Recent Posts

Aquaporins facilitate hydrogen peroxide entry into guard cells to mediate ABA- and pathogen-triggered stomatal closure ($)

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Guard cells are crucial gatekeepers that control entry and exit of gases, water vapor, and pathogens. Rapid stomatal pore closure in response to pathogen perception or the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is supported by activation of the aquaporin (water channel) PIP2;1. Rodrigues et al. investigated the…

Phloem loading through plasmodesmata: a biophysical analysis

Sugars produced in photosynthetically active mesophyll cells move into the phloem through a process known as phloem loading, but not all plants phloem load the same way. Some use a passive process in which sugars move down a concentration gradient into the phloem, but others use active transport processes.…

Rgsr8.1, a new quantitative trait locus conferring resistance to Gibberella stalk rot in maize

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Gibberella stalk rot (GSR) is a fungal disease of maize.  Through QTL-seq, a whole genome sequencing method, Chen et al. identified a new resistance quantitative trait locus (QTL) Rgsr8.1 that confers broad-spectrum resistance to GSR. Two candidate genes were identified, one encoding an auxin response…

Brassinosteroid accumulation and effect during carrot development

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Brassinosteroid hormones (BRs) play significant roles in plant growth and development. Que et al. examined BR accumulation and the expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis, signalling and catabolism of BRs in carrot (Daucus carota), a phytonutrient-rich crop. A key finding is the increase in…

Interaction of seed dormancy and flowering time on phenology, life history and fitness in the field ($)

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Local adaptation and plant fitness (how plants perform on those localities) are strongly influenced by the seasonal timing of germination and flowering. Germination timing affects when a plant flowers and the selective environment under which flowering occurs. The other way around is also true, timing…

Heterodera schachtii tyrosinase-like protein - a novel nematode effector modulating plant hormone homeostasis

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The nematode Heterodera schachtii is a parasite of the sugar beet.  Understanding how H. schachtii parasitizes the plant is crucial to develop tools to minimize infestation and crop losses.  From the H. schachtii transcriptome, the authors identified the sequence of a putative secreted effector protein…

What We're Reading: August 18th

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Editorial: Introducing Plant Direct Editor-in-Chief Ivan Baxter introduces the new journal Plant Direct, “a new journal from Wiley and the societies behind Plant Physiology, The Plant Journal, and The Plant Cell” [that is, the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) and Society for Experimental…

Viewpoint: Signalling by potassium: another second messenger to add to the list?

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Potassium (K+) retention in the roots and shoots is correlated with increased tolerance to salinity and drought. However, in response to salt stress, K+ efflux  from roots is induced. Shabala investigates three possible reasons for this stress-induced K+ efflux: K+ could leave to charge-balance the…

Editorial: Introducing Plant Direct

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Editor-in-Chief Ivan Baxter introduces the new journal Plant Direct, “a new journal from Wiley and the societies behind Plant Physiology, The Plant Journal, and The Plant Cell” [that is, the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) and Society for Experimental Biology (SEB)]. This new Open Access…