In plants, maternal inheritance of mitochondria is a common phenomenon, resulting from the elimination of paternal mitochondrial DNA during pollen development or by the degradation of paternal mitochondria after fertilization. A recent study by Aini et al. provides new insights into the fate of paternal mitochondria in rice. Visualization of mitochondria (with and without detectable […]
Oxygen is always considered something living forms need to survive. But wait, its role is beyond just respiration. Would you believe if I told you oxygen guides the development of young leaves? A recent study by Panicucci et al. reveals that oxygen acts as a signalling molecule, affecting cell proliferation and differentiation during leaf development. […]
Plasmodesmata are membrane-lined bridges between adjacent plant cells that control the exchange of signaling molecules and nutrients between neighbouring cells. Biotic stress is known to cause the rapid closure of plasmodesmata via callose deposition; however, its precise role in immune responses remains unclear. In a recent study, Tee et al. demonstrated that plasmodesmal closure is […]
Autophagy (or “self-eating”) is a conserved quality-check pathway that degrades and recycles damaged components of the cell to restore cellular homeostasis. In plants, autophagy has been studied during wound responses, but it is less clear how it particpates in de novo organ regeneration. In a recent study, Ganguly et al. studied the role of autophagy […]
When we talk of pollination, we often imagine colorful flowers and scents that attract insects to the flowers. However, flowers are a hallmark of angiosperms. How cone-bearing gymnosperms attract their pollinators has been a long-standing question. In a recent study, Valencia-Montoya et al. investigated how cycads, one of the oldest living lineages of seed plants, […]