Research Blog

Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are proteins involved in cell wall growth and are therefore required for plant growth processes. Fabrice et al. use pollen tube development in Arabidopsis thaliana as a vegetative plant growth model to elucidate the role of LRXs in these cellular processes. All 4…

Bisphenol A (BPA) is known for its negative impact on mammalian cell lines and, recently, as an emerging environmental pollutant. BPA, readily taken up and metabolized by plants, results in many growth and developmental defects, from disrupted mitotic microtubule (MT) arrays to altered calcium fluctuations…

Over the last two decades, Ash dieback (ADB) has been sweeping through Europe killing or damaging a large proportion of European common ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior).  ADB results from infection by wind borne spores of the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.  As ADB spread and the scientific research…

The plant cytoskeleton determines cell shape and integrity by delivering cellulose microfibrils and other cell wall components to the plasma membrane and cell wall. Auxin is involved in establishing the polarity of cell expansion and auxin distribution is partly regulated by actin. Sahi et al. examine…

One of the hardest parts of any sequencing project is putting the pieces together. Physical sequence alignments can be cross checked against genetic linkage maps when they are available, but what about for species without genetic linkage data? Udall and Dawe describe the use of optical mapping, using…

Transposable elements (TEs) are a major component of eukaryotic genomes. Their activity is silenced by epigenetic mechanisms such as chromatin modifications and DNA methylation in order to avoid deleterious effects on host genome stability. Nevertheless, how TEs overcome silencing by the host and propagate…

Guest Editor:  Alecia Biel Alecia is a graduate student at The Ohio State University in the US and has been a Plantae Fellow since September 2017.  Her research focuses on elucidating hormone signaling pathways and the role of the nucleus during this process, particularly throughout plant abiotic…

Pollen is an essential component in angiosperm reproduction. Pollen grains are surrounded by a highly resistant wall called exine which enables survival of the male gametes in adverse environmental conditions. Suzuki et al. examined the contribution of an Arabinogalactan β-(1,3)-Galactosyltransferase…