The Plant Cell: In a Nutshell

Wang et al. investigate how disruption of maternal nitric oxide affects female gametophyte development and fertility under both optimal and stress conditions. By Junzhe Wang1,3, Xiaolong Guo1, Shengbao Xu1 and Elizabeth Vierling2 1State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency…

Agrofoglio et al. explore how the methylation of arginine residues on a key splicing factor affects alternative splicing. Julieta Mateos, María José Iglesias, Yamila Agrofoglio. IFIBYNE-UBA-CONICET https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae051 Background: Plants are constantly subjected to a variety…

Zhihe Cai (Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae149 Background:…

Lu, Zhang et al. investigate the mechanisms of phytohormone cross-talk underlying rose petal senescence By Jingyun Lu, Guifang Zhang, Yunhe Jiang, and Junping Gao China Agricultural University https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae035  Background: Rose (Rosa hybrida) is the queen of flowers,…

Fan et al. investigate the proteins involved in DNA base excision repair https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae052 By Tianyi Fan and Yan Zhu Background: DNA bases are susceptible to damage from environmental factors such as UV light or reactive oxygen species. Base excision repair (BER) can eliminate…

He et al. explore how histone H1 drives the formation of heterochromatin foci. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae034 Xiaoqi Feng, Institute of Science and Technology Austria Background: To fit into the nucleus, DNA is densely packaged into structures known as nucleosomes. These nucleosomes…

OsLESV cooperates with FLO6 to modulate starch biosynthesis and endosperm development Yan, Zhang, Wang et al. identify OsLESV–FLO6 as a non-enzymatic molecular module responsible for starch biosynthesis and endosperm development. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae006 By Haigang Yan, Wenwei…

Background: Photosystem I (PSI) is a large pigment-protein complex that participates in photosynthetic electron transfer. While its structure is well resolved, its assembly pathway is less clear.  A set of proteins mediating the step-wise assembly of PSI subunits, known as PSI assembly factors, has…

He et al. investigate the molecular mechanisms of compound leaf formation in Medicago truncatula By Liangliang He and Jianghua Chen https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae033 Background: In the plant kingdom, leaves have different shapes, with the most noticeable difference being between simple…

Li et al. examine heat-induced SUMOylation of bacteria effectors in Arabidopsis. (Plant Cell. 2024) By Wenliang Li and Jianbin Lai (South China Normal University) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae049 Background: Bacterial pathogens deliver effectors into plant cells to interfere with host…

John et al. reveal how degradation of the chloroplast protein FATTY ACID EXPORT PROTEIN1 by RHOMBOID-LIKE PROTEASE11 affects cold tolerance in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae011 By Annalisa John (AJ) and Ekkehard Neuhaus (HEN) (RPTU Kaiserslautern, Germany) Background: Plants…

https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae039 Zhong, Luo, Sun, et al. Yuanyuan Zhong, Guangxi University; Yuhong Luo, Guangxi University; Jinliang Sun, Guangxi University; Xuemei Qin, Guangxi University; Ping Gan, Guangxi University; Zuwen Zhou, Guangxi University; Yongqing Qian, Guangxi University; Rupeng…

Xin et al. determined the cryo-EM structure of HQNO-bound Alternative Complex III from the anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. The Plant Cell (2024) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae029 By Xiaoling Xu at Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China Background: Photosynthesis…

Rao et al. discover a new regulator to control carotenoid synthesis in plants. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae030 By Sombir Rao and Li Li Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, USDA-ARS, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA Plant Breeding and Genetics Section,…

Gao, Chen et al. explore the regulatory mechanisms governing winter dormancy in trees. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae022 Yongfeng Gao, Zihao Chen and Yinan Yao School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, 621010 Mianyang, China Background:…

Hu et al. uncover a major regulatory model that can enhance plants’ P uptake from soils. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae041 By Dandan Hua, Hengyou Zhangb and Dan Zhanga a Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops, College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou,…

Li et al. investigate the mechanisms of defense and counter-defense in a floral pathosystem. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae027 By Guo-Bang Li, Wen-Ming Wang, and Jing Fan Background: Rice false smut is an emerging fungal disease threatening rice production worldwide. This disease not only…

Zhang et al. explore the regulation of cambium division and differentiation in poplar. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae040 Yanhui Zhang and Quanzi Li, State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China Background: In trees such as poplar (Populus…

Wu and Bisaro study the sequence structure of viroid quasispecies in plant cells. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae012  Jian Wu1,2,3 and David M. Bisaro3 1State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agroproducts, Institute of Plant Virology,…

Romer et al. study the origin of the lipid side chain phytol in tocopherol and phylloquinone synthesis in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad316   By J. Romer, K. Gutbrod and P. Dörmann Background: Isoprenoid lipids in Arabidopsis chloroplasts include chlorophyll, carotenoids,…

Tian et al. identify the zinc finger protein DHHC09 as a regulator of rice salt tolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae001   By Ye Tian, Xuan-Ming Liu, and Jian-Zhong Lin Background: Soil salinity results in oxidative stress and heavy losses to crop production. S-acylation of proteins…

Fan and Whitaker explore the genetic footprint of the breeding history of cultivated strawberry. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad314 Zhen Fan and Vance M. Whitaker Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Wimauma, FL, 33597,…

Huebbers, Caldarescu, et al. examine how the EXO70 and MLO proteins cooperate in targeted deposition of cell wall components in trichomes. By Jan W. Huebbers1 and George A. Caldarescu2 1 Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52056…

Fang, Guo, Wang, et al. explore the molecular mechanism underlying anther dehiscence in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae028 Yuxing Fang, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University. Yi Wang, State Key Laboratory of Protein and…

Guillory et al. explore the role of SMXL proteins in Physcomitrium patens growth.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae009  By Ambre Guillory, Sandrine Bonhomme and Catherine Rameau Background: In flowering plants, several proteins of the SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1-LIKE (SMXL) family influence the…

Sun et al. demonstrate that histone deacetylase OsHDA716 represses rice chilling tolerance not only by functioning as an epigenetic regulator but also by deacetylating OsbZIP46 to reduce its transactivation function and protein stability.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae010  By Sun Ying and…

Zhou et al. explore how maize plants adjust their canopy architectures at high plant densities to tolerate shading from adjacent plants.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae007  Yan Zhou, Iowa State University Background: The dramatically increased yields of commercial maize hybrids are largely…

Yanxia Zhang1,2 1 Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands 2 College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, China https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad317 Background: Soil salinity causes crop yield losses world-wide. Adjusting plant…

Zhang et al. identify a signaling cascade mediating soybean cyst nematode resistance.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae008  By Lei Zhang and Xiaoli Guo, National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Background:…

Kong et al. explore how phototropins regulate actin filaments associated with chloroplasts and unveil CHUP1 as a type of actin nucleator. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad320 Sam-Geun Kong Kongju National University, Gongju Korea Background: Chloroplasts dynamically adjust their intracellular…

Ren, Gou, Zhuo, Chen et al. revealed that a DNA methylation reader complex recruits an effector protein to regulate variant-specific 45S rRNA silencing. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad313 By Weiqiang Qian, Peking University Background: Eukaryotic genomes harbor thousands of 45S ribosomal…

Dai, Song, Xu et al. identify Ycf51 as a photosystem I assembly factor in cyanobacteria https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad330 By Guo-Zheng Dai, Central China Normal University Question: Background: While the mechanisms of photosystem II biogenesis and the auxiliary proteins involved are well…

Zhou et al. investigated pollen tube integrity maintenance mechanisms in maize. The Plant Cell (2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad324 By Liang-Zi Zhou and Thomas Dresselhaus Background: As sperm cell transporting vehicles, pollen tubes of flowering plants grow through the transmitting tissues…

Bradamante et al. investigate the heterogeneity of stem cells of the shoot apical meristem https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad295 By Vu Nguyen, Gabriele Bradamante, Ortrun Mittelsten Scheid and Ruben Gutzat Background: In plants, stem cells in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) produce new organs…

