By Karina van der Linde and Virginia Walbot Background: In contrast to animals in which meiotically competent cells develop in embryos, plants switch from vegetative to reproductive growth only during flowering. In maize, the most productive cereal crop, the tassel contains male flowers in which pollen encasing the sperm develop in anthers. Each anther consists […]
Li et al. uncovered the roles of MAC3 in miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell (2018). By Shengjun Li and Bin Yu Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are tiny RNA molecules that regulate gene expression. Plants use miRNAs to control development and physiology. Consequently, understanding of the mechanism governing miRNA production is fundamental to plant biology and […]
Ercoli et al. investigate how GIF genes control root development https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00856 By María Florencia Ercoli and Javier Palatnik Background: Plants, unlike animals, have the ability to generate new organs throughout their life cycle. This capacity relies on meristems, which are collections of proliferating cells. The root apical meristem (RAM) is located at the tip of […]
Zhang et al. show that GIF1 regulates the determinacy of meristems and controls tassel architecture in maize. The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00791 Background: Plant architecture results from a balance of indeterminate and determinate cell fates. Cells with indeterminate fates are located in meristems. The shoot apical meristem is an indeterminate tissue, initiating primordia indefinitely. Floral […]
Lanver et al. investigate fungal gene expression during corn infection by Ustilago maydis. The Plant Cell (2018) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00764 By Daniel Lanver and Regine Kahmann Background: The corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a model organism for studying how fungi can colonize living plant tissue. A special feature of this fungus is its ability to induce […]
Kurzbauer et al. discover a role for the Fanconi anemia D2 plant homogue in promoting meiotic crossover formation. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00745 by Marie-Therese Kurzbauer and Peter Schlögelhofer Background: Meiosis is a specialized cell division and generates the basis for genetic diversity through sexual reproduction. Precursors of plant generative cells divide meiotically to form macro- and microspores containing […]
Feng et al. show that the transcription factor O11 is a master regulatory protein in endosperm development. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00616. By Fan Feng and Rentao Song Background: Maize is one of the most important crops both for food and industry. The main nutrients of maize seed are from starch and protein, which are stored mainly […]
Du et al. investigate an important protein that regulates photosynthesis under stress. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00446. Background: Photosynthesis is the process that converts sunlight into usable energy that powers life on Earth. It begins when sunlight hits “solar panels” called thylakoids inside the chloroplasts of plants and algae. Similar to solar panels, thylakoids are made […]
Cai et al. investigate the function of a Medicago truncatula enzyme (MtNFH1) that cleaves nodulation signals of symbiotic Sinorhizobium meliloti bacteria. Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00420. By Jie Cai, Zhi-Ping Xie and Christian Staehelin Background: Nitrogen-fixing rhizobia are symbiotic bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia in root nodules of legumes. The fixed nitrogen is […]