Plant Physiology Spotlights May and June 2024 First Authors
Blog, Community, Plant Physiology: Author ProfilesIn May and June, we published many innovative manuscripts in Plant Physiology. Behind those manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science. You’ve seen our First Authors on Facebook and Twitter — now, read more about why they…
Review. Chilling out: How plants remodel membranes to survive the cold
Plant Science Research WeeklyLow temperatures disrupt cellular processes and require metabolic adaptation. Cold-induced lipid remodeling helps maintain membrane permeability and prevents phase separations that can lead to cellular damage. In this review, Shomo, Li and colleagues provide an overview of the mechanisms by which plants…
Review: Defining and rewiring of gene regulatory networks for plant improvement
Plant Science Research WeeklyMuch of the focus of functional genomics studies in plants is to improve yield, disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance and nutritional quality. Many desirable traits are controlled by sets of genes that are coordinated in a complex network, called a gene regulatory network (GRN). A transcription…
Review: Stem-borne roots as a framework to study trans-organogenesis
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants develop new organs and tissues throughout their lifespan as they grow new leaves, roots and reproductive structures. Many of these tissues arise from similar tissues, such as lateral roots arising from primary roots, and the mechanisms guiding their formation are well understood. But what about…
Cytokinin signalling regulates auxin availability and wounding-induced adventitious rooting competency
Plant Science Research WeeklyAdventitious roots, i.e. those derived from non-root tissues, are key elements of the plastic architecture of root systems. Auxins and cytokinins are known to induce and inhibit (respectively) adventitious root formation, though the exact mechanism remains to be fully explained. Here, Damodaran and Strader…
A kinase fusion protein from Aegilops longissima confers resistance to wheat powdery mildew
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe obligate biotrophic pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is the cause of wheat powdery mildew, a foliar disease that results in significant yield loss in most wheat-growing regions across the globe. This research focuses on the identification and functional analysis of the powdery mildew…
Convergent evolution of plant prickles
Plant Science Research WeeklyContrary to common belief, roses do not have thorns: instead, they have prickles. Thorns (as in hawthorns) are modified stems, spines (as in cactus spines) are modified leaves, and prickles (as in roses) are modified epidermal tissues. Prickles occur in a wide range of plants. Satterlee et al. set out…
New kid on the plant block: Single-cell proteomics
Plant Science Research WeeklyWhile single-cell omics technologies, particularly transcriptomics, are already becoming widely adopted in plant science, quantifying proteins at single cell resolution is less established. Fortunately, important technological strides have been made that improve sample preparation, separation techniques,…
Unforeseen plant diversity in global dryland
Plant Science Research WeeklyEarth’s terrestrial ecosystems harbor remarkable plant diversity. Some of this diversity can be quantified as functional traits, which provide a measure for diversity in different environments. In this new work, Gross et al. used a functional trait analysis to examine how plants respond to increasing…