Lee, Liu, Kim et al. demonstrate that a plant m6A reader dampens stress responses. By Keun Pyo Lee, Kaiwei Liu, Eun Yu Kim, and Chanhong Kim CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad300 Background:…

Lesch et al. reveal that the mitochondrial RNA editing factor PPR78 of Physcomitrium patens is conserved among mosses despite the loss of its two known C-to-U editing sites due to the additional editing target ccmFNeU1465RC.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad292 By Elena Lesch, Volker Knoop…

 Yao, Wang et al. identify the mechanisms regulating inflorescence meristem determinacy in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad249 By Wang Jinsong Yao1, Yi Peng Wang1, Jing Peng1, Pei Pei Yin1, Hengbin Gao1, Li Xu1, Thomas Laux2, Xian Sheng Zhang1, and Ying Hua Su1 1Shandong…

Geng et al. reveal a feedback system that orchestrates the expression of genes controlling crown root development in rice (Oryza sativa) and uncover a molecular rheostat of this system. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad318 By Leping Geng and Yu Zhao National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic…

Su et al. identify two cell wall-loosening agents that synergistically regulate tomato fruit softening. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad291 By Guanqing Su1, Yanna Shi1, 2, 3 1College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou 310058, China 2Zhejiang…

The et al. identified a chloroplast glutamate exporter in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell (2023). By Samantha The and Mechthild Tegeder, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad310 Background: Plants produce…

Zhao et al. discovered that MdYUC2a and MdYUC6b are targets of H3K27me3 modification mediated by MdBPC2-MdLHP1, which regulates auxin biosynthesis during apple growth. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad297 Haiyan Zhao, Shuyuan Wan, Yanni Huang, Xiaoqiang Li, Tiantian Jiao, Zhijun Zhang, Baiquan…

Schmidt-Marcec, Parish and colleagues characterize members of the MACERATOR (MACET) family of proteins in the context of cell division.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad304  By Sharol Schmidt-Marcec, Alyssa Parish, Tetyana Smertenko, Matthew Hickey, Bernard M.A.G. Piette, Andrei Smertenko Institute…

Jiang et al. explore the mechanisms underlying transposable element load variation in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad296 By Juan Jiang (Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Ya-Long Guo (Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences) Background:…

Zhou et al. examine the fundamental functions of metacaspases in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad289 By Yong Zou, Adrian N. Dauphinee, Simon Stael and Peter V. Bozhkov Department of Molecular Sciences, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University…

Wang, Bollier, Buono, et al. catalog the cellular processes that occur during programmed cell death in plants. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad308 Jie Wang, Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China Moritz K. Nowack, VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems…

Li, Zhang, Liu et al. demonstrate that the E3 ligase TaGW2 enhances wheat drought tolerance by promoting the degradation of the transcription factor TaARR12. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad307 By Shumin Li, Zhensheng Kang and Hude Mao State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid…

Liu et al. explore the RNAs present in processing bodies, a cytoplasmic subcellular condensate.  Andriani Mentzelopoulou Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas, Heraklion,…

Brabham et al. explore the mechanisms of resistance to fungal pathogens in barley. Helen J. Brabham1,2, Diana Gómez De La Cruz1, Matthew J. Moscou,3 1The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK 22Blades, 1630 Chicago Avenue, Suite 1312,…

Huang et al. explore the functions of the nuclear pore complex in regulating the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C in plants.  Penghui Huang1,2†, Xiaomei Zhang2†, Zhiyuan Cheng3† 1 Research Institute of Intelligent Computing, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 310012, China 2 MARA Key Laboratory of…

Zhang et al. investigate the role of the OsCIF1/2–OsSGN3a/b signaling pathway in Casparian strip formation in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad269 By Jixing Xia, of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China. Background: The Casparian strip (CS) is a belt-like lignin-based…

Wei et al. show how hydrogen peroxide affects aluminum tolerance via its effects on the transcription factor SENSITIVE TO PROTON RHIZOTOXICITY 1 in Arabidopsis thaliana. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad281 By X. Wei, Y.F. Zhu, W.X. Xie, W.W. Ren, Y. Zhang, H. Zhang, S.J. Dai, and C.-F. Huang Background:…

Qian et al. investigate how the evolution of the thermostability of actin-depolymerizing factors enhances the adaptation of pollen germination to high temperature. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad280  By Qian D., Li T., Chen S., Wan D., He Y., Zheng C., Li J., Sun Z.,…

Anting Zhu et al. establish an approach to identify metabolites and their corresponding genes and pathways in wheat. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad286 By A. Zhu, M. Liu, Z. Tian, W. Liu, W. Chen et al.  National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene…

Rosa-Téllez et al. explore the role of glycine flux regulation by photorespiration in maintaining nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur balance in plants.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad256 Sara Rosa-Téllez, Andrea Alcántara-Enguídanos and Roc Ros Palau. Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina…

Chopy et al. investigate the layer-specific contribution of the petunia homolog of DEFICIENS (PhDEF) in petal tube and limb development.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad258 Background: Petals are not only beautiful, but they are also very important floral organs that have co-evolved with different…

Paffrath et al. explore the main physiological roles of coumarins released in response to iron deficiency under different environmental pHs.   https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad279 By Ricardo F. H. Giehl, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics & Crop Plant Research (IPK), Germany.  Background:…

Wang et al. reveal that MYB110 serves as a phosphate-dependent negative regulator of plant height that could be manipulated to boost lodging resistance and yield. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad268 Tingting Wang,1 Ming Yan,2 Mian Gu,1 Guohua Xu1 1 National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics…

Zhang et al. identified a membrane-bound NAC transcription factor GmNTL that can be oxidized and released from the endoplasmic reticulum to the nucleus, thereby regulating downstream target genes to promote salt tolerance in soybean. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad250 Wenxiao Zhang,…

Jian Liu, Xuecui Wang, Zeyuan Guan, Junjie Yan and colleagues reveal how the glucan phosphatase LSF1 acts as a scaffold to bring together the necessary enzymes for starch degradation. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad259 Background: Starch is a glucan-polymer that accumulates in chloroplasts…

Shen et al. explore how female reproductive development is maintained in at high ambient temperatures in barley and rice, and whether members of the SEPALLATA subfamily of floral organ regulators contribute. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad246 Chaoqun Shena,b and Matthew R. Tuckerb a Joint…

Liese et al. reveal a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor for CDPK conformational activation. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad196 By Anja Liese1,2 and Tina Romeis1,2 1 Department for Biochemistry of Plant Interactions, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, D-06120 Halle (Saale),…

Liu and Zhu et al. systematically compare various methods for investigating transcription. The Plant Cell: https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad237 By M. Liu and Z. Dong Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing,…

Mermet et al. identify a protein that provides a continuum between the nucleoskeleton and the nuclear pore complex basket via short peptide motifs.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad236  Christophe Tatout and Aline Probst iGReD, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, INSERM, 63001 Clermont-Ferrand,…

Huang et al. explore the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of autophagy by HLS1.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad252  By Li Huang, Xing Wen, Lian Jin, Huihui Han, and Hongwei Guo New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology,…

Xu et al. demonstrate the transcriptional regulatory steps responsible for establishing the regenerating capability of callus during Arabidopsis regeneration.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad255  By Chongyi Xu1, Pengjie Chang1,2, Shiqi Guo1,2, Xiaona Yang1,2, Xinchun Liu1,2, Baofeng Sui1,2,…

Hirano et al. uncover the secretion route for root hair shank hardening in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad240 By T. Hirano, K. Ebine, T. Ueda, T. Higaki, T. W.-Nakayama, H. Konno, H. T.-Imamura, and M. H. Sato Background: Root hairs are rapidly growing…

Bao et al. reveal how microtubule-associated proteins regulate tomato fruit shape formation from a cell biology perspective.  Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad231  Zhiru Bao and Pengwei Wang National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops,…

