Evolutionary flexibility in flooding response circuitry in angiosperms ($) Flooding is unpredictable and can lead to plant death due to insufficient oxygen (hypoxia). Some plant species and varieties are better able to survive periods of submergence. Here, Reynoso et al. looked at gene networks…

Wang et al. identify a protein that mediates Casparian strip formation at the endodermis in rice roots. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.000296 By Jian Feng Maa and Jixing Xiab aInstitute of Plant Science and Resource, Okayama University, Japan bCollege of Life Science and Technology,…

Identifying natural genetic variation, understanding how it influences traits, and utilizing it for crop improvement is a major objective in plant science. Miller et al. (2019) have identified genetic variation in the promoter region of BnaUPL3.C03 from a panel of Brassica napus accessions that can influence…

Amna Mhamdi, Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, and VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium Defense reactions are the fascinating result of a complex network between signals, receptors and effectors, where any missed nodes may spell disaster.…

Mandáková et. al. explore the origin of an ancient oilseed crop. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00366 Background: Camelina (Camelina sativa; gold of pleasure or false flax) is an ancient oilseed crop grown in Europe as early as 4000 BC. Gold of pleasure was largely forgotten as a crop, being replaced…

Anutthaman Parthasarathy, co-first author of The Arabidopsis thaliana gene annotated by the locus tag At3g08860 encodes alanine aminotransferase Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate (Prof. A. O. Hudson), Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences Education: BSc - Chemistry (Madras University,…

Liang-Yu Hou, first author of NTRC plays a crucial role in starch metabolism, redox balance and tomato fruit growth Current Position: PhD candidate in Dr. Peter Geigenberger’s lab, at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Education: Bsc in Life Science at the National Central University…

Ami N. Sait, first author of  Structure-function study of a novel inhibitor of the Casein Kinase 1 family in Arabidopsis thaliana Current Position: PhD student, Department of Applied Chemistry, Waseda University, Japan Education: B. Eng. in synthetic organic chemistry, Waseda University, Japan Non-scientific…