Recent Posts

Yam genomics supports West Africa as a major cradle of crop domestication (Sci Advances)

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) were domesticated independently in three continents. African yam (Dioscorea rotundata) is the second most produced crop in Africa, after cassava but ahead of maize, rice and sorghum. Scarcelli et al. use a genomic approach to learn more about its domestication, by sequencing many…

Development of genome-wide SNP markers for barley via reference- based RNA-Seq Analysis (Front Plant Sci)

The availability of marker-assisted systems is key for crop improvement, allowing trait selection by identifying consensus polymorphisms. However, for discriminating between related strains, these DNA markers are limited, time-consuming and expensive. Here, Tanaka et al. developed a RNA-Seq-based genotyping…

Loss-of-function of a tomato receptor-like kinase impairs male fertility and induces parthenocarpic fruit set (Front Plant Sci)

The flower-to-fruit transition (fruit set) and parthenocarpy, the pollination-independent development of seedless fruits, are controlled by complex hormone networks. Takei et al. identified a tomato gamma-ray induced mutant named small parthenocarpic fruit and flower (spff) with small fruits and flowers,…

Arabidopsis FLL2 promotes liquid–liquid phase separation of polyadenylation complexes ($) (Nature)

The nucleus of plants cells, like other eukaryotes, is full of non-membranous compartments separated by liquid-liquid phases. These complexes are often called nuclear bodies and concentrate proteins and nucleic acids. Disordered protein domains play a critical in their formation. Here, Fang et al. aimed…

Soil salinity limits plant shade avoidance (Curr. Biol.)

The agriculture sector is going to face big challenges to feed the 10 billion people that are going to inhabit the planet in the upcoming years with limited arable land. One effective practice to enhance the yield per unit area is to increase crop planting density.  However, in dense stands, plants…

The macroevolutionary history of light signaling ($) (Mol Plant)

The ability to sense and respond to light is a fundamental feature of photosynthetic organisms like plants. Much has been learned about the molecular genetic mechanisms controlling light perception and downstream signaling processes in evolutionarily young land plant lineages like angiosperms, with comparatively…

Plant Science Research Weekly: May 17th

Reflections on Classics: Plant Cell's 30th anniversary "The 1980s were an exciting and revolutionary time for biology, and plant molecular biology in particular," begins an editorial by Bob Goldberg, Brian Larkins, and Ralph Quatrano, the three Founding Editors of The Plant Cell. They describe why…

The unknown unknowns of plant cell biology: identifying the functions of conserved, single-copy genes

Wang et al. examine single-copy, conserved genes of unknown function, with OPENER as proof of concept. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00033    By Wei Wang and Totte Niittylä, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Sweden  Background: Thale cress or Arabidopsis thaliana was the first sequenced…

Reflections on Plant Cell Classics

In 2019, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Plant Cell. In recognition of this milestone, we have solicted a series of reflections by members of the editorial board and others. We asked them to write about one or more memorable and exciting articles published in The Plant Cell, and how it…