Tsuda et al. investigate the temporal order of cell fate establishment during stem development in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad241 By Katsutoshi Tsuda Background: The stem, which consists of nodes and internodes, is an axis of the shoot that physically supports lateral organs such…

Wu et al. explore how three key transcription factors co-regulate gene networks and the regulatory landscape associated with endosperm development and seed phenotype in maize.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad247 Hao Wu1,2 and Philip W. Becraft1,3 Iowa State University, Genetics, Development…

Zhang et al. identify a regulatory hub in grapevine controlling divergent specialized metabolic pathways as part of the light/UV radiation response. Plant Cell.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad228 By José Tomás Matus and Chen Zhang Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio),…

Kornienko  et al. discover that Arabidopsis genome is full of long-non-coding RNAs that show their expression only in specific tissues and plants from different geographic origins because of differences in epigenetic silencing of these genes. Plant Cell - https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad233 By Aleksandra…

Jianqing Niu et al. explore how modern breeding reshaped wheat phenotype and genome in China and the United States, which will facilitate breeding higher performance wheat in the future. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad229 By Jianqing Niu and Hong-Qing Ling from Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory…

Zhou et al. discover a molecular mechanism of rice grain size regulation. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad239 By Chunlei Zhou from Nanjing Agricultural University Background: Grain size is a key factor for determining grain yield. Many genes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that regulate…

A calcium-dependent protein kinase and an E3 ubiquitin ligase fine-tune rice immunity Mou et al. explore the growth­–defense trade-off in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad265 Baohui Mou, Jiyang Wang, and Wenxian Sun China Agricultural University Background: Plants need to keep…

Chun, Fang, Savelieva, Lomin et al. explore the mechanism by which cytokinin signaling influences the size of rice panicle. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad257 By Yan Chun (淳雁), and Xueyong Li (李学勇) National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute…

Shanmugaraj et al. used spatiotemporal multi-omics studies to elucidate the mechanism of apical degeneration of barley inflorescence meristem and proposes a molecular framework behind this process, the manipulation of which may increase yield in barley and other related cereals. Nandhakumar Shanmugaraj1,…

Zhu et al. explored the function of DRIF1 as a FREE1 suppressor in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad227 By Ying Zhu1, Jinbo Shen4 and Liwen Jiang1,2,3 1School of Life Sciences, Centre for Cell & Developmental Biology and State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology,…

Xiao, Fang, Zhang, et al. identify a gene affecting stem growth in poplar. Liang Xiao (Beijing University of Agriculture and Beijing Forestry University), Yuanyuan Fang (Beijing Forestry University), He Zhang (Peking University), and Deqiang Zhang (Beijing University of Agriculture and Beijing Forestry…

Nitin Uttam Kamble shows that the enzyme α-glucan phosphorylase interacts with a carbohydrate-binding protein to initiate the formation of small B-type starch granules in wheat. Nitin Uttam Kamble, Farrukh Makhamadnojov, Brendan Fahy, David Seung John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UH,…

Samach et al. use a pigment-based visual assay to explore the repair of double-stranded DNA breakd in plants. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad209 Avraham Levy and Aviva Samach, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. Background:  Plant breeding is the art of combining desirable traits…

Sun et al. investigated genes related to gibberellin biosynthesis in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and found them to be critical for far-red light responses. The Plant Cell (2023).  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad216 By Rui Sun and Takayuki Kohchi (Kyoto University) Background: The…

Chen, Yu, He, Peng et al. investigate the synchronized mechanisms of endosperm filling, from nutrient uptake to the biosynthesis of storage reserves. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad215 By Di Peng and Zhiyong Zhang School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University…

Xiaojing Li and Guozheng Qin, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Background: Strawberry is an important horticultural crop with a high economic value worldwide. Various factors regulate the ripening of strawberry fruit, including the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), epigenetic modifications,…

Miao & Jahn et al. generated and screened a large CRISPRi-based library of Synechocystis in 11 different growth conditions to reveal growth-robustness tradeoffs and to discover genes with condition specific importance and additional functions. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad208 By  Rui…

Wang et al. investigate cotton fiber secondary cell wall biosynthesis in Gossypium hirsutum. The Plant Cell (2023). By Yao Wang and Xue-Bao Li Background: Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) produces natural fibers (unicellular trichomes) on the seed, making it a valuable crop for the worldwide textile…

Prall et al. explore how post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA mediated by methylation at the N6 position of adenine affects plants preparedness and reactivity to pathogen stress.  Wil Prall and Brian Gregory, University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology  Background: To determine how plants…

Fan et al. explore how ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis regulates the levels of active kinase in plant responses to osmotic stress. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad173 Wei Fan and Zixing Li School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China Background:…

Adachi et al. explore the conservation of a nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat immune receptor. Hiroaki Adachi1,2,3, Toshiyuki Sakai1,2, Jiorgos Kourelis1, Hsuan Pai1, Jose L. Gonzalez Hernandez4, Yoshinori Utsumi5, Motoaki Seki5,6,7, Abbas Maqbool1 and Sophien Kamoun1*  1The Sainsbury Laboratory,…

Vishal Varshney and Manoj Majee, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad199 Vishal Varshney et al. investigate the F-box protein SKIP31 in Arabidopsis, revealing a role for this protein in seed maturation,…

Huang et al. investigate the mechanisms of dsRNA-induced pattern-triggered immunity against viruses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad176 Manfred Heinlein (Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France) Background: Plants use different…

Zheng et al. demonstrate that polar stiffening of guard cell walls is essential for stomatal functioning. By Lin Zheng and Hongzhi Wang Beijing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences,…

Wang et al. explore how SUMOylation of a key transcription factor affects heat stress responses in wheat. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad192 By Jie Liu and Haoran Wang; Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization (MOE), Beijing Key…

Jin et al. identify a mechanism for rice growth suppression during herbivore attack. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad191 Gaochen Jin1, Jinfeng Qi2, Hongyue Zu1, Shuting Liu1, Jonathan Gershenzon3, Yonggen Lou1, Ian T. Baldwin4, Ran Li1,* 1State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Ministry of…

Stutts et al. explore an evolutionary mystery in quinone biosynthesis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad202 By Lauren Stutts1, Scott Latimer1, Zhaniya Batyrshina1, Gabriella Dickinson1, Hans Alborn2, Anna K. Block2, and Gilles J. Basset1 1Department of Horticultural Sciences, University of…

Zhao, Zhang, Liu et al. identify an essential kinase for foxtail millet dehydration tolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad200 By Yuxue Zhang and Meicheng Zhao Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory of Soil Ecology, Center for Agricultural Resources Research,…

Wang et al. reveal the wide occurrence and biological function of N4-acetylcytidine in plant mRNA. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad189 Huijie Liu and Mingjia Chen College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China Background: Eukaryotic mRNA harbors more…

Ma, Han, et al. explore the molecular mechanism underlying the interplay between light and salt stress pathways. Background: The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway is evolutionarily conserved and essential for plant adaptation to salt stress. The protein kinase SOS2 functions as a network hub in…

Han, Ma, et al. reveal the mechanistic connection between shade avoidance responses and salt-induced responses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad119 Background: Sun-loving plants compete with their neighbors for sunlight by initiating shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). Phytochromes are plant photoreceptors…

Yang, Wang, Liu, et al. reveal that CYCLOIDEA-like genes control the genetic correlation of floral symmetry, floral orientation, and nectar guide patterns. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad115 By Xia Yang1,2 and Yin-Zheng Wang1,2,3 Institutions: 1 State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary…

Q. Zhang, Z. Wen, and X. Zhang, et al. use proximity labeling with the TurboID system to identify proteins that are important for replication in plant viruses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad146 Yongliang Zhang1, Xiaofeng Wang2 1 State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience and…

Yu et al. show that activation of the expression of cysteine protease genes by GmNAC039 and GmNAC018 is required for soybean nodule senescence The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad129 By H Yu and Y Cao Background: Soybean (Glycine max) roots have nodules in which symbiotic…

