The brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathway is essential for plant growth and development. BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE2 (BIN2) is a GSK3-like kinase, serving as a repressor of the BR signaling pathway. In the absence of BR, BIN2 phosphorylates BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT1 (BZR1) family transcription factors…

Floral development has been the object of decades of plant research, yet many fundamental questions remain. One of these is the mechanism by which LEAFY (LFY), the master transcription factor of floral development, works with UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO), an F-box protein, to regulate petal and stamen…

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that down-regulate their targets through translational repression or mRNA cleavage.  Some pri-miRNAs encode small regulatory peptides (miPEP) which regulate plant growth and development by modulating subsequent miRNA expression. How different biotic or abiotic…

Bitter gourds (or bitter melon) have been a childhood nightmare of mine. I remember that as a child, my grandparents used to force me to consume these really bitter gourds (Momordica charantia) telling me that they had ‘many benefits’. In addition to being a rich source of antioxidants, M. charantia…

Physical dormancy is imposed by an impermeable seed coat that prevents water uptake. For germination to occur, this coat must be broken. Fire passage, for example, breaks physical dormancy in ecosystems where such events are recurrent. However, the mechanisms behind how fire achieves this has yet to…

Review: Hypes, hopes, and the way forward for microalgal biotechnology Microalgae are small, photosynthetic algae that have emerged as important contributors to food and nutrient production. This review describes the many ways they can be grown (e.g., autotrophic, with sunlight or artificial light;…

Min Gao, co-first author of “The Flowering Time Regulator FLK Controls Pathogen Defense in Arabidopsis thaliana” Current Position: Associate professor, College of Horticulture, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China  Education: Ph.D. from Northwest A & F…

Matthew L. Fabian. co-first author of “The Flowering Time Regulator FLK Controls Pathogen Defense in Arabidopsis thaliana” Current Position: ORISE Postdoctoral Scholar, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Education: Ph.D., Biological Sciences Non-scientific…