ACCELERATED CELL DEATH 6 (ACD6) positively regulates the signaling of the plant defense hormone salicylic acid (SA). It was originally identified by the study of natural variation in defense responses of Arabidopsis thaliana. The naturally hyperactive ACD6-Est-I allele confers broad-spectrum disease resistance at the cost of reduced growth due to constitutive activation of SA-mediated immunity. Yet, […]
Plant roots are composed of concentric cell layers with distinct gene regulatory programs. Cell layer-specific responses are likely critical for plants to cope with microbes with various lifestyles, but little is known about root responses against microbes at cell-layer resolution. Fröschel et al. tackled this problem by conducting root cell layer-specific TRAP-seq (translating ribosome affinity […]
Microbiota-root-shoot axis modulation by MYC2 favors Arabidopsis growth over defense under suboptimal light Below- and aboveground plant organs experience distinct biotic and abiotic environments. Thus, coordination between root and shoot responses are likely crucial for plant survival. Given that a substantial amount of photosynthetically fixed carbons is invested in the rhizosphere, Hou et al. hypothesized […]
Insect-induced galls are abnormally patterned plant organs that provide insects with protection and a nutrient source, yet mechanisms underlying the development of these unique organs are mostly unknown. To identify insect factors that govern gall pattering, Korgaonkar et al. turned to the natural variation of the colors of galls induced by various insect species. They […]
Parasitic plants cause agricultural devastation across the globe, yet the molecular basis of their parasitism is largely enigmatic. They grapple and intrude into the host roots with an organ called the haustorium. Haustoria formation is induced upon recognition of host-derived haustorium-inducing factors (HIFs), including quinones and phenolics, but HIFs are not sufficient to complete haustoria […]
Epigenetic reprogramming, such as DNA methylation changes, has emerged as a crucial regulator of plant defense responses. Homeostasis of DNA methylation is controlled by a balance between methylation and demethylation. ROS1 (Repressor Of Silencing 1) is an Arabidopsis demethylases that is known to be a positive regulator of defense, but little is known about the […]
In nature, roots are colonized by commensal bacteria that do not seem to influence host traits. Recently, studies showed some commensals can suppress plant immune responses when inoculated to plants alone. However, how such commensal activities are coordinated in the community context is poorly understood. Ma, Niu et al. took a bottom-up approach to explore […]
How plants transcriptionally operate developmental programs and responses to stress in time and space has been an important question in plant biology. Fluorescent protein reporters are commonly used to address this question, but their performance is limited at short timescales (<30 min) before the proteins get matured. Also, expression of fluorescent proteins can be influenced […]
Autophagy is a regulated process whereby select cytoplasmic components are degraded. It is involved in a variety of biological processes, including defense against pathogens. As such, plant pathogens have evolved mechanisms to target host autophagy machinery to gain virulence. However, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of pathogen molecules that alter plant autophagy pathways. Lal […]