Ghifari et al. explore the mechanisms of Complex I disassembly and turnover. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad128 Abi S. Ghifari and Monika W Murcha School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia Background: Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is the central process of…

Zhang, Zu, et al. develop a method to identify RNA-binding proteins that bind poly(A) and non-poly(A) RNAs. Yong Zhang and Devinder Sandhu; University of California Riverside and US Salinity Laboratory (USDA-ARS), Riverside, CA, USA Background: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are important for controlling…

Huang et al. demonstrate that the conserved catalytic domain of cellulose synthase 6 (CESA6) is involved in trafficking, protein dynamics, and complex formation. The Plant Cell (2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad110 Lei Huang,1,2 Weiwei Zhang,1,3 Xiaohui Li,1,2 and Christopher J. Staiger1,2,3 1Department…

Bournonville et al. explore which factors control ascorbic acid biosynthesis in plants and its accumulation in fruits. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad108 Céline Bournonville, Bayer SAS, 1050 Route de Pardies, 40300 Peyrehorade, France Kentaro Mori, Université Bordeaux, INRAE, UMR Biologie…

Yin, Romero-Campero, Yang, et al. identify CDs in the Arabidopsis genome and investigate the role of PRC1 in 3D structure. Xiaochang Yin1, Francisco J. Romero-Campero2 3, Minqi Yang1, Myriam Calonje2, Yue Zhou1 1State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural…

Huang and Krishnan et al. investigate photoassimilate export in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii By Weichao Huang1 and Arthur Grossman2 1Current position: Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China 1Previous position: Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie…

Lu et al. explore the roles of a Mediator complex subunit and a WRKY transcription factor in regulating the salt-responsive gene SOS1. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad105 Background: Soil salinization is a major environmental hazard that severely affects plant growth and development. Plants…

Zhao, Wang, Li, et al. explore how the photosynthetic apparatus evolved in the cryptophyte Chroomonas placoidea, which is related to red algae. Long-Sheng Zhao1 and Lu-Ning Liu2. 1State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China. 2Institute of Systems, Molecular…

Lopez Vazquez et al explore the importance of protein sub-cellular localization by determining how a protein modulating light responses gets to the right place within the cell. Christian Fankhauser, Centre for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, Génopode Building, University of…

Lisha Shen uncovers unique functional interdependence at the post-translational level among individual components of the Arabidopsis m6A methyltransferase complex.  By Lisha Shen, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore Background:…

Wang et al. discover that Phytophthora infestans RxLR effectors enter host plant cells via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. By Haixia Wang1, Petra C Boevink2, Paul RJ Birch1,2 1Division of Plant Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, @James Hutton Institute, Errol Road, Invergowrie,…

Yang, Liu, Ge et al. explore the relationship between brassinosteroids and very-long-chain fatty acids in regulating fiber elongation. Plant Cell By Zuoren Y, Zhao L, Xiaoyang G, Lili L, Wenqiang Q, Qanmber G, Le L, Zhi W, and Fuguang L Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton…

Ni et al. explore the relationship between ethylene, the ERF9 and RAP2.4 transcription factors, and anthocyanin biosynthesis in pear. Plant Cell By J. Ni1,3,4, S. Bai1,3,4 and Y. Teng1,2,3,4 1 Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China 2 Hainan Institute…

Dong et al. investigate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in plant immunity in Arabidopsis. By Xiaojing Dong and Jian-Min Zhou Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Background: The plant innate immune system detects the presence of microbial…

Hong and Rusnak et al. explore how a 1000-bp region of DNA activates gene expression in giant cells. By Adrienne Roeder and Byron Rusnak Background: Specialized cell types carry out specific functions within plants. Some genes are expressed uniquely in one cell type and not expressed in other…

Lembinen et al. explore the molecular mechanisms underlying inflorescence diversity in strawberry. Sergei Lembinen1, Mikolaj Cieslak2, Teng Zhang1, Kathryn Mackenzie1, Paula Elomaa1, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz2, Timo Hytönen1. 1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre,…

Luzarowska et al. reveal that an enzyme involved in fatty acid elongation and wax synthesis determines the differential accumulation of polyunsaturated triacylglycerols. By Corina Mariana Fusari1 & Yariv Brotman2 1Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET-UNR), Suipacha…

Konishi et al. explore the mechanism underlying the polar localization of a silicon transporter. By Noriyuki Konishi, Namiki Mitani-Ueno, Naoki Yamaji and Jian Feng Ma Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Chuo 2-20-1, Kurashiki, 710-0046 Japan Background: Silicon (Si)…

Huang et al. find that a 3-KETOACYL-COA SYNTHASE negatively regulates wax biosynthesis, revealing a mechanism for fine-tuning lipid metabolism. Haodong Huang, Xianpeng Yang, Shiyou Lü and Huayan Zhao State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University,…

Husbands et al. identify ligands and regulatory properties of the HD-ZIPIII START domain. By By Aman Y. Husbands (University of Pennsylvania) and Marja C.P. Timmermans (University of Tuebingen). Background: Development has been compared to a ball rolling down a hill. Cells initially have broad…

Xiong and Yang et al. explore how plants regulate rapid opening of the apical hook in the light. By Jiawei Xiong and Dawei Zhang, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan…

Song, Jin, Chen, He, Li, Tang, et al. establish that independent evolutionary processes in ancestral land plants led to homo- and heteromeric geranyl diphosphate synthases. Shuyan Song and Shan Lu School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China Background: Terpenoids are a…

Radchuk et al. explore the physiological role of SWEETs in barley grain development. By Volodymyr Radchuk and Ljudmilla Borisjuk Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany Background: Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) is a large…

Wang et al. revealed fine regulation of inflorescence branching in tomato. The Plant Cell (2023). By X.T. Wang and X. Cui Background: The number of branches in the inflorescence affects yield in food crops and the aesthetics of ornamental plants. Two MADS-box transcription factors, SISTER OF TM3…

Guo, Chen, Peng, and colleagues study the translational regulation of gene expression during grain development in bread wheat. By Yiwen Guo, Yongming Chen, and Huiru Peng Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, Beijing Key Laboratory…

Chia et al. explore the mechanisms mediating systemic shoot-to-root signaling of copper status. Ju-Chen Chia and Olena K. Vatamaniuk, Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University Background: The micronutrients copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) are essential for plant growth…

Hudzik et al. reveal that not all microRNAs are transcribed the same way. By Collin Hudzik1,2 and Michael J. Axtell1,2 1Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA 2Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University…

Li and Wang et al. found that apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases play essential roles in somatic and meiotic DNA repair. By Jinchao Li1 and Cong Wang2 1State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China 2College…

Leng et al. reveal a pathway regulating arbuscule development in plant symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The Plant Cell (2023). By Marcel Bucher (University of Cologne) and Li Xue (Zhejiang Normal University) Background: More than 80% of terrestrial plants form mutualistic symbiosis…

Li et al. find a class of small RNAs that might affect algal tolerance to nutritional stress.  Yingshan Li and Heriberto Cerutti - School of Biological Sciences and Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE 68588-0666, USA  Background: Noncoding RNAs are not translated…

Oliveira-Garcia et al. investigated Magnaporthe oryzae effector internalization inside rice cells. The Plant Cell (2023) By Ely Oliveira-Garcia, Nicholas J. Talbot and Barbara Valent Background: To cause disease in plants, fungal pathogens deliver effector proteins directly into plant cells. Inside…

Wang, Li, Liu, Li et al. explore how alternative promoter usage at the ELF3 locus regulates flowering. By Peng Wang1,2, Yu Li1,2, Zhe Liu1,3, Xuhan Li1, Shaoling Zhang1,2, Juyou Wu1,2,4 1Sanya Institute of Nanjing Agricultural University, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm…

Dong, Li, et al. explore the mechanisms regulating a Green Revolution protein that acts to reduce plant height Huixue Dong1,2,3, Danping Li1,3, Ruizhen Yang1, Lichao Zhang1, Yunwei Zhang1, Xu Liu1, Xiuying Kong1,*, and Jiaqiang Sun1,* State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding,…

