Plant Physiology: News and Views

Ananya Mukherjee ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1802-1806 [email protected] University of Nebraska Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588    In the photosynthetic Calvin-Benson cycle, the enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) fixes CO2 into organic compounds. A major limitation…

A well-oiled machine: two fatty-acid exporters involved in seed oil biosynthesis Mehran Dastmalchi [email protected] Oilseed plants such as canola (Brassica spp.) are a massive, multi-billion dollar industry, with their lipids contributing to food, cosmetics, polymers and biofuels. For the…

Magdalena M. Julkowska [email protected]   Developmental and environmental changes are communicated systemically throughout the plant by various signals, ranging from electric currents to plant hormones. As the responses elicited by the systemic signals depend on the tissue…

Lynn GL Richardson, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48843 During germination and early seedling establishment, embryos rely on stored energy for growth and cellular maintenance until photoautotrophic growth takes over. Proteins and lipids make up most of the energy-rich stores in the embryo,…

Lignin is a complex aromatic biopolymer in the secondary cell wall of vascular plants. It is crucial for providing physical strength and pathogen resistance to the plant. Lignified xylem vessels are also necessary for efficient water transport. Lignin is formed by oxidative polymerization of monomers…

When air temperatures rise above the comfortable level, plants initiate a cooling mechanism to prevent heat stress. High ambient temperatures induce a specific set of growth responses, termed thermomorphogenesis, which includes enhanced hypocotyl and petiole elongation, and leaf hyponasty (reviewed by…

Magdalena Julkowska [email protected]  Reacting to the environment requires not only activating signaling cascades but also modulating the activity of individual components in a context- and time-dependent manner. For example, under non-stress conditions protein phosphatases 2C…

Amna Mhamdi Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, and VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium Address correspondence to [email protected] Long thought to be unselective and often referred to as "housekeeping" enzymes, type 2A Protein…