Entries by Sunita Pathak

Rhizobia use a pathogenic-like effector to hijack leguminous nodulation signaling (Sci Reports)

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Symbiotic interactions between legume plants and compatible rhizobia bacteria lead to the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules in the host plant root. Compatibility between rhizobia and host plants is determined by various factors like plant species-specific flavonoid secretion, extracellular polysaccharides of bacteria, and the effector proteins secreted by the rhizobia type III secretion system. These effector […]

The PB1 domain-containing protein PB1CP negatively regulates the NADPH oxidase RBOHD in plant immunity (bioRxiv)

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Plants produces ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) as an immune response against infection. ROS induces additional immune response, but high ROS levels have detrimental effects on plant cellular function. To understand how plants produce just the right amount of ROS, Goto et al. the studied regulation of RBOHD, the NADPH oxidase involved in production of ROS […]

Functional innovations of PIN auxin transporters mark crucial evolutionary transitions (Science)

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Complex multicellular flowering plants evolved from simple unicellular algae. This evolutionary transition was driven by crucial innovations in plant anatomy like shoot and root, inflorescence and flowers. Multiple studies have demonstrated the role of local auxin gradients in determining the development and patterning of flowering plants. PIN genes, encoding polar auxin efflux carriers, play crucial […]

Nitrate inhibits nodule organogenesis through inhibition of cytokinin biosynthesis in Lotus japonicus (bioRxiv)

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The symbiotic association between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia leads to the formation of nodules in roots, which supply nitrogen to the plant in low soil nitrate condition. In contrast, the presence of high nitrate reduces nodule formation. Cytokinin (CK) biosynthesis plays a major role in nodule organogenesis, but the impact of high nitrate on CK […]

Condensation of Rubisco into a proto-pyrenoid in higher plant chloroplasts (bioRxiv)

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Rubisco is a major enzyme in assimilating CO2 during photosynthesis. The efficiency of CO2 assimilation is compromised by a low ratio of CO2/O2, especially in C3 plants like rice, wheat and soybean. Algae sequester Rubisco as a condensate in a microcompartment called a pyrenoid within the chloroplast and have a CO2-concentrating mechanism that delivers CO2 […]

Transcriptional regulation of PLETHORA1 in the root meristem through an importin and its two antagonistic cargos (Plant Cell)

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Plant root growth is sustained by stem cells in the root meristems, and the stem cell fate is maintained by the quiescent center (QC). PLETHORA (PLT) protein gradients contribute to maintaining the root meristem cell fate, although the transcriptional regulatory mechanism that establishes the PLT gradient is still in question. To address this, Xiong et […]

Review: Biomolecular condensates in photosynthesis and metabolism ($) (Curr. Opin. Plant Biol.)

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Biomolecular condensates are membraneless organelles with the capacity to spatially concentrate biomolecules. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is one mechanism of condensate formation in which demixing of macromolecules leads to separation into dense and light phases. Photosynthetic organisms like cyanobacteria and green algae also form CO2-fixing compartments as biomolecular condensates through LLPS. In this paper, Wunder […]

Review: Plant–microbiome interactions: from community assembly to plant health (Nat. Rev. Microbiol)

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The association of plants with communities of beneficial microbes,  called plant microbiota, has a positive effect on growth and proliferation of both organisms. Recent findings in plant microbiota research uncovered the role of individual microbes and associated genes during plant-microbe interaction at a community level, showing similar taxa of microbes and related genes shared between […]