Hong and Rusnak et al. explore how a 1000-bp region of DNA activates gene expression in giant cells. By Adrienne Roeder and Byron Rusnak Background: Specialized cell types carry out specific functions within plants. Some genes are expressed uniquely in one cell type and not expressed in other cells; these genes may be important for […]
Lembinen et al. explore the molecular mechanisms underlying inflorescence diversity in strawberry. Sergei Lembinen1, Mikolaj Cieslak2, Teng Zhang1, Kathryn Mackenzie1, Paula Elomaa1, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz2, Timo Hytönen1. 1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N […]
Luzarowska et al. reveal that an enzyme involved in fatty acid elongation and wax synthesis determines the differential accumulation of polyunsaturated triacylglycerols. By Corina Mariana Fusari1 & Yariv Brotman2 1Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET-UNR), Suipacha 570, S2000LRJ Rosario, Argentina 2Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel Background: In […]
Huang et al. find that a 3-KETOACYL-COA SYNTHASE negatively regulates wax biosynthesis, revealing a mechanism for fine-tuning lipid metabolism. Haodong Huang, Xianpeng Yang, Shiyou Lü and Huayan Zhao State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China College of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China Background: In […]
Husbands et al. identify ligands and regulatory properties of the HD-ZIPIII START domain. By By Aman Y. Husbands (University of Pennsylvania) and Marja C.P. Timmermans (University of Tuebingen). Background: Development has been compared to a ball rolling down a hill. Cells initially have broad potential, but over time, they make decisions based on local cues […]
Xiong and Yang et al. explore how plants regulate rapid opening of the apical hook in the light. By Jiawei Xiong and Dawei Zhang, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R.China. Background: When seeds are buried […]
Song, Jin, Chen, He, Li, Tang, et al. establish that independent evolutionary processes in ancestral land plants led to homo- and heteromeric geranyl diphosphate synthases. Shuyan Song and Shan Lu School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China Background: Terpenoids are a large group of plant natural products that include small, volatile compounds that […]
Radchuk et al. explore the physiological role of SWEETs in barley grain development. By Volodymyr Radchuk and Ljudmilla Borisjuk Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany Background: Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) is a large family of proteins, which have been found in every sequenced plant genome. The main […]
Wang et al. revealed fine regulation of inflorescence branching in tomato. The Plant Cell (2023). By X.T. Wang and X. Cui Background: The number of branches in the inflorescence affects yield in food crops and the aesthetics of ornamental plants. Two MADS-box transcription factors, SISTER OF TM3 (STM3) and JOINTLESS2 (J2), are tomato homologs of […]