Recent Posts

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis of RxLR effectors into plant cells

Wang et al. discover that Phytophthora infestans RxLR effectors enter host plant cells via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. By Haixia Wang1, Petra C Boevink2, Paul RJ Birch1,2 1Division of Plant Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, @James Hutton Institute, Errol Road, Invergowrie,…

BR regulates cotton fiber elongation through VLCFA

Yang, Liu, Ge et al. explore the relationship between brassinosteroids and very-long-chain fatty acids in regulating fiber elongation. Plant Cell By Zuoren Y, Zhao L, Xiaoyang G, Lili L, Wenqiang Q, Qanmber G, Le L, Zhi W, and Fuguang L Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton…

Ethylene Inhibits Pear Anthocyanin Synthesis

Ni et al. explore the relationship between ethylene, the ERF9 and RAP2.4 transcription factors, and anthocyanin biosynthesis in pear. Plant Cell By J. Ni1,3,4, S. Bai1,3,4 and Y. Teng1,2,3,4 1 Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China 2 Hainan Institute…

14-3-3 Proteins Function in Plant Immunity

Dong et al. investigate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in plant immunity in Arabidopsis. By Xiaojing Dong and Jian-Min Zhou Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Background: The plant innate immune system detects the presence of microbial…

Molecular teamwork: how three protein families and DNA work together to control gene expression

Hong and Rusnak et al. explore how a 1000-bp region of DNA activates gene expression in giant cells. By Adrienne Roeder and Byron Rusnak Background: Specialized cell types carry out specific functions within plants. Some genes are expressed uniquely in one cell type and not expressed in other…

Strawberry inflorescence diversity: meet the thyrse

Lembinen et al. explore the molecular mechanisms underlying inflorescence diversity in strawberry. Sergei Lembinen1, Mikolaj Cieslak2, Teng Zhang1, Kathryn Mackenzie1, Paula Elomaa1, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz2, Timo Hytönen1. 1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre,…

The dark side of the plant: lipid metabolism regulation under starvation

Luzarowska et al. reveal that an enzyme involved in fatty acid elongation and wax synthesis determines the differential accumulation of polyunsaturated triacylglycerols. By Corina Mariana Fusari1 & Yariv Brotman2 1Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET-UNR), Suipacha…

Residues required for polar localization of rice Si transporter

Konishi et al. explore the mechanism underlying the polar localization of a silicon transporter. By Noriyuki Konishi, Namiki Mitani-Ueno, Naoki Yamaji and Jian Feng Ma Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Chuo 2-20-1, Kurashiki, 710-0046 Japan Background: Silicon (Si)…

How plants fine tune wax biosynthesis

Huang et al. find that a 3-KETOACYL-COA SYNTHASE negatively regulates wax biosynthesis, revealing a mechanism for fine-tuning lipid metabolism. Haodong Huang, Xianpeng Yang, Shiyou Lü and Huayan Zhao State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University,…