Damage to DNA occurs through exposure to environmental stresses in animal and plant kingdoms alike. While the former groups are relatively well explored when it comes to DNA damage response (DDR) mechanisms, plant-related knowledge lags behind. A recent study by Wang et al. revealed a unique plant DDR…

Xylem vessels have a distinct secondary cell wall (SCW) formation, where the metaxylem stage contains a characteristic pit pattern. The hemicellulose xylan is an important component of the SCW, functioning as a crosslinking polymer that coats cellulose microfibrils and interacts with other SCW components.…

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) maintains a small pool of pluripotent stem cells, which are the source of all above-ground plant tissues. In Arabidopsis thaliana, CLAVATA3 (CLV3), CLAVATA1(CLV1) and RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE2 (RPK2) repress WUSCHEL (WUS) expression. WUS induces CLV3, forming a local…

In rice, the transcription factor N-mediated heading date-1 (Nhd1) activates the expression of Heading date 3a (Hd3a), a floral regulator gene and regulate flowering. Li et al. report the role of Nhd1 in nitrogen (N) use efficiency and N-dependent root growth in rice. nhd1 mutants were impaired in root…

Barley seeds are anoxic, and during germination pathways are induced to allow energy to be obtained without oxygen. Phytoglobins (Pgb) are hypoxia-induced proteins that are involved in energy metabolism during germination through the Pgb-NO cycle, an alternative pathway to fermentation. In the…

Knowing whether a given plant species forms a persistent soil seed bank is essential to understanding its ecological dynamics, yet soil seed bank studies are both labor-intensive and time-consuming. One could argue that models should help predict this. Still, seed persistence in the soil is shaped by…

The studies on the apoplastic interactions of plants and fungi often focus on the fungal cell-wall, but recent studies indicate various plant colonizing fungi also have an exopolysaccharide (EPS) layer outside their cell wall. Chandrasekar et al. observed that the composition of this fungal EPS is distinct…

Review: Protein phosphorylation “toggle switch” for plant iron balance Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation act as a switch regulating a multitude of protein properties, be it their activity, interaction with other proteins, stability, or even cellular localization. This review by Li…