesis genes in response to […]
This week we start with a short summary contributed by Charlotte Gommers hghlighting several papers published in 2019 that revealed new insights into an enigmatic plant gene, GUN1. Research update: GUN1 hit the mark in 2019 Chloroplasts are able to sense and respond to environmental signals. They send retrograde signals that inform the nucleus about their […]
Crop yields are vulnerable to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation. Here, Gaupp et al. model the projected crop yields at 1.5 versus 2.0 degrees of additional warming, as part of the HAPPI experiment (perhaps a misnomer: Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts). The authors look at risk of extreme weather events […]
Much of our understanding of plant defense response is built upon the responses that occur in leaves. Many pathogens colonize the phloem system, which is both nutrient-rich and provides an easy conduit for spreading through systemically through the plant body. These phloem-inhabiting prokaryotic pathogens are introduced and spread through phloem-feeding insects. Jiang et al. describe […]
Recently, several genes affecting rice architecture have been identified that may increase yields by increasing the number of grains formed, but as yet the genetic control of rice inflorescence architecture and organ identity is still being worked out. Zhuang et al. identified mutants of the NONSTOP GLUMES 1 (NSG1) gene (encoding a transcription factor) that […]
It’s been fifty years since the existence of brassinosteroids was shown, and about thirty since the awesome power of Arabidopsis genetics started to reveal the genes involved in its synthesis, perception and signaling. Nolan et al. review the highlights of brassinosteroid research and also more recent findings, particularly new insights into how it intersects with […]
The ASPB pubs department has a blog! It’s not surprising you didn’t know this #1 fact because this post is our first! But now that you know, you should check back here often to learn more about Plant Direct, Plant Physiology, and The Plant Cell. You will hear from our publications staff, our authors, our editors-in-chief, […]
Stroking leaves of the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica causes them to fold inwards, but when touched more aggressively the leaf petioles and petioles of distal untouched leaves collapse dramatically downwards (as seen in this video); the propagating electrical signal is called the slow wave potential. Kurenda et al. investigated the mechanistic underpinnings of this signal, […]