Xiangsong Chen is the featured first author of Canonical and Non-canonical Actions of Arabidopsis Histone Deacetylases in Ribosomal RNA Processing Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow in Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison Education: PhD in National Key Laboratory…

Histones undergo myriad covalent modifications - more than 100 types have been identified in the 50+ years since Allfrey, Faulkner, and Mirsky (1964) found that increased histone acetylation was associated with genomic regions of active transcription (reviewed in Zentner and Henikoff, 2013). Enzymes…

Roots grow into new regions of the soil in their constant quest for water and dissolved minerals. This crucial task is made possible by the root meristem and stem cell niche, where neatly arranged stem cells quickly divide beneath a protective root cap. Stem cells give rise to transit amplifying cells,…

Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins are part of an epigenetic memory system that regulates global gene expression throughout development in multicellular eukaryotes (Butenko and Ohad, 2011). Sophisticated mechanisms recruit high molecular weight complexes of PcG proteins to specific targets in the genome.…

In plants, the balance between stem cell renewal and loss is carefully maintained by intricate regulatory networks. Although the root and shoot apical meristems can in principle continue to grow and self-renew indefinitely, the floral meristem is terminated once flower formation is completed. The precise…

We are pleased to introduce to our readers our new team of assistant features editors at The Plant Cell. These talented and energetic young scientists are passionate about plant science and dedicated to communicating the importance and fascination of plant biology to a wide audience. They will work with…

Nat. Genet. Silencing of transposable elements (TEs) is mediated epigenetically by DNA methylation, relying partially on RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). RdDM-induced DNA methylation undergoes a global reprogramming in the male germline, allowing expression of imprinted genes regulating fertility…

BioRxiv. Transcriptomic changes at the cellular level are of key importance in specialized cellular types. Therefore, transcriptome analysis at a cell-specific resolution is a powerful tool to learn about biological processes. This analysis is however limited by technological boundaries of microdissection…