By ES Forsythe, AM Williams, DB Sloan, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Forsythe and colleagues measured the rate of variation across thousands of nucleus-encoded and plastid-encoded proteins to then look for evidence of coevolution, suggestive of similar functions Background: Plant chloroplasts (plastids) have their own genome, which contains instructions for creating […]
Ma et al. provide numerous insights into how whole-genome duplication contributed to the origin and diversification of the grass family. By Peng-Fei Ma, Yun-Long Liu and De-Zhu Li (Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS) Background: Whole genome duplication (WGD), which may result from an organism that inherited two copies of its genome from each parent, is […]
Prigozhin and Krasileva identify highly variable NLR subfamilies responsible for the generation of new immune receptor specificities. The Plant Cell (2021) By Daniil M. Prigozhin1 and Ksenia V. Krasileva2 1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2University of California Berkeley Background: Harmful bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, insects, nematodes, and viruses threaten plant health and can devastate agricultural crops. Plants […]
Sipka and coworkers show that the closed state of photosystem II holds a formerly unrecognized structural and functional plasticity and upon illumination assumes a light-adapted charge-separated state. [Plant Cell https://academic.oup.com/plcell/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koab008/6119330] By Gábor Sipka, Melinda Magyar, Parveen Akhtar, Petar H. Lambrev and Győző Garab Background: Photosystem II (PSII), which uses solar energy to oxidize water and […]
Bezrutczyk et al. use single cell RNA-seq to show that SWEET13 proteins in maize bundle sheath cells are specialized in nutrient transport to the phloem. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa055. By Margaret Bezrutczyk and Wolf B. Frommer, Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany Background: Maize is among the most productive crop plants. Maize leaf […]
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 […]