Recent Posts

Exploring the evolution of immunity responses in Brassicaceae

Winkelmüller, Entila, Anver et al. uncover the considerable variation in gene expression patterns in closely related Brassicaceae species during pattern triggered immunity. Plant Cell  By Thomas M. Winkelmüller, Frederickson D. Entila, Shajahan Anver, and Kenichi Tsuda  Background: Plants…

Radical Information - Daily Stress and When the Light is Just Too Strong…

Haber et al. developed an automated microplate system to continuously monitor levels of reactive oxygen species in planta. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab068. By Zechariah Haber and Shilo Rosenwasser, The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The…

A multiply-interlocked regulatory loop in seasonal leaf senescence

Wang et al. identify autumn senescence-associated genes and transcription factors in Populus and demonstrate a regulatory role for alternative splicing. The Plant Cell. (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab046 By Hou-Ling Wang, Yi Zhang, Hongwei Guo and Zhonghai Li, Beijing Forestry University…

Look at those red, ripe, and yummy strawberries; Thanks FaRIF!

By Carmen Martín-Pizarro and David Posé, Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea (IHSM), Universidad de Málaga-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Background: Strawberry (Fragaria ´ ananassa) is one of the most important fruit crops worldwide, with a unique flavor…

Membrane Insertion of Plastidic β-barrel Proteins

Gross et al. describe how plastidic β-barrel proteins are inserted into the outer envelopes of plastids. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab052 By Nicole Spies, Lucia Gross, and Enrico Schleiff Background: Due to their endosymbiotic origin, chloroplasts possess both an outer…

Translational Recoding Corrects Frameshift Mutations in Chloroplasts

Malinova et al. provide genetic and biochemical evidence for ribosomal frameshifting in chloroplasts. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab050 By Irina Malinova and Stephan Greiner Background: Translational recoding or ribosomal frameshifting - a process when ribosomes either omit nucleotide(s)…

ATM safeguards Arabidopsis meiosis

Kurzbauer and colleagues combine genetic, genomic and cytological analyses to reveal the role of ATM during Arabidopsis meiosis.  By Marie-Therese Kurzbauer and Peter Schlögelhofer, Department of Chromosome Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter Background: ATM is…

Plants balance nucleotide availability with ribosome production

Busche and colleagues undertook a genetic screen to identify new components of the TOR signaling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana and revealed a link between sensing of nutrient levels and protein translation. By Michael Busche, University of California-Berkeley, and Jacob O. Brunkard, University…

A Rosy Scenario for Flower Opening

Cheng et al. explore how ethylene promotes the asymmetric growth of petal bases to promote flower opening in rose. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab031  By Chengchen Xia, Junping Gao, and Nan Ma  Background: Flowers are unique structures in angiosperms that are used for…