Recent Posts

Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Mike Muszynski

Mike Muszynski, first author of The Maize Hairy Sheath Frayed1 (Hsf1) Mutation Alters Leaf Patterning Through Increased Cytokinin Signaling Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaiʻi…

Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Delf Kah

Delf Kah, co-first author of Durotropic growth of pollen tubes Current Position: PhD student at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany  Education: M.Sc. in Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany  Non-Scientific Interests: music, cooking, chess  Brief Bio: I am a PhD student…

Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Ronny Reimann

Ronny Reimann, co-first author of Durotropic growth of pollen tubes Current Position: Editor for chemistry and biology at the publishing house C.C.Buchner, Germany  Education: PhD in Biology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany; M.Sc. in Biotechnology, HS Lausitz - University of Applied Sciences,…

KETCHing up with gametogenesis: nucleocytoplasmic import and cell cycle control

In eukaryotes, active import of large signaling molecules and proteins over 40kD in the nucleus is mediated by aptly named “importin” proteins. As there are considerably fewer importins than there are cargos, determining how cargo-transporter specificity is mediated constitutes a challenging issue…

Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Taro Kimura

Taro Kimura, first author of Arabidopsis ROOT PHOTOTROPISM2 is a Light-Dependent Dynamic Modulator of Phototropin1 Current Position: Post-doctoral researcher at Niigata University Education: Ph.D, Master of Science and BSc at Niigata University Non-scientific Interests: reading, driving, baseball Brief…

A GDSL Lipase Facilitates Ethylene Signaling in Rice

Zhao et al. investigate the function of a GDSL lipase in ethylene signaling in rice roots The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00840 By He Zhao and Jinsong Zhang, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Background: The plant hormone ethylene…

Perspective: What is replication? (PLOS Biol)

This is an interesting paper and certainly one to share with students. Nosek and Errington argue that how we usually think of as “replication”, repeating a study and observing the same results, is incorrect. Instead, they argue for abroader definition of replication, as something that supports the…

Introducing plant biology graduate students to a culture of mental well‐being (Plant Direct)

Graduate studies are challenging times, fraught with uncertainty and stress. Dewa et al. addressed this problem head on by developing a required, credited course for first-year graduate students, “Tools for Becoming a Successful Professional and for Enhancing Your Well‐Being and Work Environment”.…

Review: The genetic basis and nutritional benefits of pigmented rice (Frontiers Genetics)

Pigmented rice varieties are those in which a pigment is deposited in the bran, the outer layer of the grain. The pigment can be from brown to red (proanthocyanidins) or from purple to black (anthocyanins). In the course of domestication, humans have selected against the genetic factors responsible for…