Ma, Salomé and colleagues use single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) on the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a proof-of-concept for the application of this method to unicellular algae.  By Patrice A. Salomé, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA* Background: The sequenced…

Niklas Klusch, first author of A ferredoxin bridge connects the two arms of plant mitochondrial complex I  Current Position: PhD student, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics Education: BSc in Biology, MSc in Cell Biology and Physiology, Goethe University Frankfurt/Germany Non-scientific Interests:…

By ES Forsythe, AM Williams, DB Sloan, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Forsythe and colleagues measured the rate of variation across thousands of nucleus-encoded and plastid-encoded proteins to then look for evidence of coevolution, suggestive of similar functions…

We marvel at the ability of starfish to regenerate an arm, or a lizard a new tail, but even more impressive than these feats is the ability of a plant root system to create lateral roots when and where they are needed. This root system plasticity has been long studied, with a wealth of insights into…

One of the most fascinating challenges in developmental biology is to understand how a few stem cells hidden in a microscopic region of the shoot apex give origin to all aerial parts of the plant. Technological advances such as single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) are enabling the comprehensive analysis…

Mitochondria function as cellular powerhouses to generate energy via oxidative phosphorylation and facilitate the synthesis of essential macromolecules. To protect against proteotoxic stress, damaged mitochondria are selectively removed by autophagy via a process known as mitophagy. In mammalian cells,…

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, are devastating crop pests that lower yields and transmit viruses. They feed off more than 600 species, most of which produce toxic phenolic glycosides. Xia et al. investigated how the whiteflies manage to avoid the effects of the toxin. They found convincing…

Algae powered by red algal-derived plastids (e.g., diatoms, dinoflagellates, and coccolithophores) are among the most evolutionary and ecologically successful eukaryotes on Earth, but their origins and relationships remain poorly understood. Here, Strassert et al. test the rhodoplex hypothesis that designates…