Recent Posts

VDAL transgenic cotton exhibits tolerance to Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae

Ma et al. investigate a VDAL protein from Verticillium dahliae that can enhance plant disease. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab221 By Aifang Ma, Zhizhong Gong and Junsheng Qi Background: Verticillium wilt, also called a plant cancer disease, causes massive losses in multiple crops…

Fishing out virus replication complexes

Incarbone et al. use an epitope-tagged protein that binds double-stranded RNAs to fish out viral replication complexes and identify the associated proteins. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab214 Marco Incarbone (GMI, Vienna) and Christophe Ritzenthaler (IBMP, Strasbourg) Background:…

Winter is coming: It’s time to “CRY”

Li et al. reveal how the cryptochrome CRY2 regulates freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab215  By Youping Li Background: Cold acclimation via exposure to non-lethal low temperatures enhances frost resistance in plants. This process requires light; however, we know…

An E3 ubiquitin ligase modulates brassinosteroid signaling by targeting the transcription factor BES1 to selective autophagy under sucrose starvation

Wang et al. identify a mechanism by which plants reduce growth under sucrose starvation conditions. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab210 by Ping Wang and Yanhai Yin (Iowa State University)  Background: Plants fine-tune their growth and stress-response programs to adapt to the environment.…

COMPASS functions as a module of the INO80 complex

Shang et al. explore the function of a chromatin-remodeling complex in the regulation of gene expression. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab187 By Ji-Yun Shang and Xin-Jian He  Background: In eukaryotic cells, the INO80 chromatin remodeling complex uses energy derived from ATP hydrolysis…

Engineering a wheat spike

Li et al. investigated genes regulating wheat spike development and found that SQUAMOSA and SVP genes control the development of normal spikes. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab243 By Jorge Dubcovsky, Kun Li and Juan Manuel Debernardi, University of California, Davis, CA, USA Background:…

Ubiquitylation and grain size in rice

Gao et al. reveal a non-proteolysis-based mechanism by which polyubiquitin modification of a histone acetyltransferase modulates grain size. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab194 Background: Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple crop that feeds over half of the world’s population and boosting rice…

Under Pressure: The cell wall of sieve elements is critical for sugar transport

Julius, McCubbin, and Mertz, et al. explore the connection between cell wall synthesis and sugar transport. Tyler J. McCubbin1,4, Benjamin T. Julius1, and David M. Braun1 1Divisions of Plant and Biological Sciences, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, and the Missouri Maize Center, University of Missouri,…

Stigma retracted into anther tube needs two steps

Shang and colleagues investigated the molecular mechanisms that contributed to stigma insertion during tomato domestication and improvement.  By Lele Shang, Jianwen Song and Yuyang Zhang, Huazhong Agricultural University  Background: In flowering plants, flower morphology influences pollination.…