Entries by Plant Cell

Tip swelling of SI pollen tubes in pear

Tang and Wang et al. explore the mechanism underlying pollen tube tip swelling in the self-incompatibility response. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad162 By Chao Tang1,2, Peng Wang1,2, Shaoling Zhang1,2 and Juyou Wu1,2,3 1 Sanya Institute of Nanjing Agricultural University, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China 2 Jiangsu Engineering […]

Epigenetic regulation during rice domestication and de-domestication

Cao et al. investigate the role of epigenetic variation in rice domestication and de-domestication. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad160 By Shuai Cao1,2 and Qingxin Song1 1 State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, China 2 Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore Background: Humans have domesticated hundreds of […]

SnRK1 and TOR—in a different light

Saile et al. explore the role of SnRK1 and TOR in light-dependent seedling development and splicing. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad168 Jennifer Saile and Andreas Wachter Institute for Molecular Physiology (imP), University of Mainz Background: Plants adjust their development to light and metabolic signals to make best use of their available resources. Dark-grown seedlings undergo etiolation with increased hypocotyl […]

All in good time: Timing gene activation during early flower development

Pelayo et al. explore the function of a biological timer that activates key genes for flowering. Margaret Anne Pelayo, Nara Institute of Science and Technology https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad123 Background: For flowers to form, the floral meristem (floral stem cells) must irreversibly commit to becoming cells making up the various floral organs (sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels), a […]

A transcriptional hub integrates multiple hormone signaling pathways in rice

Duan et al. explore the functions of OsSHI1 in rice development. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad130 Erchao Duan State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University Background: Plant growth and development are affected by various internal and external signals during their entire life cycle. To improve their […]

The enzyme that makes many algae brown

Cao and Bai et al. reveal a conserved enzyme that makes many algae appear brown as opposed to green typical of land plants. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad116 Graham Peers1, Martin Lohr2, Xiaobo Li3,4 1 Department of Biology, Colorado State University; Fort Collins, USA. 2 Institut für Molekulare Physiologie, Johannes Gutenberg-University; Mainz, Germany. 3 Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation […]

Targeting of plasmodesmal proteins requires unconventional signals

Gabriel Robles Luna, Jung-Youn Lee and colleagues discover that proteins carry targeting signals that send them to plasmodesmata, but these signals show no sequence conservation. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad152 Gabriel Robles Luna1, Jiefu Li3, Xu Wang1, Li Liao2,3, and Jung-Youn Lee1,2,4*          1Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware; Newark, DE19716, USA 2Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of […]

Nascent pri-miRNAs and HYL1 act as a scaffold to recruit transcriptional regulators to miRNA loci

Park et al. reveal how a microprocessor component and a histone deacetylase act in microRNA biogenesis under stress. Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs with a length of 21–24 nucleotides that play critical roles in mRNA silencing and translational suppression. In plants, miRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II and processed by the microprocessor, […]

Sending out an SOS: Interplay between salt stress and light signaling

Ma, Han, et al. explore the molecular mechanism underlying the interplay between light and salt stress pathways. Background: The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway is evolutionarily conserved and essential for plant adaptation to salt stress. The protein kinase SOS2 functions as a network hub in the SOS pathway, and its kinase activity is rapidly activated […]