Fei Gao, first author of The transcription factor bHLH121 interacts with bHLH105 (ILR3) and its closest homologues to regulate Fe homeostasis in Arabidopsis Current Position: Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Christian Dubos at BPMP, INRA, CNRS, SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, Montpellier, France Education:…

Naomi Cox, first author of A novel upstream regulator of trichome development inhibitors Current Position: PhD Candidate in Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Sheffield, UK and Visiting PhD Scholar at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), The Philippines Education: MBiolSci…

Stroking leaves of the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica causes them to fold inwards, but when touched more aggressively the leaf petioles and petioles of distal untouched leaves collapse dramatically downwards (as seen in this video); the propagating electrical signal is called the slow wave potential.…

A new review by Petit et al. skillfully highlights the role of plasmodesmata at the interface between cell biology and whole-plant physiology. These tiny channels that connect plant cells determine what moves from cell-to-cell symplastically, so have roles in just about everything, from developmental…

Plasmodesmata are tiny regulated channels that connect adjacent plant cells through which nutrients, signaling molecules and viruses can move. To try to resolve discrepancies between functional and structural studies, Deinum et al. have developed a model for plasmodesmatal permeability that predicts…

This short Primer by Strullu-Derrien et al. introduces the amazing early vascular plant fossils from the Rhynie chert. The fossils' high level of detail is a consequence of their being embedded in a glass-like silica matrix, possibly derived from hydrothermal springs. The fossils are approximately 407…

Plants are photosynthetic autotrophs, meaning they use light energy to feed themselves, with carbon dioxide as a carbon source. Heterotrophs like E. coli require organic carbon. Here, Gleizer et al. have rewired the metabolism of E. coli to make it into a (non-photosynthetic) autotroph, meaning it can…

As the primary red light photoreceptor in Arabidopsis, phyB affects various developmental processes, such as seed germination, shade avoidance, etc. PIF3 is a key repressor of phyB-mediated photomorphogenesis that is degraded in red light. Recently Heng et al. identified a positive regulator of red light…