The bid to understand long distance Ca2+ signaling patterns in co-ordinating whole-plant responses to systemic or induced defense have been scarce in soil-grown plants mainly due to limitations of conventional microscopy. Macro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI), a real-time, low-cost, dual-view fluorescence…

In humans and several mammals, the alterations in DNA methylation are a critical aging biomarker also known as the ‘Epigenetic Clock’. In this study by Dai et al., the authors examined the process of DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis plants to identify if this molecular marker of aging functions similarly…

Autophagy (or “self-eating”) is a conserved quality-check pathway that degrades and recycles damaged components of the cell to restore cellular homeostasis. In plants, autophagy has been studied during wound responses, but it is less clear how it particpates in de novo organ regeneration. In a recent…

Plants constantly compete for light, and the threat of shading by neighbors has been a powerful driving force for the adaptive plasticity during evolution. Changes in both light quantity and quality, most notably a reduced ratio of red to far-red wavelengths (low R:FR), serve as early warning signals…

Across multicellular eukaryotes, ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins are the core of RNA silencing, steering development, defense, and stress responses by biding small RNA guides to seek out genes for repression. In plants and animals, these functions are distributed across multiple AGO homologs that support a…

Kalenchoe plants, sometimes called “Mother of Thousands” are instantly recognizable by the abundance of little plantlets that form on their leaf margins. Kalenchoe daigremontiana is probably the most recognizable species, in which plantlet formation is constitutive, but other species in this genus…

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is an important crop providing vegetable oil. Yield is positively correlated with increased numbers of seeds, siliques, and branches. In a previous study, a rapeseed germplasm having normal branch and silique numbers was crossed with another germplasm having higher branch and…

Wheat is rich in gluten proteins which provide texture and structure to many foods such as breads. The abundance of low molecular weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GSs) and high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) determines gluten strength and dough quality. Wheat cultivars commonly contain three…