Much of our understanding of strigolactones (SLs) as developmental hormones and rhizosphere signals comes from studies of angiosperms. Understanding the ancestral role for strigolactones is complicated by the fact that some of the SL-related genes are closely related to those responsive to karrikins…

Stomatal dynamics have been investigated in terms of ion exchange involvements, turgor pressure fluctuations, and transcriptional changes, particularly in response to environmental stresses. However, the involvement of the cytoskeleton during this process, particularly concerning the role of microtubules…

Wax covering the outer surface of the shoot (epicuticular wax) is crucial in the ability of the plant to conserve water. Wang et al. identified a drought hypersensitive plant that overexpresses an E3 ubiquitin ligase which they named DROUGHT HYPERSENSITIVE. In these overexpression plants, there was a…

Filamentous plant pathogens have developed an extra-ordinary level of dynamic genome architecture that adapts to changing host environment in the best possible way to promote infection. There are very limited studies describing the impact of this genome plasticity on phenotypic variation. Haueisen et…

Rodococcus bacteria are often identified as causal agents in disease outbreaks. Savory et al. analyzed 60 isolates from diseased plants. By comparing these new isolates and previous isolates, they found that 64 of 66 pathogenic isolates carry a linear virulence plasmid, and that all but four carried…

Review: On the selectivity, specificity and signaling potential of long-distance movement of messenger RNA Regulation of transcription occurs at the cell-type specific level, but transcribed messenger RNA is mobile and can move between tissues through plant vasculature, serving as a long distance…

“Horizon scanning” describes the process of trying to rationally predict the future.  Wintle et al. describe the results from a horizon-scanning exercise to identify emerging issues in biological engineering. The authors used an iterative approach to identify key issues in the near and longer-term…