Wei et al. explore how aluminum toxicity and inorganic phosphate limitation inhibit plant growth. Pengliang Weia,b and Lieven De Veyldera,b aDepartment of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium bCenter for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium Background: Acid soils are one of the most significant problems for worldwide crop production, as […]
Hosotani et al. explore the molecular mechanisms that modulate stomatal opening under different light conditions. by Sakurako Hosotani and Atsushi Takemiya (Yamaguchi University) Background: Opening of stomatal pores is essential for photosynthetic CO2 fixation and transpiration in terrestrial plants. Light-induced stomatal opening includes two mechanisms: the blue light-specific response, which operates through phototropin receptor kinases, […]
Corredor-Moreno et al. identify a branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase that is critical for progression of economically damaging diseases of wheat. Pilar Corredor-Moreno and Diane G.O. Saunders John Innes Centre Background: Wheat yellow and stem rust are major diseases of wheat worldwide. Plants have a complex immune system that when activated can prevent pathogen colonization. Early […]
Zhang et al. explore the mechanisms of epigenetic information transfer in plants. The Plant Cell By Pingxian Zhang and Xiaofeng Gu Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China Background: Both genetic and epigenetic information must be transferred from mother to daughter cells during cell division. In yeast and mammals, genetic information […]
Reis et al. explore how an interaction between PHO1.2 mRNA and its cis-natural antisense transcript enhances translation. The Plant Cell Rodrigo S. Reis1 and Yves Poirier1 1 Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland Background: A large proportion of plant RNAs are natural antisense transcripts (NAT), non-coding RNAs that are complementary to […]
Yang et al. show that nonspecific phospholipase C4-mediated sphingolipid remodeling regulates root growth in Arabidopsis in response to phosphate deficiency. The Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa054. By: Xuemin Wang, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis/Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA, and Liang Guo, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, […]
Simpson et al. describe and use PODIUM, a tool for global annotation of metabolites. Plant Cell (https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa046) By Jeffrey Simpson, Brian Dilkes, Clint Chapple Background: Plants synthesize hundreds to thousands of different chemicals. These chemicals help plants adapt to the biotic and abiotic factors encountered in natural environments. Through mass spectrometry (MS), we can detect […]
Kim et al. provide insight into leaf vascular cell types and new resources to build hypotheses and strategies regarding transport of ions, metabolites, and signals. Plant Cell http://bit.ly/2MKOR8M Ji-yun Kim and Wolf Frommer Background: Transport processes are critical for all multicellular organisms. In plants, two vascular tissues, phloem and xylem, are mainly responsible for fulfilling […]
Ding et al. investigate the transcriptional regulation mechanism underlying the degree of pectin methylesterification using the mucilage that surrounds Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Anming Ding, Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) BY: Yingzhen Kong, College of Agronomy, Qingdao Agricultural University Background: Pectin is a major component of the plant cell wall. Pectin synthesis […]