Li et al. discover a cold-tolerance allele that was not selected during maize domestication. Background: Cold stress is an important environmental factor that limits plant growth, development, and geographical distribution. Maize originated in Mexico and is sensitive to low temperatures. Cold stress not only inhibits the germination and seedling growth of maize, but it […]
Yang et al. identify a maize Nitrate Transporter 1/Peptide Transporter family protein that functions as a sugar transporter in grain filling. By Bo Yang and Jinsheng Lai, State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (SKLPPB) & National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Grain […]
Xu et al. identify two transcription factors that activate FLOWERING LOCUS C during embryogenesis, thus re-setting the requirement for vernalization. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac077 By Guokai Xu, Zeng Tao and Yuehui He Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Advanced Agriculture Sciences, Peking University Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence […]
Yang et al. identify a connection between a mitochondrial RNA-processing factor and plant disease resistance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac082 Yang Yang and Weixing Shan State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas and College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China Background: Diseases are major constraints for sustainable crop production. Phytophthora pathogens are notorious […]
Cao et al. demonstrate that the photomorphogenic repressors BBX28 and BBX29 enhance brassinosteroid signaling to promote hypocotyl elongation and cotyledon closure. By Jing Cao and Fang Lin Background: Light signals and brassinosteroids (BRs) are external stimuli and internal cues, respectively, both of which play critical roles in a multitude of physiological responses throughout the plant […]
Jo et al. uncover the role of a spliceosome component in removing retained introns in Arabidopsis in response to heat stress https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac084 Background: Alternative splicing plays a key role in abiotic stress responses in plants, especially responses to heat stress. The spliceosome is a protein complex that functions in pre-mRNA splicing, leading to the formation […]
Krawczyk et al. describe a tethering complex that anchors a subset of lipid droplets to the plasma membrane during post-germinative seedling growth in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac095 By Hannah Elisa Krawczyk, Till Ischebeck Background: Germinating seeds are not yet able to produce energy from sunlight. Therefore, the energy and carbon required for seedling establishment has to be […]
By Dariusz Jan Smoliński, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland Rudzka and colleagues characterize the retention of Sm pre-mRNAs that retain introns in Cajal bodies over the course of microsporocyte development in European larch (Larix decidua) Background: Reports in both animals and plants have recently revealed that a part of protein-coding transcripts might be retained in the […]
By Margot Raffeiner and Frederik Börnke (Leibniz-Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops) Background: Like other organisms, plants defend themselves against pathogens by activating immune responses. One of the first lines of plant immunity is to block the entry of bacteria into the leaf through pores in the leaf surface, called stomata. Stomata are essential to […]