Wang, Yuan, et al. explore the regulatory connection between phosphorus nutrient homeostasis and vegetative-reproductive development in maize. Background: Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. To cope with phosphorus limitation, plants have evolved sophisticated…

Wei et al. discover a new transcriptional and post-translational regulatory module, MaBAH1-MaMYB60, that regulates chlorophyll catabolism and green ripening in bananas under high temperature. By Wei Wei, Yingying Yang, Prakash Lakshmanan, Jianfei Kuang, Wangjin Lu, Xuequn Pang, Jianye Chen and Wei…

Bi, Shrestha, Zhang et al. elucidate mechanisms of sugar-dependent growth regulation. Yang Bi, Zhi-Yong Wang Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USA Background: Extensive studies in animals have shown that the O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc)…

Dvořák Tomaštíková et al. study the role of SMC5/6 complex in repair of toxic DNA protein crosslinks in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2023). By Pecinka Ales and Eva Dvořák Tomaštíková Background: Cellular DNA is constantly damaged by various internal and external factors that eventually…

Hoang et al. examine the Gynandropsis gynandra genome to provide insight into genome evolution and the emergence of C4 photosynthesis in a sister family to the Brassicaceae.    Background: The Cleomaceae is the sister family to the Brassicaceae (including the model species Arabidopsis and Brassica…

Fu et al. examine how salt stress affects sugar metabolism via the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide.  Zheng-Wei Fu (State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, College of Life Sciences, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China) Background: Soil salinization is a serious…

Nguyen and Nakamura reveal that a crucial reaction step of endoplasmic reticulum-localized glycerolipid biosynthesis mediated by phosphatidic acid phosphatase requires both chloroplast- and ER-localized enzymes, representing the importance of inter-organelle communication in membrane lipid homeostasis. By…

Zhou et al. explore how microtubules and microtubule-associated proteins interact in hypocotyl elongation at high temperature.  By Dingding Zhou, Xiaohong Wang, Xiangfeng Wang, and Tonglin Mao China Agricultural University Background: During growth responses to high ambient temperature (thermomorphogenesis),…

Bellinger and Uyehara et al. characterize a population of microtubules that contribute to division site positioning. By Aimee N. Uyehara1 and Carolyn G. Rasmussen1 1Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California,…

Wu et al. investigate tapetum differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell (2023). By Yue Lou Background: The tapetum is the innermost layer of the four cell-layered anther wall. In Arabidopsis, the tapetum undergoes cell differentiation and transitions into secretory cells. Most nutrients…

Hao et al. explore the role of green light in plant growth and development. By Yuhan Hao, Hongtao Liu National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200031 Shanghai,…

Durand et al. explore the role of an NLP transcription factor in the plant nitrate response. By Mickaël Durand 1,2,3 and Anne Krapp1 1 Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, 78000, Versailles, France 2 Université de Poitiers, UMR CNRS 7267, EBI Ecologie…

Yan et al. explore the changes in gene expression that take place during rice blast disease. By Xia Yan and Nick Talbot from The Sainsbury Laboratory, UK. Background: The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae causes a devastating disease that threatens global rice (Oryza sativa) production, destroying…

Kim et al. explore how extracellular ATP recognition triggers the innate immune response. By Daewon Kim1, Dongqin Chen1,3, Nagib Ahsan2,4,5, Gabriel Lemes Jorge2, Jay J. Thelen2 and Gary Stacey1,2,* 1Division of Plant Science and Technology, C.S. Bond Life Science Center, University of Missouri,…

Bisht et al. Identify key factors in wound-activated regenerative cell division. Jefri Heyman1,2 and Lieven De Veylder1,2 1Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium. 2VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium. Background:…

Liu et al. reveal that anion channel SLAH3 forms complexes with potassium channels GORK and SKOR to modulate membrane potential via coordinating nitrogen–potassium balance. By Beibei Liu and Kai He Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life…

Chen et al. explore the recognition of Phytophthora effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana and the conservation of these responses in the Solanaceae Background: Plant pathogens employ effectors as weapons to invade and colonize plant tissue. To counteract these effectors, plants have developed surveillance…

Hu and Yu et al. demonstrate that BIN2-VLG module regulates vacuole formation in female gametophyte. By Li-Qin Hu, Shi-Xia Yu, and Wen-Hui Lin Background: In Arabidopsis, the development of the female gametophyte (FG) within the ovule is essential for plant reproduction and seed yield. Formation…

Susaki et al. explore the role of the cytoskeleton of synergid cells during sexual reproduction of angiosperms. By Daichi Susaki, and Daisuke Maruyama Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Japan. Background: The two synergid cells embedded in the ovule of angiosperms…

Mao et al. demonstrate that MdTCP17 inhibits adventitious root primordium formation in apple rootstocks. The Plant Cell (2023).  Background: Adventitious root (AR) formation is important for vegetative propagation in plants and is critical for plant breeding and propagation, particularly in plants…

Yue et al. explore how jasmonates regulate carotenoid production in citrus.  By Pengtao Yue Background: Beautiful, bright peel colors attract animals to help disperse seeds and are preferred by consumers. In agricultural production, citrus fruit often suffers from uneven coloration and poor development…

Deng, Yang, Li, Chang, Sun et al. explore the interaction between EIN3-like transcription factors and subunits of the Mediator complex in tomato fruit ripening. Background: Fruit ripening relies on the precise spatiotemporal control of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-dependent transcription of thousands…

Li and Zhang et al. explore the involvement of ERAD in grain size regulation. Jing Li; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Ran Xu; Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China Background: Grain size affects yield and is therefore an important agronomic…

Suzuki et al. examine the effects of auxin signaling on development of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. Hidemasa Suzuki, Hirotaka Kato, Megumi Iwano, Ryuichi Nishihama, Takayuki Kohchi Background: Land plants alternate diploid (2n) and haploid (n) generations. The plant hormone auxin regulates…

Singh et al. reveal how the effector ArPEC25 renders chickpea susceptible to a necrotrophic pathogen by targeting the transcription factor CaβLIM1a and negatively modulating the accumulation of lignin.  Shreenivas Kumar Singh, Kamal Kumar, Praveen Kumar Verma Background: Adapted pathogens exploit…

Qian and Wang et al. investigate the function of TPXL5 in lateral root initiation. By Yanmin Qian State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; Department of Plant Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Tight control…

Kim et al. use the TurboID biotin-labeling system and phosphoproteomics to identify substrates of the kinase BIN2. Background: Intracellular signal transduction relies on specific and dynamic interactions between kinases and their substrates. Identifying substrate proteins of each kinase is crucial…

Gou et al. explore how strigolactone hormones affected the evolution of the maize ear. By Jiahn-Chou Guan and Karen E. Koch Background: The prehistoric ancestor of modern maize (Zea mays) is unrecognizable, lacks a cob, and protects each of its tiny kernels inside an acorn-like shell. Evolution…

Zhao et al. examine the genetic basis of complex flowers. Huiqi Zhao(a,b,d), Hong Liaoa, Shuixian Lia(b,c), Rui Zhang(a,e), Hongzhi Konga(b,c), Hongyan Shana(c)  a State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Botany,…

Kim et al. investigate the role of a heat shock protein in thermotolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac351 By Minsoo Kim and Elizabeth Vierling at UMass Amherst Background: Plants can survive heat stress by producing heat shock proteins (HSPs) that protect and rescue other proteins.…

Chen et al. demonstrated that installing a bacterial-type fast Rubisco into tobacco chloroplasts to support photosynthesis. The Plant Cell (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac348 By Taiyu Chen and Lu-Ning Liu Background: Rubisco is the key enzyme responsible for fixing CO2. However,…

Sun et al. explore the involvement of CUL1 proteins in S-RNase-based self-incompatibility. By Linhan Suna and Teh-hui Kaoab aIntercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 bDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular…

