Roots explore the soil for available water and nutrients, with deep roots providing water from the lower soil layers (Uga et al., 2015) and highly branched roots searching the soil for less-mobile nutrients such as phosphate, zinc, and manganese. Root architecture results from plant developmental programs,…

Despite major advances in understanding cold signaling, cold acclimation, and freezing protection in model and crop species, and extensive studies of natural variation in freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis accessions, the question of which genes and mechanisms underlie freezing tolerance of wild species…

Ethylene is essential for the ripening of climacteric fruits, and a rapid burst of ethylene production and a rise in respiration occur at the transition to ripening.  In ripening apple (Malus domestica) fruits, the accumulation of anthocyanins that is responsible for reddening is correlated with ethylene…

In dark-grown plants, the plastids of cotyledon cells develop as etioplasts. Etioplasts contain unique internal lattice membrane structures called prolamellar bodies (PLBs) and lamellar prothylakoids (PTs). PLBs accumulate protochlorophyllide (Pchlide), a chlorophyll intermediate, in a complex with NADPH…

Some experimental systems aimed at understanding the effects of drought on plants have incorporated cell-impermeable high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) to mimic the osmotic component of drought stress. The use of PEG showed that drought stress response could be separated into components…

Abscisic acid (ABA) promotes stomatal closure and inhibits light-induced stomatal opening. An early event in ABA signaling is an influx Ca2+ ions across the plasma membrane and an increase of cytoplasmic calcium ([Ca2+]cyt). ABA-induced stomatal closure involves an outward K+ flux and dynamic vacuolar…

Architectural modifications of plant root systems enable plants to survive adverse conditions. Lateral roots, for example, help anchor the plant in the soil, and facilitate the uptake of water and nutrients from the soil. Auxin is a plant hormone essential to root development including the elongation…

Yuanyuan Zhang, first author of OsATX1 Interacts with Heavy Metal P1B-type ATPases and Affects Cu Transport and Distribution in Rice Current Position: PhD student in the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, China. Education: PhD in Biochemistry…