To form a more perfect union – Auxin orchestrates corolla tube fusion
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellDing et al. investigate the developmental genetics of corolla tube formation in monkeyflowers (Mimulus). The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00471
By Baoqing Ding and Yao-Wu Yuan, University of Connecticut
Background: About one third of all angiosperm species produce…
Plant Polarity at the Single Cell and Tissue Levels
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCheng et al. demonstrate that a fully functional ROP fluorescent fusion protein marks future polarity sites 1–2 cell cycles ahead of growth. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00440.
By Xiaohang Cheng and Magdalena Bezanilla
Background: Unlike animals, plants can’t simply…
Gains in Grain Yield: A Pair of Spikelets Makes All the Difference, Even When One is Sterile
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMother Nature has a way of keeping seemingly useless structures around millions of years. Such structures are likely to have a use that is not obvious, although they could also be remnants of the evolutionary past without extant function, or non-functional but harmless byproducts of a different adaptive…
Exploring variation in a key maize regulator of floral form
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMaría Jazmín Abraham-Juárez, Amanda Schrager-Lavelle et. al. explore how variation in a key floral regulator affects floral development, downstream gene expression and protein complex assembly in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00300
by Jazmin Abraham-Juarez, Biology Department,…
Sometimes “jammed paper” can be a good thing: functional interactions between pectins and cellulose in the plant cell wall
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellDu et al. explore how pectins interact with cellulose in the plant cell wall.
Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00252
By Juan Du1 and Charles T. Anderson2,3
1Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu…
Useless no more: infertile spikelets contribute to grain yield in a major food crop and its relatives
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellAuBuchon-Elder and Coneva et al. reveal an important function for apparently non-functional floral structures.
Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.004242
By Taylor AuBuchon-Elder1,*, Viktoriya Coneva1,2*, Doug K. Allen1,3†, and Elizabeth A. Kellogg1†
1Donald Danforth Plant Science…
The sweet smell of sucrose transport during rose petal abscission
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellLiang et al. demonstrate that auxin modulates sucrose transport to repress petal abscission in rose. The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00695
By Yue Liang, Chuyan Jiang, Yang Liu, Yuerong Gao, Jingyun Lu, Palinuer Aiwail, Zhangjun Fei, Cai-Zhong Jiang, Bo Hong, Chao Ma and Junping…
Together at last: The UPR and HSR
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellLi et al. identify a link between the unfolded protein response and the heat shock response.
Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00260
By Zhaoxia Li and Stephen Howell
Plant Sciences Institute, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa USA
Background: In the face of climate change, heat…
A Tip-Localized Phospholipid Is Key for Polar Growth of Pollen Tubes
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellZhou et al. demonstrate that phosphatidylserine regulates Rab GTPase-mediated vesicle trafficking and polar growth of pollen tubes. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00844
Background: Pollen tube growth is an indispensable event during double fertilization in flowering plants. This peculiar…