Entries by Yun-Ting Kao

The peroxisome just updated its profile picture (Nature Comms.)

The ability to utilize stored energy is crucial for organism growth and development. For example, seed storage lipids go through hydrolysis and beta-oxidation to provide energy for seed germination. In this process, beta-oxidation occurs in the peroxisome, a subcellular compartment that houses many metabolic reactions. Insights into peroxisome structure have now emerged from a study […]

The love potion made by soil-borne fungi (Plant Cell Environ.)

The basic requirements for plant growth are water, nutrients, and light. There are many other factors contributing to plant growth, including the interactions between plants and soil microorganisms. Soil microorganisms produce a large array of volatiles that can affect root architecture (e.g., some volatiles result in shortened primary roots and increased lateral root formation), but […]

How Marchantia polymorpha avoids bug bites (bioRxiv)

Plants took hundreds of million years to evolve from aquatic to land environments. Biotic and abiotic stress adaptation contributed to the transition. In this preprint, Romani et al. elucidated functions of the transcription factor CLASS I HOMEODOMAIN LEUCINE-ZIPPER (C1HDZ) in the early land plant Marchantia polymorpha. Despite having all the conserved protein motifs of other […]

Transient genome-wide interactions of the master transcription factor NLP7 initiate a rapid nitrogen-response cascade (Nature Comms.)

Transcription factors (TFs) and their genome-wide targets form gene regulatory networks that allow organisms to respond to stimuli. However, conventional biochemical assays only identify a subset of the TF-target interactions. In this paper, Alvarez et al. elucidate the genetic network of NIN-LIKE PROTEIN 7 (NLP7), which is a master regulator of plant nitrogen signaling. Both […]

Allelic mutations in the Ripening-inhibitor (RIN) locus generate extensive variation in tomato ripening ($) (Plant Physiol)

Ripened fruits attract animals to eat and disperse seeds, allowing propagation. Slowing down the fruit ripening process is often used commercially to decrease damage during transport and extend shelf life. Molecular (increased pigment, aroma, and flavor) and physiological (softened flesh) changes of fruit ripening are highly synchronized, and RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN) is one of the […]

Chimeric activators and repressors define HY5 activity and reveal a light-regulated feedback mechanism (Plant Cell)

Plants take cues from the environment and decide when and how to regulate growth. When light is limiting, etiolated growth allows plants to reach the soil surface and gain access to light. After light perception, plants de-etiolate and go through a series of morphological and genetic changes. HY5 is one of the key transcription factors […]