Mizuno et al. show that genes in the KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2-dependent signaling pathway are conserved in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and control early development of the thallus. Yohei Mizuno and Junko Kyozuka Background: Plants hormones play crucial roles in growth and development. Karrikins are smoke-derived germination signals, perceived by KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) in seed plants. An […]
DeTar et al. examined whether disruption of ion homeostasis affects plastid gene expression and chloroplast development. Rachael Ann DeTar and Hans-Henning Kunz both at School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University & Plant Biochemistry at LMU Munich Background: Proteins that transport simple charged molecules (ions) are components of all plant cell membranes, including chloroplast […]
By Hernán López and Klaus Theres, Max Planck institute for Plant Breeding Research. López and colleagues identify the gene mutated in the tomato super determinant (sde) mutant, which affects vegetative shoot branching, but not seed set. Background: The degree of shoot branching is an important aspect of the architecture of seed plants. It determines the […]
Zhang et al. uncover the roles of NF-YC transcription factors in repressing brassinosteroid biosynthesis and signaling to mediate photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Background: Seedlings, which germinate in the soil, generally undergo rapid hypocotyl elongation to seek light for growth and development. Brassinosteroids (BRs), one of the main classes of hormones that promote plant growth, play an […]
Chin et al. identify SPIRRIG and SCAR/WAVE as molecular determinants of actin-mediated root hair development in Arabidopsis. Background: Root hairs are tip growing cells that extend the radius of a root to optimize water and nutrient absorption. Root hair development is complex and involves the actin cytoskeleton and many proteins that specify the position of […]
Zhang et al. explore the role of myosin XI in exocytosis. Plant Cell Weiwei Zhang and Christopher J. Staiger Purdue University Background: Living organisms secrete molecules from their cells to allow growth and survival in various environments. Materials destined for secretion are often packed into membrane-bound compartments called vesicles and are delivered to the cell […]
Reinar et al. uncover the effects of allelic variation in short tandem repeats across natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana on gene expression. By Kjetill Jakobsen1, Melinka Butenko2, and William Reinar1 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, 0316 Oslo, Norway 2Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biosciences, […]
Gala et al. perform single cell RNA sequencing to reveal molecular details about lateral root initiation. By Amy Lanctot, Hardik Gala, Jennifer Nemhauser University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 Background: Roots anchor the plant in place and allow it take up needed water and nutrients. Many plants display a taproot architecture, where a single long […]
Amundson et al. investigate the fate of parental DNA in crosses that produce uniparental dihaploids By Kirk Amundson and Luca Comai Background: Plants carrying only the chromosomes of one parent, i.e. haploids, are very useful for research and breeding. Certain crosses are known to yield haploid plants, such as the pollination of potato tetraploids by […]