In this seminal paper, Roszak et al. present a deeper understanding of the development of the protophloem cell lineage. The differentiation process from the phloem stem cell to the enucleated cell state spans approximately 19 cells. Using live imaging, FACS sorting and single-cell RNA sequencing, the…

Many biological processes are controlled by the circadian clock in plants, yet studies often don't report sampling timepoints, leaving much to be discovered about the plant circadian rhythm. Apelt et al. have utilised single cell RNA sequencing to examine almost 70,000 Arabidopsis cells from above and…

Flooding presents a dual threat to plants; not only is mitochondrial respiration supressed during the resulting hypoxic conditions, but once the floodwaters recede, the return to ambient oxygen levels triggers a cascade of harmful reaction oxygen species (ROS). One of the most well-studied responses…

Nesocodon mauritianus is about one out of 70 plant species that produce colored nectar. The nectar of Nesocodon starts off yellow in newly opened flowers and progresses to blood-red in color as the flowers mature. The authors showed that the red colored nectar is both visible and attractive to geckos,…

Do you know how many tree species are there? The global Forest Biodiversity Initiative (GFBI) database has annotated about 28,000 tree species, while some studies indicate there could be around 60,000. But why this difference? Many of the species are found in unapproachable areas. Additionally, human…

Carbon flux through photosynthesis and central carbon metabolism show distinct patterns between algae, C3, and C4 plants Photosynthesis is an attractive target for improving crop yields, and tailoring downstream photosynthesis-associated metabolism is a relatively unexplored path for achieving this.…

Yang et al. reveal the coordination between stomatal development and cuticle formation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab260 By Shao-Li Yang and Chin-Min Kimmy Ho Background: The plant epidermis is composed of functionally specialized cells, such as the valves on the leaf surface known…

Jose C. Tovar, first author of "Heat stress changes mineral nutrient concentrations in Chenopodium quinoa seed" Current Position: Research Scientist and USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, Missouri Education: PhD in Molecular Biosciences from…