Entries by Nidhi Sharma

BLADE-ON-PETIOLE proteins act in an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex to regulate PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 abundance

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Plants need light not only for photosynthesis but also for light dependent development (called photomorphogensis). PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR (PIF) proteins accumulate in dark to negatively regulate photomorphogensis. PIFs get degraded via 26S proteasome pathway in response to light e.g., PIF4 is known to be targeted and destabilized through polyubiquitination, but the identity of the E3 […]

Functional identification of MdPIF1 as a Phytochrome Interacting Factor in apple ($)

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PIF1 is a well-studied negative regulator of phytochrome-mediated photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Zhou et al. cloned the PIF1 cDNA from apple (Malus domestica) and characterized the gene itself. Interestingly, the bHLH and active Phytochrome B binding (APB) motif is conserved in MdPIF1 and a complementation assay of MdPIF1 into a pil5 mutant suggests MdPIF1 is biologically […]

What We’re Reading this week: September 29th

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This week’s edition of What We’re Reading is guest edited by Nidhi Sharma. Nidhi is a researcher in Dominique Bergmann’s lab at Stanford University. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin and did post-doctoral work with Dr. Kathy Barton at Carnegie Institution of Science. Other than plants, she is passionate about traveling and […]

Review: Roles for IBA-derived auxin in plant development ($)

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Auxin biosynthesis is a two-step process:  First, tryptophan is converted to indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA) through the activity of the TAA1 (TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS1) family of aminotransferase enzymes. IPyA is finally converted to IAA (Indole Acetic Acid) by YUCCA family of flavin monooxygenase-like enzymes. Other than tryptophan, IAA is also produced from IBA (indole-3-butyric acid). […]

The effect of bisphenol A on growth, pigment composition and photosystem II activity of Arabidopsis thaliana

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Many of the plastic consumables we have at home contain synthetic chemical BPA (Bisphenol A). In 1930, a UK scientist discovered that BPA weakly mimics the human hormone estrogen. It has also been found that tiny amount of BPA can leach out of plastic (Stanford University). Thus, there has been a heightened interest on the […]

Mechanical regulation of organ asymmetry in leaves

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The mystery of asymmetry is a fundamental question in biology. Plants produce asymmetric shapes in many organs e.g., primordial cells on the leaf epidermis which undergo asymmetric divisions to define stomatal stem cells that ultimately form mature stomata. This asymmetric polarity of cells is governed by specific gene-expression and mechanical influences. Similarly, the dorso-ventral polarity […]

Cytokinin-auxin crosstalk in the gynoecial primordium ensures correct domain patterning

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The phytohormones auxin and cytokinin (CK) work either antagonistically or synergistically to regulate several critical development pathways such as meristem formation and maintenance. Müller et al. show similar crosstalk between auxin and CK in controlling early gynoecium patterning. Using TCSn::GFP and DR5:RFP respectively, they show that CK and auxin function in exclusive domain in the […]

Protoplast swelling and hypocotyl growth depend on different auxin signaling pathways ($)

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Auxin was the first phytohormone to be discovered and it has been found to have a role in nearly every aspect of plant growth and development. Auxin biology is multi-layered, as you will see in the following summaries. Auxin is regulated at the level of biosynthesis, different receptors, and domain segregation. The known auxin receptors […]

TOPLESS mediates brassinosteroid control of shoot boundaries and root meristem development

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Steroids play a role as essential hormones in plants as well as in animals. In plants, steroids termed brassinosteroids (BR) regulate plant growth and development. BR has been shown to be involved in many processes such as light response, stomata and root development, and flowering in plants. BR-regulated gene expression is controlled by the master […]