This series is the exploration of plants that are notable for various reasons: e.g., by producing specialized metabolites, by illuminating evolution, by serving as genetic models, or by their contributions towards practical applications. Aristolochia gigantea Aristolochia gigantea, also known as…

Ribosomes are essential molecular machines in the cell that translate mRNA sequences into proteins. Growing parts of an organism produce many ribosomes, so that after each cell division both daughter cells have enough to translate the proteins necessary for growth and development. Defects in ribosomes…

Cereal grains accumulate large amounts of proteins and starch and are a major source of dietary calories for humans and animals. In maize (Zea mays), most of the storage compounds are synthesized during the grain-filling period of kernel development. Several key transcription factors (TFs) that regulate…

Tianhu Sun ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2513-1387 Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 [email protected]  Chloroplasts are semi-autonomous organelles that retain their own genomes derived from their cyanobacterial ancestors,…

Zhang, Zhu, Shen, Ji et al. discover a way to enhance nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield in rice. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3s3bLb3  Background: Nitrogen (N), an essential element for crop growth, is provided to plants by external fertilizer application. However, the excessive use…

Madeleine Seale Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, United Kingdom [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-8924-3943   In a world surrounded by a vast expanse of gaseous air, water is constantly evaporating from aqueous sources…

Dong, LeBlanc, Poulet et al. investigate genomic stability in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3nhgdQ5  By Jie Dong, Chantal LeBlanc, Axel Poulet, and Yannick Jacob  Background: DNA is the genetic material used by all living organisms on Earth. The faithful replication of DNA…

Summary: Huang et al. elucidate a link between ethylene signaling and heat stress responses. Plant Cell https://bit.ly/3pTjNBK By Jianyan Huang, Xiaobo Zhao, Marco Bürger, Yurong Wang, Joanne Chory Background: Temperature is an environmental factor that has one of the most dramatic effects on…