Chen et al. explore the recognition of Phytophthora effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana and the conservation of these responses in the Solanaceae Background: Plant pathogens employ effectors as weapons to invade and colonize plant tissue. To counteract these effectors, plants have developed surveillance systems that are activated by microbial effectors thereby warning the plant about pathogen […]
Hu and Yu et al. demonstrate that BIN2-VLG module regulates vacuole formation in female gametophyte. By Li-Qin Hu, Shi-Xia Yu, and Wen-Hui Lin Background: In Arabidopsis, the development of the female gametophyte (FG) within the ovule is essential for plant reproduction and seed yield. Formation of the large vacuole within the FG is required for […]
Mao et al. demonstrate that MdTCP17 inhibits adventitious root primordium formation in apple rootstocks. The Plant Cell (2023). Background: Adventitious root (AR) formation is important for vegetative propagation in plants and is critical for plant breeding and propagation, particularly in plants such as apple (Malus domestica). Cytokinin inhibits AR formation, and members of the TCP […]
Deng, Yang, Li, Chang, Sun et al. explore the interaction between EIN3-like transcription factors and subunits of the Mediator complex in tomato fruit ripening. Background: Fruit ripening relies on the precise spatiotemporal control of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-dependent transcription of thousands of ripening-related genes, including regulatory genes and structural genes. In tomato, ethylene is […]
Kim et al. use the TurboID biotin-labeling system and phosphoproteomics to identify substrates of the kinase BIN2. Background: Intracellular signal transduction relies on specific and dynamic interactions between kinases and their substrates. Identifying substrate proteins of each kinase is crucial for understanding cellular signaling transduction pathways but is technically challenging because of the transient nature […]
Gou et al. explore how strigolactone hormones affected the evolution of the maize ear. By Jiahn-Chou Guan and Karen E. Koch Background: The prehistoric ancestor of modern maize (Zea mays) is unrecognizable, lacks a cob, and protects each of its tiny kernels inside an acorn-like shell. Evolution of the maize ear during domestication transformed these […]
Zhao et al. examine the genetic basis of complex flowers. Huiqi Zhao(a,b,d), Hong Liaoa, Shuixian Lia(b,c), Rui Zhang(a,e), Hongzhi Konga(b,c), Hongyan Shana(c) a State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China b University of Chinese Academy of […]
Kim et al. investigate the role of a heat shock protein in thermotolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac351 By Minsoo Kim and Elizabeth Vierling at UMass Amherst Background: Plants can survive heat stress by producing heat shock proteins (HSPs) that protect and rescue other proteins. One HSP, the ATP-dependent protein disaggregase HSP101, is essential for tolerance to severe heat. […]
Chen et al. demonstrated that installing a bacterial-type fast Rubisco into tobacco chloroplasts to support photosynthesis. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac348 By Taiyu Chen and Lu-Ning Liu Background: Rubisco is the key enzyme responsible for fixing CO2. However, due to its intrinsically low catalytic turnover rate, Rubisco represents the ultimate rate-limiting step in plant photosynthesis. […]