
Stretched by Stress: PIEZO1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel in Arabidopsis (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants are constantly susceptible to mechanical stress and they have evolved intracellular signaling mechanisms to adapt to mechanical stimulation. Whilst it is known that ion channels activate signaling pathways in response to mechanical stress, only few of these mechanosensitive channels have been…

Give and Take: Lipid exchanges drove the evolution of mutualism during plant terrestrialization (Science)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants form symbiotic associations with a variety of microbial partners, among which arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are prominent. AMF are known to enrich plants with a host of vital nutrients including the essential macronutrient phosphorus. While the finer details of plant-AMF association are known…

A spatiotemporal molecular switch governs plant asymmetric cell division (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn multicellular organisms, stem cells produce various cell types through asymmetric cell division (ACD), which is achieved is through polarization of cell-fate determinant proteins in the ACD progenitor cells. In Arabidopsis stomatal development, an ACD progenitor cell, the meristemoid mother cell (MMC),…

A TOTally new pathway regulating thermomorphogenesis (Nature Comms)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIncrease in ambient temperature often causes remarkable changes in the shape and organization of plant body, including elongation of hypocotyl and petioles, early flowering, and reduction in stomatal index, collectively known as thermomorphogenesis. Virtually all the molecular pathways that are known…

A tale of two morphs: seed coat differentiation in the dimorphic diaspore model Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae) (Plant J.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyWhile most plants have a single fruit and seed form, several species produce two or more distinct fruit and seed types, although the mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain unknown. Here, Arshad and colleagues assess the differences in the internal morphology and transcriptomic profile throughout development…

Plant Science Research Weekly: May 28, 2021
WWR Full PostReview. Under siege: virus control in plant meristems and progeny
Perhaps, when our lives have been turned upside down by a human pathogenic virus, it’s easy to overlook the fact that plants too suffer from viral infections; but of course, they do. (And of course, famously, viruses were first discovered…

Changtian Pan: The Plant Cell First Author
The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesChangtian Pan, first author of PIF4 negatively modulates cold tolerance in tomato anthers via temperature-dependent regulation of tapetal cell death
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland-College Park
Education:…

Jiying Li: Plant Physiology First Author
Plant Physiology: Author ProfilesJiying Li, co-first author of DeepLearnMOR: a deep-learning framework for fluorescence image-based classification of organelle morphology
Current Position: Software Engineer, Microsoft
Education: M.S. in Computer Science (UC Davis), Ph.D. in Genetics (Michigan State University)
Non-scientific…

Jinghao Peng: Plant Physiology First Author
Plant Physiology: Author Profiles
Jinghao Peng, co-first author of DeepLearnMOR: a deep-learning framework for fluorescence image-based classification of organelle morphology
Current Position: MS Student, School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China.
Education: B.S. degree, Northeast Normal…
