Entries by P. William Hughes

Fine Tuning Floral Morphology: MADS-Box Protein Complex Formation in Maize

Plant floral organ development is orchestrated by master regulatory genes that control the differentiation of meristem tissue. According to the ABC(DE) model of flower development (Bowman et al., 1989; nicely summarized by Irish, 2017), different floral organs form in concentric whorls (verticils) in response to the expression of different classes of homeotic genes. As per […]

Follow that Protein: SNAP-tagging Permits High-resolution Protein Localization

Protein analysis relies heavily on the production of ‘tagged’ proteins, i.e. recombinant proteins that contain both a functional peptide sequence and a peptide or chemical label (the ‘tag’). Common tags include fluorescent proteins (FPs), which make tagged proteins easier to detect, as well as tags that bind preferentially to specific substrates, which facilitates protein purification. […]

OsGSK2 integrates jasmonic acid and brassinosteroid signalling in rice

Plant defenses against herbivore or pathogen attack involve the coordination of multiple hormone-mediated signalling networks, including the jasmonate (JA) and brassinosteroid (BR) pathways. Jasmonate is an oxylipin phytohormone that triggers the transcription of defence-related proteins and secondary metabolites. In general, JA-responsive genes are controlled by MYC family transcription factors (TFs), which are themselves repressed when […]