Li et al. investigate the mechanisms of defense and counter-defense in a floral pathosystem. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae027 By Guo-Bang Li, Wen-Ming Wang, and Jing Fan Background: Rice false smut is an emerging fungal disease threatening rice production worldwide. This disease not only…

Zhang et al. explore the regulation of cambium division and differentiation in poplar. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae040 Yanhui Zhang and Quanzi Li, State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China Background: In trees such as poplar (Populus…

Read all about why these Plant Direct First Authors chose to pursue plant sciences and see their manuscripts here. Le Thanh Dien Nguyen Le Thanh Dien Nguyen (he/him) is the First Author of Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with Citizen Scientists to Survey the Chemical Diversity and Phylogenetic…

Wu and Bisaro study the sequence structure of viroid quasispecies in plant cells. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae012  Jian Wu1,2,3 and David M. Bisaro3 1State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agroproducts, Institute of Plant Virology,…

Romer et al. study the origin of the lipid side chain phytol in tocopherol and phylloquinone synthesis in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad316   By J. Romer, K. Gutbrod and P. Dörmann Background: Isoprenoid lipids in Arabidopsis chloroplasts include chlorophyll, carotenoids,…

Tian et al. identify the zinc finger protein DHHC09 as a regulator of rice salt tolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae001   By Ye Tian, Xuan-Ming Liu, and Jian-Zhong Lin Background: Soil salinity results in oxidative stress and heavy losses to crop production. S-acylation of proteins…

Behind the Plant Physiology manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science. You’ve seen our First Authors on Twitter and Facebook— now, read more about why they chose to pursue plant sciences and click on the links below the pictures…

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants assimilate carbon by using light energy. However, with the solar energy conversion efficiency of many crop plants less than 1%, it is inefficient. Therefore, there is interest in manipulating photosynthesis for increased efficiency. Here, Croce et al. identifying…