Targeting a given protein for degradation at a specific time can be very useful when investigating its function in the cellular context. In this paper, Huang et al. present an inducible protein degradation system tailored for plants, named E3-DART. The system is based on the specific interaction between…

Review. Chloroplast ATP synthase: From structure to engineering I remember how amazed I was the first time I saw an animation of ATP synthase doing its job. This fantastic engine is largely conserved across the domains of life, with some variation as highlighted in this review of the chloroplast…

Huang et al. explore the functions of the nuclear pore complex in regulating the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C in plants.  Penghui Huang1,2†, Xiaomei Zhang2†, Zhiyuan Cheng3† 1 Research Institute of Intelligent Computing, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 310012, China 2 MARA Key Laboratory of…

Zhang et al. investigate the role of the OsCIF1/2–OsSGN3a/b signaling pathway in Casparian strip formation in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad269 By Jixing Xia, of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China. Background: The Casparian strip (CS) is a belt-like lignin-based…

Wei et al. show how hydrogen peroxide affects aluminum tolerance via its effects on the transcription factor SENSITIVE TO PROTON RHIZOTOXICITY 1 in Arabidopsis thaliana. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad281 By X. Wei, Y.F. Zhu, W.X. Xie, W.W. Ren, Y. Zhang, H. Zhang, S.J. Dai, and C.-F. Huang Background:…

Qian et al. investigate how the evolution of the thermostability of actin-depolymerizing factors enhances the adaptation of pollen germination to high temperature. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad280  By Qian D., Li T., Chen S., Wan D., He Y., Zheng C., Li J., Sun Z.,…

Anting Zhu et al. establish an approach to identify metabolites and their corresponding genes and pathways in wheat. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad286 By A. Zhu, M. Liu, Z. Tian, W. Liu, W. Chen et al.  National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene…

As photosynthetic organisms, algae can harness solar energy to do useful things, from environmental cleanup to producing fuels and other beneficial molecules. This review by Goold et al. provides an overview of how algae can be valuable platforms for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering through…