Recent Posts

Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson, first author of Rethinking the influence of chloroplast movements on non-photochemical quenching and photoprotection Current Position: PhD student, Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London Education: BSc Biochemistry, Queen…

Recognizing Plant Direct authors: Amy Klocko

Amy Klocko, first author of RNAi of AGAMOUS genes in sweetgum alters reproductive organ identity and decreases fruit persistence Current Position: Assistant Professor of Plant Genetics, Department of Biology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Education: Bachelors…

Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Veder Garcia

Veder Garcia, first author of TRIPP is a Plant-specific Component of the Arabidopsis TRAPPII Membrane Trafficking Complex with Important Roles in Plant Development Current Position: Scientist, Seer Inc. Redwood City, California, USA Education: BS Biological Sciences with Honors in Cell Biology…

MYB30 Regulates Photomorphogenesis via Interactions with Active Phytochromes and PIFs

MYB proteins are a group of transcription factors that are highly conserved in all vertebrates and were first implicated in avian myeloblastosis (leukemia). Subsequently, they were shown to be cellular proto-oncogenes that regulate production of blood cells in animals. MYB proteins contain a DNA-binding…

Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Zhongtao Jia

Zhongtao Jia, first author of The root foraging response under low nitrogen depends on DWARF1-mediated brassinosteroid biosynthesis Current position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany Education: PhD in Molecular Plant…

Guard cell starch-derived glucose drives fast stomatal opening kinetics

Flütsch et al. examine how starch degradation and light-regulated membrane transport control stomatal opening kinetics. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00802 By Sabrina Flütsch and Diana Santelia Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Background: Stomatal…

Ligand-induced monoubiquitination of BIK1 regulates plant immunity (Nature)

The plant immune system has been a keenly researched area in plant sciences in the past decade. Elicitors present in microbes are compounds that induce response from plants when under attack. These elicitors are conserved in many pathogens and are called microbe associated molecular patterns (MAMPs).…

Review: The bHLH network underlying plant shade-avoidance (Physiol. Plant.)

Shade avoidance is a complex phenomenon in which plants avoid shade by altering their developmental program in various ways including early flowering, hypocotyl elongation, and more. Many photoreceptors and transcription factors (TFs) are involved in regulating shade avoidance, including the bHLH (basic…

Nutrient dose-responsive transcriptome changes driven by Michaelis–Menten kinetics underlie plant growth rates (PNAS)

Plants can increase their growth and biomass proportionately to an increase in nutrient dose and, conversely, their growth is limited by limiting nutrients. In this study, Swift et al. explored the molecular underpinnings of the nutrient dose-response phenomenon. The authors first show that nitrogen-dose…