Plant Physiology: On The Inside

Pollen tubes elongate very rapidly at rates of several micrometer per minute and strictly in one direction: this process involves the intense local secretion of cell wall material at the tube tip. Consequently, there is a massive incorporation into the plasma membrane (PM) of excess membrane material…

The waxy cuticle that covers the aerial parts of leaves, fruits, and nonlignified stems of land plants is chemically heterogeneous, with lipids representing between 60% to 80% of the cuticle, depending on the plant organ and species. These lipids can be polymerized, represented by cutin, or non-polymerized,…

In order to survive attacks by pathogens and herbivores, plants have developed a variety of defense mechanisms and resistance strategies, including the production of defensive chemicals. Such defense chemicals, however, can have detrimental effects on growth or can introduce ecological costs by attracting…

Plant root systems alter their architecture upon encountering  spatial heterogeneity in the nutrient concentrations of the soil. For example, when roots are subjected to decreasing N availability that causes mild N deficiency, lateral root emergence increases moderately, whereas elongation of primary…

Melatonin is a highly conserved bioactive molecule present in all plant species. It is produced from serotonin through two consecutive enzymatic steps. Serotonin is converted into either N-acetylserotonin by serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) or into 5- methoxytryptamine by caffeic acid O-methyltransferase…

Apart from its well-known function in Suc unloading, cell wall invertase (CWIN), an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of Suc into Fru and Glc, also plays a role in sugar signaling and plant development.  As an  example of CWIN playing a role in plant development, Liao et al. (10.1104/pp.20.00400)…

Modern cultivated watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) are sweet tasting and tender, with intensely colored flesh that ranges in hue from yellow to deep red. These colors are produced by the accumulation of various carotenoids in the flesh cells. Red-fleshed watermelons that accumulate lycopene in their flesh…

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that is relatively mobile in the soil and has become a serious worldwide environment problem. Cd is easily taken up by plant roots where it can be loaded into the xylem and transported to above-ground tissues. Cd accumulation in the shoot inhibits plant growth and…