Che, Pan, Liu, Li et al. provide insight into fruit length variation in cucumber. By Gen Chea,e, Yupeng Panb, Xiaolan Zhanga,* aState Key Laboratories of Agrobiotechnology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Growth and Developmental Regulation for Protected Vegetable Crops, MOE Joint Laboratory for International…

Ting Pan et al. reveal a molecular mechanism to deal with DNA replication stress in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2022). Ting Pan, Shan Gao, Xiaoyu Cui, Lili Wang and Shunping Yan College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China  Background:…

Kong, Li, Xue, Wei, et al. investigate the regulatory modules of tassel and ear development in response to simulated shade in Zea mays. By Dexin Kong1, Qing Liu1 and Haiyang Wang1,2 1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, South China Agricultural…

Deslandes-Hérold et al. explore the integration of the PRK/Rubisco shunt into green embryo photosynthesis and metabolism. Gabriel Deslandes-Hérold, Melanie R. Abt, and Samuel C. Zeeman, ETH Zurich Background: Light promotes the accumulation of storage lipids during development of oilseeds with…

Author et al. explore the genes involved in making stomata in a temperate grass. Katelyn Hansen-McKown and Dominique Bergmann, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institution. Background: Plants are essential players in global carbon and water…

Xu, Sato, et al. explore the longstanding mystery of why endosperm cellularization is essential for embryo survival and reveal a connection to dehydration responses. Background: In most angiosperms, the endosperm initiates as a coenocyte and starts to cellularize after a defined number of nuclear…

Blaschek et al. explore the spatial control of lignin chemistry. Leonard Blaschek1 and Edouard Pesquet1,2,3 1 Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences (DEEP), Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden 2 Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå…

Luo et al. investigate how nitrate transporters direct root nodule formation in a legume. By Zhenpeng Luo & Fang Xie CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.  Background: Nitrogen…

Li et al. identify the signaling pathway regulated by the chloroplast-localized protein EXECUTER1 in response to singlet oxygen.  Background: In response to developmental and environmental cues such as changing light intensity, plastids/chloroplasts produce and emit signals such as singlet oxygen,…

Toma-Fukai and Sawada et al. provide insight into the activation mechanism of the DYW1-like deaminase. By Sachiko Toma-Fukai1,2 Mizuki Takenaka3 and Toshiyuki Shimizu1 1 Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. 2 Present…

Chen et al. identify a nucleoside kinase that is highly conserved in plants and green algae. By Xiaoguang Chen and Claus-Peter Witte. Department of Molecular Nutrition and Biochemistry of Plants, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany. Background: Nucleotides…

Wang et al. investigate the function of SPR1 in ABA-induced stomatal closure By Pan Wang and Sijia Qi State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; Department of Plant Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Drought…

Wang et al. explore how plants maintain apical etiolation. By Jiajun Wang (Southwest University, China), Haodong Chen (Tsinghua University, China), Xing Wang Deng (Peking University, China), Ning Wei (Southwest University, China) Background: Seeds germinate underneath the soil; to help the shoot…

Reiter et al. investigate the molecular basis for coupling factor CF1 recruitment in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell (2022). By Thilo Rühle Background: Thylakoid ATP synthases are impressive molecular engines that harness the light-driven proton gradient to generate ATP during photosynthesis.…

Ning et al. identify a transcription factor responsible for modulating nitrogen and carbon metabolism in response to nitrogen availability.  Background: Starch and protein are the main components of maize (Zea mays) endosperm. Nitrogen (N) fluctuation affects starch and protein levels in the endosperm.…

Nan et al. examine the localization of key factors in maize stomatal development. Qiong Nan and Michelle Facette Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA Background: Stomata are small pores on the plant surface that open and close to allow gas exchange––allowing…

Qiu et al. reveal the role of a nuclear Phytophthora effector in suppressing plant immunity via interfering the formation of nuclear transcriptional complex, Plant Cell (2022). By Xufang Qiu, Liang Kong and Yuanchao Wang Background: To prevent infection, plants have evolved two layers of immunity,…

Wang et al. reveal how the PPR-E proteins function in RNA editing in maize mitochondria. Yong Wang and Bao-Cai Tan Key Laboratory of Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China  Background:…

Hodin et al. explore the function of the vacuolar nitrate transporter CLCA and provide insight on potentially improving nitrogen use efficiency. Background: Nitrogen is quantitatively the most important inorganic nutrient for plants. Roots mainly take nitrogen up in the form of nitrate (NO3-). Once…

Dai et al. demonstrate the key function of a non-coding RNA delicately regulating cucumber fruit–leaf relationship By The research group led by Prof. Minmin Miao from Yangzhou University Background: For fruit-bearing crops, plants must allocate photosynthate from leaves to fruits. Most…

Ai and Li et al. explore the mechanism by which an RNA-binding protein regulates plant immunity. By Gan Ai1,3, Tianli Li 1,3, Hai Zhu1, Xiaohua Dong1, Xiaowei Fu1, Chuyan Xia1, Weiye Pan1, Maofeng Jing1, Danyu Shen1, Ai Xia1, Brett M. Tyler2, Daolong Dou1* 1College of Plant Protection, Academy…

Park H.J., Gamez-Arjona F., et al. show how plants reset the time of flowering under salinity stress. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac289 Background: For plants, extremes in the cardinal conditions of light, temperature, nutrients and water availability are major drivers of natural selection.…

Tan et al. identify a type of ABA-activated Ca2+ channels for ABA-specific cytosolic Ca2+ signaling and stomatal closure in Arabidopsis. Yan-Qiu Tan, Yang Yang, Meijun Zhu, and Yong-Fei Wang National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences,…

Lorenzo et al. develop a system that uses gene editing to target multiple members of redundant gene families. Christian Damian Lorenzo(1,2), Kevin Debray(1,2) and Dirk Inzé(1,2) 1 Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Gent, Belgium 2 Center for Plant…

Hu et al. investigate the enzymatic mechanism used by peptide asparaginyl ligases for activation and substrate recognition. The Plant Cell (2022) By Side Hu, Abbas El Sahili and Julien Lescar Background: Proteases, protein scissors that cut proteins into smaller pieces, can be found almost everywhere…

Zhu et al. showed that the transcription factors ARR10, ARR12, and ARR18 specify cell fate of the embryo sac cell in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2022). By Mingsong Zhu and Xiaoping Gou Mingsong Zhu, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life…

Xu et al. discover BRITTLE CULM16, which is involved in GPI anchor lipid remodeling and regulates cell wall biomechanics  Zuopeng Xu1, Yihua Zhou2, Baocai Zhang2 1 College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China 2 Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative…

Ménard et al. examine the properties of lignin in the plant vasculature. Delphine Ménard1,2 and Edouard Pesquet1,2,3 1 Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences (DEEP), Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden 2 Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Department of Plant Physiology,…

Yoon, Middleditch, and Rikkerink explore how a Pseudomonas syringae ADP-ribosyl transferase effector modifies RPM1-INTERACTING PROTEIN4 to activate the host R protein RPM1 in disease resistance.  Minsoo Yoon, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Auckland, New Zealand  Background:…

Ella Katz1 and Dan J. Kliebenstein1,2. 1Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA 2DynaMo Center of Excellence, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Background: Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development. Nitrogen availability and form…

Bobde, Kumar, and Vasudevan explore the properties of a family of predicted histone deactetlyases, finding them to function as nucleoplasmins. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac275 Ruchir C. Bobde, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha - 751023, India; Ashish Kumar, Department of Molecular…

Tao et al. identify the transporter for beta amino acids that induce priming in plants. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac271 By Jurriaan Ton & Chia-Nan Tao, University of Sheffield Background: Specific chemicals can induce long-lasting disease resistance in plants. These chemicals act by…

Klasfeld, Roulé, and Wagner develop a user-friendly tool to get rid of artifacts in chromatin immunoprecipitation data. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac282  Doris Wagner, Samantha Klasfeld and Thomas Roulé Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) and other…

Stepien et al. explore how an auxiliary U1 snRNP protein interacts with RNA polymerase II to regulate co-transcriptional processing of microRNAs. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac278 Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded, usually 21-nt-long, RNAs that regulate basic developmental processes…

