“Food, fuel, and fiber” sometimes is used to describe our utter dependence on plants, but often, other than cotton, the “fiber” part is under appreciated. However, there is a growing interest in bio-based materials, both for their greater recyclability and as an alternative to petroleum-derived…

Review: 3D electron microscopy for imaging organelles in plants and algae Have you noticed that the quality and resolution of cell images has been getting better and better? Weiner et al. review the recent advances in 3D electron microscopy (EM) technologies that have provided these strikingly beautiful…

Keith E. Duncan, first author of "X-ray microscopy enables multiscale high-resolution 3D imaging of plant cells, tissues, and organs" Current Position: Research Scientist in Chris Topp’s lab at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and Director of X-ray Imaging Facility Education: BS in Biology,…

Wang et al. identify a WRKY-type transcription factor as being critical to fiber development and elongation in cotton. By Na-Na Wang, Yang Li, Yi-Hao Chen, Rui Lu, Li Zhou, Yao Wang,Yong Zheng, Xue-Bao Li Background: Cotton, one of the most important crops in the world, produces natural fiber materials…

Kunpeng Liu, first author of "Intragenic tRNA-promoted R-loops orchestrate transcription interference for plant oxidative stress responses" Current Position: Postdoc at School of Life Sciences in Tsinghua University Education: B.S. from Huazhong Agricultural University；P.hD. from Fudan University Non-scientific…

Changyu Yi, first author of "Diverse phosphate and auxin transport loci distinguish phosphate tolerant from sensitive Arabidopsis accessions" Current Position: Postdoc, Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, La Trobe University Education: Ph.D. in Botany, La Trobe University, Australia.…

As part of The Plant Cell’s upcoming celebration of plant cell biology, Roeder et al. write about fifteen of the “open questions” in the field. This, and the other reviews that make up the focus issue, provide valuable insights into the leading edge of the discipline. Among the questions posed:…

The development of Arabidopsis as a model system greatly advanced the field of plant cell biology by bringing in molecular approaches, so much of our conceptual foundation rests on studies from angiosperms. More recently, model bryophytes, particularly Marchantia polymorpha (liverworts) and Physcomitrium…