Plants launch their response to osmotic stress with a sudden spike in cytosolic Ca2+ levels, which subsequently leads to the accumulation of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). This further initiates a chain of events including closure of stomata, large-scale transcriptional changes, retardation of overall growth, and the onset of early senescence. However, the mechanism by […]
Plants have evolved two major adaptive strategies to tackle shade from their neighbours: avoidance and tolerance. However, what makes a species shade-avoider or shade-tolerant at the molecular level has remained mostly elusive. Recently, Paulisic et al. uncovered the key role of a regulatory module formed by PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) and LONG HYPOCOTYL IN FR1 […]
Seedlings emerging in light undergo photomorphogenic development, forming short hypocotyls and green, fully opened cotyledons. Disruption of chloroplast development by drugs such as lincomycin induces retrograde signals (RS) that inhibit photomorphogenesis. The retrograde signaling pathway has been known to act primarily through the chloroplast-localized master regulator protein GENOMES UNCOUPLED1 (GUN1). Now, Gommers et al. reveals […]