Nicolas et al. explore the mechanisms regulating CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON expression in axillary meristem initiation. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac269 Antoine Nicolasa,b and Patrick Laufsa a Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB), 78000, Versailles,…

Mei, Chen, Mao and colleagues harness the power of GWAS to identify gain-of-function allele of TaDTG6-B, which directly activates TaPIF1 transcription and ameliorates drought tolerance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac248 Background: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is produced in arid and semi‐arid…

Fang et al. investigate how TZP modulates Arabidopsis seedling growth in response to red light and long days. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac236  By Weiwei Fang and Eirini Kaiserli, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK Background: Plants sense, respond and adapt to the environment by changing…

Zhang, Tian, et al. examine strigolactone signaling in cotton fiber development https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac270  Guanghui Xiao and Yuzhou Zhang College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Shaanxi, Yangling,…

Fichman et al. identify a key player linking reactive oxygen species and calcium signals (but not electric signals) during responses to light stress. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac241 Yosef Fichman and Ron Mittler Division of Plant Sciences and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural…

Tang et al. examine the function of the transcription factor WRKY53 in cold stress tolerance at the booting stage in rice. Background: Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food for over half of the global population. Cold stress at the booting stage leads to serious yield losses and has become a major…

Zhou et al. explore the links between ethylene and auxin responses in rice. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac250  Background: The phytohormones ethylene and auxin play important roles in developmental regulation and environmental acclimation in plants. Ethylene promotes the accumulation of the…

Wang, Yang, et al. explore the connection between tryptophan-derived metabolites and salicylic acid defense responses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac255  Zhixue Wang, Leiyun Yang, Jian Hua Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA  Background:…

Huang et al. demonstrate a novel role–and the underlying mechanism–for FREE1 in regulating LD turnover. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac195 Background: Lipid droplets (LDs) are major reservoirs providing energy and lipids for seedling establishment. In vascular  plants, the peroxisome-localized…

Cheng et al. show that Low-light conditions stimulate the SlCLV3-SlWUS signaling module and regulate phytohormone homeostasis to induce abscission https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac254 Lina Cheng, College of Horticulture, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, People’s Republic…

Mills et al. examine how microtubule-binding proteins localize to the site of cell division in plants https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac266 Alison Mills1, + and Carolyn G. Rasmussen1,2 1Biochemistry Graduate Group, University of California, Riverside, USA. 2Department of Botany and Plant Sciences,…

Li et al. discover a regulator of alternative splicing during light-regulated plant growth and development https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac235  By Yang Li and Rongcheng Lin  Background: Light is one of the most important environmental factors affecting plant growth and developmental processes,…

Wang et al. demonstrate that TOPP regulates autophagy through ATG1a-ATG13a complex. The Plant Cell (2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac251 By Qiuling Wang, Qianqian Qin, Meifei Su, Na li, Jing Zhang, Yang Liu, Longfeng Yan, and Suiwen Hou Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations,…

By Anna Schulten and Ute Krämer, Department of Molecular Genetics and Physiology of Plants, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany  Schulten and colleagues explore the reasons behind the growth defects seen in the spl7 mutants, and discover that they cannot utilize the plentiful sugars they accumulate. Background:…

Cao et al. found that SnoR28.1 (a conserved box C/D snoRNA cluster) regulates plant growth and development by directing rRNA maturation. The Plant Cell (2022).  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac265 By Yuxin Cao and Weiqiang Qian Background: Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a class of abundantly…

Li et al. discover that OsPIL15 interacting with OsHHO3 forms the OsPIL15-OsHHO3 transcription factor complex to promote the binding of OsPIL15 to the promoter regions of OsABI5 and then reduce stomatal aperture through the ABA signaling pathway https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac244 By Qian Li and…

Ugalde et al. report that dynamic monitoring of the ER luminal glutathione redox potential highlights the role of ER oxidoreductins in defining redox conditions and the interplay between different redox inputs during hypoxia and reductive stress. Plant Cell  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac202 Background:…

Niu, Jiang, Cao et al. discover the role of a ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase gene in drought tolerance in apple. Background: Global climate change and rapid population growth have been increasing the shortage of water resources, enhancing the effects of natural disasters such as drought. Drought…

Niu et al. discovered how the organization of rice internodes is regulated by the steroid hormone brassinosteroid. The Plant Cell (2022) By Mei Niu and Hongning Tong Background: Rice culms consist of 5–7 internodes and the length of these internodes determines plant height and resistance to wind,…

Gent et al. characterize a classical maize mutant and find insights into genomic imprinting and DNA methylation in endosperm Jonathan I. Gent, Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA  Background: In 1970, Jerry Kermicle reported that maize kernels could have…

Junfei Ma, Shachinthaka D. Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage and Ying Wang (Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University) Background: During the course of evolution, eukaryotic cells gained a nuclear envelope to protect their genomes. However, to coordinate diverse biological processes,…

Liao et al. describe a sensor complex that coordinates phosphate signaling and arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis. Background: Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) symbiosis is a widespread phenomenon in terrestrial plants that improves the acquisition of mineral nutrients. Successful symbiosis with AMs enhances…

Li et al. explore the nature of proteins that accumulate in mutants deficient in autophagy machinery. Plant Cell Lei Li1,2 and A. Harvey Millar2 Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin,…

Wu and Cai et al. reveal that the receptor-like kinase ERECTA regulates seed size in Arabidopsis. Xuedan Wu and Wenqiang Tang Institution College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University Background: Background: Seed development begins with double fertilization. Double fertilization releases…

Liu et al. explore the role of adaptins in plant development. Chan Liu*1 and Marisa Otegui*2 *1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China *2Department of Botany and Center for Quantitative Cell…

Yang et al. investigate the role of the phospholipid flippase ALA3 in pollen tube guidance in Arabidopsis.    Background: In flowering plants, pollen tube guidance regulates the rapid growth and timely targeting of the pollen tube to the ovule in the pistil during sexual reproduction, when signaling…

Niehaus et al. explore the nucleotide metabolome of germinating seeds By Markus Niehaus1, Henryk Straube1 and Marco Herde1 1Leibniz Universität Hannover, Department of Molecular Nutrition and Biochemistry of Plants Background: All living organisms, including plants, possess DNA and rely on…

Blankenagel et al. discover a major link between variation in water use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination  By Sonja Blankenagel, Stella Eggels, and Viktoriya Avramova Plant Breeding, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich  Background: Growing crops with high…

Jing Hui et al. identified ZmAMT3;1 as a mycorrhiza-specific ammonium transporter that transfers ammonium from fungi to plants across the plant–fungus interface and enhances nitrogen acquisition in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac225 By Jing Hui and Lixing Yuan, China Agricultural…

Using new experimental tools, Cui et al. identified a surprising role for the BOS1 transcription factor in the regulation of programmed cell death. Plant Cell. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac206 Authors: F. Cui, M. Brosché, and K. Overmyer Affiliations: FC- Zhejiang A&F University,…

Zhang et al. discover how a tetratricopeptide repeat protein promotes heading by facilitating florigen transport in rice  Background: Hd3a and RFT1 are mobile flowering signals that promote the floral transition in rice and were proposed to function as florigens that play major roles under short-day…

By Hui Wang, College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China  Wang and colleagues explore how two WUSCHEL-like transcription factors affect leaf blade outgrowth in Medicago truncatula and Nicotiana sylvestris  Background: Members of the plant-specific…

Palos et al. identify thousands of new long intergenic noncoding RNAs using public data.  By Kyle Palos and Andrew Nelson  Background: All plants have thousands of genes in their genomes that contribute to plant form and function. While the functional “end-state” of many of these genes are…

Redkar et al. demonstrate that the wilt-inducing fungus Fusarium oxysporum secretes a set of proteins that allow it to colonize the roots of a wide array of plant species. The Plant Cell (2022). By Amey Redkar1 and Antonio Di Pietro2. Illustration by Dr. Lindsay Erndwein 1Department of Botany,…

