Legumes associate with beneficial soil bacteria called rhizobia to acquire plant-usable ammonia in a process called root nodule symbiosis (RNS). This association is so valuable for nitrogen starved legumes that they form specialized new organs to house them. These de novo organs, called nodules, develop on roots and are the site of nitrogen fixation. Here, […]
This article is the second of three and is based on a workshop called “Reproducibility for all” presented at PlantBio18 by Benjamin Schwessinger, Sonali Roy, and Lenny Teytelman. In Part 1 (here), the authors describe the importance of having a data management plan, and the value of electronic notebooks. 3. Include a lot of detail […]
This article is the first of three and is based on a workshop called “Reproducibility for all” presented at PlantBio18 by Benjamin Schwessinger, Sonali Roy, and Lenny Teytelman. It’s late. You’re the last person in the lab now. The security personnel, who knows your cat by name, wishes you good luck with the experiments as […]
(Reprinted from The Plant Cell 10.1105/tpc.18.00110) At the crux of understanding plant biology lies the intricate hormone circuitry coordinating morphological and physiological changes as plants grow and adapt to their environment. As a curious middle school student in Locust, New Jersey, Professor Joseph Kieber, then a proud keeper of a personal vegetable garden, was first […]
Nutrients are rarely distributed homogenously in soil. Consequently, plants have local and long-distance signaling systems in place to monitor and coordinate both demand and supply of essential macronutrients such as nitrogen (N). The “N-demand” long distance signal emanates from a section of the root system that may be facing N-deprivation, while the “N-supply” signal is […]
Partner selection is a critical step that must occur early during establishment of Root Nodule Symbiosis (RNS). RNS refers to the mutualistic interaction between legumes and some non-legumes with soil bacteria that help convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant usable ammonia. In legumes such as Medicago truncatula, a successful interaction initiates two genetically separable but interdependent […]