All in good time: Timing gene activation during early flower development
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellPelayo et al. explore the function of a biological timer that activates key genes for flowering.
Margaret Anne Pelayo, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad123
Background: For flowers to form, the floral meristem (floral stem cells) must irreversibly commit…
A transcriptional hub integrates multiple hormone signaling pathways in rice
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellDuan et al. explore the functions of OsSHI1 in rice development.
https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad130
Erchao Duan
State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University
Background:…
The enzyme that makes many algae brown
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCao and Bai et al. reveal a conserved enzyme that makes many algae appear brown as opposed to green typical of land plants.
https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad116
Graham Peers1, Martin Lohr2, Xiaobo Li3,4
1 Department of Biology, Colorado State University; Fort Collins, USA.
2 Institut für…
Targeting of plasmodesmal proteins requires unconventional signals
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellGabriel Robles Luna, Jung-Youn Lee and colleagues discover that proteins carry targeting signals that send them to plasmodesmata, but these signals show no sequence conservation.
https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad152
Gabriel Robles Luna1, Jiefu Li3, Xu Wang1, Li Liao2,3, and Jung-Youn Lee1,2,4* …
Nascent pri-miRNAs and HYL1 act as a scaffold to recruit transcriptional regulators to miRNA loci
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellPark et al. reveal how a microprocessor component and a histone deacetylase act in microRNA biogenesis under stress.
Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs with a length of 21–24 nucleotides that play critical roles in mRNA silencing and translational suppression. In plants, miRNAs…
Review: Rapid auxin signaling: Unknowns old and new
Plant Science Research WeeklyYou might think you’ve read enough about auxin, but I recommend you take this opportunity to read one more article, this very interesting and enjoyable review by Fielder and Friml. Auxin has figured prominently in both the classical and molecular eras of plant biology. However, the exciting findings…
Review: Genome evolution in plants and the origins of innovation
Plant Science Research WeeklyLand plants have enormous diversity; however we do not fully understand how this has arisen. In this review article James Clark discusses how genome dynamics and gene loss contribute to genome evolution and the generation of diversity and complexity. He explains how genome evolution is non-homogenous…
Review: Improving RNA-based crop protection through nanotechnology and insights from cross-kingdom RNA trafficking
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe German physician Paul Ehrlich (not to be confused with the American scientist of the same name) coined the term “magic bullet” (zauberkugel) to describe something that is perfectly and accurately effective. As much as we dream of magic bullets, they are rarely found, but the idea of using spray-on…
Commentary: Time to fight the over-hype
Plant Science Research WeeklyA year ago, graduate student Merritt Khaipho-Burch Tweeted a reaction to an article about a gene described as enhancing yield, which led to lively on-line and in-the-lunchroom discussions about how to realistically measure yield, and, maybe more importantly, where to draw the line between potential and…