Gallegos and Rose investigate how introns affect transcript initiation http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/843.abstract. For the information stored in the DNA of genes to be converted into functional protein products, first a molecular copy of the information called messenger RNA is made, using DNA as a template in a process called transcription. Messenger RNA molecules are then translated into […]
Yamauchi et al. study the formation of aerenchyma in rice – spongy tissue filled with air spaces that develop in roots of wetland plants http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/775.abstract Plants, like animals, need oxygen for respiration (the metabolic process of breaking down sugars to get energy). In leaves, photosynthesis produces oxygen and sugars from carbon dioxide and water, so […]
Obtaining genomics and other –omics datasets is now routine and widely used across all biological systems, including plants. As a consequence, a wide range of plant species are being interrogated at the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, translatome, and proteome level, leading to new hypotheses about gene function. However, determining gene function, i.e. functional genomics, remains a […]
South et al. discover a new transporter involved in photorespiration http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/808.abstract. Photosynthesis uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into sugars that provide the energy and chemical building blocks for plant growth. A key enzyme in photosynthesis is Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, known as Rubisco. As implied by the name, Rubisco is a […]
Antosz et al. provide insight into the complex process of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/854.abstract The genetic blueprint for the production of proteins is stored in the DNA of a plant cell. In a first step, the enzyme RNA polymerase II generates messenger RNA copies of the DNA segments (genes) in the complex […]
Kidokoro et al. investigate how plants sense cold and activate cold tolerance http://www.plantcell.org/content/29/4/760.abstract. Cold stress can be just as lethal as heat stress. When a cell freezes, the water inside it expands as it turns to ice. This can cause the cell membrane to rupture and lead to cell death. Plants respond to cold temperatures […]
by Nan Eckardt, Senior Features Editor, The Plant Cell neckardt@aspb.org Update 5/9/2017: So I couldn’t get that poor paper out of my mind – the only one pubished in The Plant Cell prior to 2015 that, apparently, had received zero citations to date, and decided to double-check. Turns out the paper is listed incorrectly in […]
Tender green leaves and tasty tubers, roots, and stems are vulnerable to a wide range of pathogens, pests, and herbivores. Perhaps it should not be surprising that they have evolved an equally wide range of defense mechanisms. This issue of The Plant Cell includes reviews of just a few of the many facets of plant […]