Recent Posts

Glutelin mRNAs are transported on endosomes

Tian et al. identify the factors mediating localization of specific mRNAs in developing rice endosperm cells. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00111  by Li Tian and Thomas W. Okita  Background: Localization of mRNAs is a universal mechanism to efficiently drive protein targeting in eukaryotes…

Secret Talents: STARCH SYNTHASE 5—Not an Enzyme, but Very Active!

Abt et al. found that Arabidopsis SS5, a protein homologous to typical starch-synthesizing enzymes, is itself enzymatically inactive, but rather has an important role in the starch granule initiation process. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00946 By Melanie R. Abt and Samuel C. Zeeman, Institute…

Remodeling Chromatin in an ARID Environment

The control of gene expression is of fundamental importance for cellular life. In Eukaryotes, linear DNA is wrapped around nucleosomes that constitute a physical barrier to active transcription. Chromatin remodeling complexes modulate the composition, stability and positioning of nucleosomes therefore…

Lipid kinases in signaling and metabolism

Angkawijaya et al. investigate diacylglycerol kinase function in Arabidopsis phospholipid signaling and metabolism. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00251 By Artik Elisa Angkawijaya, Van C. Nguyen, Farrel Gunawan, and Yuki Nakamura, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia…

Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Ariadna Gonzalez Solis

Ariadna Gonzalez Solis, first author of Unregulated Sphingolipid Biosynthesis in Gene-Edited Arabidopsis ORM Mutants Results in Nonviable Seeds with Strongly Reduced Oil Content Current Position: PhD Candidate in the Department of Biochemistry & Center for Plant Science Innovation at the University…

It’s a TRAPP! Arabidopsis Transport Protein Particle (TRAPP) Complexes Contain a Novel Plant-Specific Subunit

Membrane vesicle trafficking is the process of moving and distributing signaling molecules from their place of synthesis or capture to target locations inside or outside the cell. Vesicles, mobile membrane compartments produced from the endoplasmic reticulum, carry proteins and other molecules to an…

An optimized high-throughput assay for the identification of enhancers in plant genomes

Jores et al. adapt STARR-seq for identifying enhancers in tobacco leaves. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00155 By Tobias Joresa, Jackson Tonniesa,b, Michael W Dorritya, Josh T Cuperusa, Stanley Fieldsa,c and Christine Queitscha a Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington,…

New Teaching Tool, "Three-Way Interactions between Plants, Microbes, and Arthropods (PMA): Impacts, Mechanisms, and Prospects for Sustainable Plant Protection"

We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Three-Way Interactions between Plants, Microbes, and Arthropods (PMA): Impacts, Mechanisms, and Prospects for Sustainable Plant Protection,” by Maria J. Pozo, Benedicte R. Albrectsen, Eduardo R. Bejarano, Eduardo…

Endosidin20: A Key to Unlock the Secrets of Cellulose Biosynthesis

By now, you would think we’d know everything about cellulose, given its status as the most abundant biopolymer on Earth and its simple chemical composition. Cellulose is composed of β-1,4-D-glucose units assembled into straight chain polymers. These rod-like molecules are packed into strong microfibrils…