Category: The Plant Cell: In a Nutshell

Chiu et al. characterize hidden viral genes in tomato yellow leaf curl Thailand virus. Background: When viruses such as begomoviruses infect plants, they hijack the host translation machinery to drive the expression of their proteins. This process causes viral disease, leading to great yield losses…

Lee, Fu et al. discover an unusual immune receptor locus that confers broad-spectrum, strong resistance to fungal pathogens in sorghum. Background: Sorghum, the fifth most widely grown cereal crop globally, provides food security for millions of people. The fungal disease sorghum anthracnose is the…

By Yang Gao and Reimo Zoschke, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany Gao and colleagues dissect how transcription and translation of tobacco chloroplast genes respond to cold exposure and reveal a critical role for the nonessential gene petL. Background: Plants…

Wu et al. uncover the unexpected role of the truncated NLR NRG1C in negatively regulating plant immunity by antagonizing its full-length NRG1 neighbors. Background: Plants utilize sophisticated innate immune systems to fight against pathogens. Their genomes encode abundant immune receptors to detect…

Yang et al. find complex interactions between primary metabolism and plant immunity. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab283 By Jian Hua, Leiyun Yang, Zhixue Wang, Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA Background: Plant NLR…

Wu et al. uncover a mechanism underlying chalkiness, an important grain quality trait in rice. Background: With improved living standards, the demand for better grain quality has become a challenge in rice production areas. Rice chalkiness, i.e., endosperm containing opaque regions, seriously reduces…

Wang et al. investigate the role of MdMPK4 in fruit peel degreening during light/dark transitions By Shuai Wang, Zhenhai Han and Ting Wu Background: One of the most important visual indicators of fruit ripening in apple is the color change caused by anthocyanin accumulation and chlorophyll degradation.…

Yang et al. explore the mechanism of grain filling in maize. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac044 Tao Yang and Yongrui Wu, National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy…