The Shifting Transcriptional Response of Corn Smut Fungus
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefAs a biotrophic fungus, Ustilago maydis (corn smut fungus) relies on living plant tissues for sustenance. Once U. maydis cells of compatible mating types fuse on a leaf surface, they produce a dikaryotic filament with a specialized infection structure—the appressorium—that penetrates epidermal cells.…
Cell Cycle Regulation by Chlamydomonas Cyclin-Dependent Protein Kinases
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefCyclins and cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) are critical regulators of cell cycle progression. Although CDK1 is essential for mitosis in animals and fungi, CDKA, the plant and algal ortholog of CDK1, is not essential for cell division in Arabidopsis (Nowack et al., 2012). By contrast, CDKB is…
Ethylene Represses Gene Transcription via Histone Deacetylases
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefApproximately half of all ethylene-responsive genes are downregulated in the presence in ethylene (Chang et al, 2013), but this repression has received relatively little attention compared to the ethylene-mediated activation of expression. The known positive regulators of ethylene signaling include ETHYLENE…
Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Zhenlin Yang
Blog, Research, Research Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesZhenlin Yang is featured first author of Structure of the Arabidopsis JMJ14-H3K4me3 Complex Provides Insight into the Substrate Specificity of KDM5 Subfamily Histone Demethylases
Current Position: PhD Student, Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese…
Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Xiangsong Chen
Blog, Research, Research Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesXiangsong Chen is the featured first author of Canonical and Non-canonical Actions of Arabidopsis Histone Deacetylases in Ribosomal RNA Processing
Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow in Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Education: PhD in National Key Laboratory…
In the Histone Zone: The Mighty Eraser
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefHistones undergo myriad covalent modifications - more than 100 types have been identified in the 50+ years since Allfrey, Faulkner, and Mirsky (1964) found that increased histone acetylation was associated with genomic regions of active transcription (reviewed in Zentner and Henikoff, 2013). Enzymes…
Design Stars: How GRF-INTERACTING FACTORs Help Determine the Layout of the Root Tip
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefRoots grow into new regions of the soil in their constant quest for water and dissolved minerals. This crucial task is made possible by the root meristem and stem cell niche, where neatly arranged stem cells quickly divide beneath a protective root cap. Stem cells give rise to transit amplifying cells,…
A Novel Class of Histone Readers
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefPolycomb-group (PcG) proteins are part of an epigenetic memory system that regulates global gene expression throughout development in multicellular eukaryotes (Butenko and Ohad, 2011). Sophisticated mechanisms recruit high molecular weight complexes of PcG proteins to specific targets in the genome.…
A Conserved Mechanism to Terminate Floral Meristems
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefIn plants, the balance between stem cell renewal and loss is carefully maintained by intricate regulatory networks. Although the root and shoot apical meristems can in principle continue to grow and self-renew indefinitely, the floral meristem is terminated once flower formation is completed. The precise…