When pathogens attack, one line of defense is the production of a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which triggers additional defences. ROS is produced by the action of NADPH oxidases, which require NADPH as a substrate; NADPH is derived from NADP+, but where does this come from? Previous studies have pointed to its production […]
The problem with gene expression profiling is that it preferentially reports on the more highly-expressed genes. Capture sequencing uses targeted sequence libraries to pull out transcripts from genes of interest, including lowly expressed genes, so that their signals aren’t overwhelmed. To explore gene expression early in plant defense responses, Ding, Ngou et al. describe the […]
Previously, the needle1 (ndl1) maize mutant was identified as showing a variable phenotype mainly affecting the tassel. Here, Liu et al. showed that this variability arises due to its temperature sensitivity, with strongest effects at warmer temperatures. In some cases, the plants arrest before reaching maturity, and in others the tassel forms a bare, unbranched […]
Letter. The human health benefits from GM crops If you’ve ever spoken publicly about GM crops, you’ve probably heard people express concern about how eating GM crops might affect their health. Smyth lays out a positive case for the human health benefits of GM crops, which will be a useful resource for science communicators. Here […]
Lignin makes up to 27% of the dry weight of wood and is important structurally as well as serving as an effective carbon sink. Lignin is produced from monolignol precursors that are released into the apoplast and then polymerized. Previous studies have suggested that the monolignols are produced not only from the developing conducting cells […]
Flooding is unpredictable and can lead to plant death due to insufficient oxygen (hypoxia). Some plant species and varieties are better able to survive periods of submergence. Here, Reynoso et al. looked at gene networks induced transcriptionally and translationally by flooding in rice, Medicago and two Solanum species. They identified several gene families with at […]
Genetic and molecular studies have revealed a complex exchange of signals and metabolites accompanying the development and process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Clearly, the photosynthesis-capable plant provides fixed carbon to the bacterial symbiont, which uses some of this energy for its core metabolism and some to drive energetically-expensive nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase. For a greater […]
In the 450 million(ish) years since plants acquired the ability to live on land, they have caused dramatic changes in the concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and O2 levels. As an example, due to tremendous increases in photosynthesis, CO2 levels dropped and O2 levels rose dramatically in the late Paleozoic (about 300 million years ago), but […]
Esca is a leaf scorch (necrosis) disease of grapevine that causes tremendous yield losses. Bortolami et al. have investigated the etiology of this condition, which is known to be a consequence of fungal pathogen infection. But how exactly does the fungal infection contribute to the observed symptoms? One hypothesis is that the leaf tissues die […]