Tang et al. explore the molecular basis of cambium development at the post-transcriptional level in Populus. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac178 By Xianfeng Tang1, Quanzi Li2, and Gongke Zhou3 1 Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2 State…

Yuqing Niu and Mo Wang Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Fujian University Key Laboratory for Plant-Microbe Interaction, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China Niu and colleagues elucidate how phosphorylation…

Michalopoulou et al. identified a core Xanthomonas effector that targets the host exocyst complex and disrupts host immunity. Plant Cell. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac162 By Vasiliki Michalopoulou1,2 and Panagiotis Sarris1,2,3 1 Department of Biology, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion,…

He et al. discover how the transcription factor ANAC017 integrates primary stress responses to mitochondrial dysfunction with whole plant growth.  By Cunman He and Oliver Berkowitz Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia ARC Centre…

Guo et al. demonstrate that alternative splicing of REGULATOR OF LEAF INCLINATION 1 modulates phosphate signaling and plant growth in the face of phosphate deficiency.  By Meina Guo, Wenyuan Ruan, and Keke Yi  Background: Phosphate (Pi) limitation represents a primary constraint on crop production.…

Xing et al. investigate the link between chloroplast import and quality control in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac180 By Jiale Xing, Junting Pan and Wenqiang Yang Background: The chloroplast is an important bioreactor as well as a photosynthetic site. Approximately…

Ding et al. explore how MAP kinases affect virus propagation in plants and animal hosts.  Zhi-Hang Ding, Xian-Bing Wang, State Key Laboratory of Agro-Biotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Mitogen-activated protein kinase…

Procko et al. investigate the molecular identities of specialized photosynthetic cell types in leaves. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac167 By Carl Procko and Travis Lee. Salk Institute for Biological Studies, CA Background: Photosynthesis is arguably the most important biochemical process…

An et al. identify the regulatory pathways that affect heading in lettuce.  Background: The formation of leafy heads is an important agronomic trait in some vegetable crops, such as lettuce, cabbage, and mustard. Having leafy heads facilitates harvesting and transportation, extends shelf life, and…

Lu et al. unravel a mechanism by which reactive oxygen species modulate brassinosteroid signaling through the GSK3-like kinase BIN2 Qing Lua,b, Eugenia Russinovaa,b a Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium b Center for Plant Systems Biology,…

Li et al. discover a cold-tolerance allele that was not selected during maize domestication.   Background: Cold stress is an important environmental factor that limits plant growth, development, and geographical distribution. Maize originated in Mexico and is sensitive to low temperatures. Cold stress…

By Xiayan Liu and Fei Yu Chen et al. explore the relationship between the microtubule-associated protein MOR1 and the microtubule-severing protein KATANIN1.  Background: Microtubules (MTs) are highly dynamic cytoskeletal structures with essential functions in cell morphogenesis and cell division.…

Yang et al. identify a maize Nitrate Transporter 1/Peptide Transporter family protein that functions as a sugar transporter in grain filling. By Bo Yang and Jinsheng Lai, State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (SKLPPB) & National Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant…

Huang and Sun explore how germline fate is suppressed in vegetative cells but not in sperm cells of pollen. By Xiaorong Huang and Meng-Xiang Sun College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China Background: The microspore divides asymmetrically…

Gordon et al. report that knock-out of a recently discovered enzyme for salicinoid biosynthesis in poplar leads to changes in salicylic acid and jasmonic acid metabolism and has unexpected effects on growth.. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac135 By Peter Constabel and Harley Gordon Background:…

Wang et al. identify three OsMYB36s that redundantly regulate Casparian strip formation. Jixing Xia; College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, China Background: The Casparian strip (CS) is a ring-like lignin-rich structure in the anticlinal cell wall between endodermal cells…

By Mária Šimášková, Norbert Brugière, and Moritz K. Nowack VIB Center of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium; Corteva Agriscience, Johnston, Iowa, US  Mária Šimášková and colleagues increase seed yield in maize by modulating the activity of the transcription factor KIL1  Background:…

Yang and Zhao et al. examine the control of seed germination at the chromatin level. Zhe Wu and Deyue Yang, Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern…

Profs. Stanislaw Karpinski and Ron Mittler teams discovered Network Acquired Acclimation. By Magdalena Szechyńska-Hebda, Ron Mittler, and Stanisław Karpiński Background: An injured leaf (e.g., by insect herbivory or excess light) generates electric signals (ES) that spread to tissues, leaves,…

Liu et al. identify a monocot-specific splicing factor that elucidates a link between splicing and plant development through strigolactone signaling. By Tianzhen Liu, Qibin Lin National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy…

Huang et al. unravel the roles of ethylene in tomato fruit growth and ripening.  Background: Fruit development is an intriguing evolutionary strategy that functions in both seed protection and seed dispersal. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has long been used as a model system to uncover mechanisms…

Wang et al. explore how the circadian clock regulates phytochrome A abundance and activity to mediate far-red light inhibited hypocotyl growth. Background: To enhance plant adaptability to natural conditions, the circadian clock is synchronized and entrained by light via photoreceptors. Intriguingly,…

Hoffmann et al. discover how Arabidopsis RNA processing body components are co-opted by Cauliflower mosaic virus to evade translational repression. By Gesa Hoffmann and Anders Hafrén, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences  Background: Viruses are unique in their ability to reuse and recycle…

Zheng et al. reveal a novel fungal infection strategy. Xinhang Zheng (China Agricultural University), Fu Huang (Sichuan Agricultural University), and Wenxian Sun (China Agricultural University) Background: Rice commercial production is severely threatened by several important diseases including…

Loudya et al. report that complementary mutations in TIC100 of the chloroplast inner envelope membrane can cause reductions or corrective improvements in chloroplast protein import, highlighting a role in signalling. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac153 By Naresh Loudya, Paul Jarvis and…

Hu et al. demonstrate how the interactions of gibberellin and auxin signaling components regulate cambial activity during wood formation in poplar. By Jian Hu, Changzheng Xu, and Keming Luo  Background: In trees, the vascular cambium is the population of stem cells that laterally divide and as…

Hongqing Guo, Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University Wang and colleagues explore the transcriptome, proteome, and phosphoproteome in wild-type and fer mutant plants to dissect known and new functions of the receptor kinase FER. Background: FERONIA (FER) is a…

Ma et al. reveal the role of a key tomato RNA-binding protein in translating the nuclear transcripts that encode chloroplast proteins via its association with a eukaryotic translation initiation factor Background: The nuclear genome encodes most of the proteins that are found in chloroplasts; these…

Yu et al. find a hemicellulose that has similar function, structure, and biosynthesis to the well-studied hemicellulose xyloglucan  Authors: Li Yu, Yoshihisa Yoshimi, Paul Dupree. Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK. Background: Plant primary cell walls need to be rigid enough…

Thieffry, López-Márquez, et al. explore the use of alternative transcriptional start sites during immune responses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac108 Background: Upon sensing an attempted infection, plants change from growth to defense by reshaping gene activity. However, there is not always…

By Chengxiang Li and Hao Yu National University of Singapore Background: Maternal carbon source supports seed development and is eventually transformed into seed reserves, such as storage oil in the filial embryo and protective compounds in the maternal seed coat. During seed development of Arabidopsis…

Author et al. explore the role of plasma membrane H +-ATPases in ABA-induced stomatal closure. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac106 By Zhizhong Gong1, 2 and Dan Pei1 1State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing,…

Chandrasekar, Wanke, Wawra and co-workers discover how fungal cell surface polysaccharides assist in evading hostile plant immune responses. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac114 By Alan Wanke1 and Pia Saake2 Alga Zuccaro2 1 Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United…

Grunwald et al. explore how blue light regulates leaf water balance https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac089 By Y. Grunwald, S. Gosa, T. Torne Srivastava, M. Moshelion and N. Moran. The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture,…

Yang et al. identify a connection between a mitochondrial RNA-processing factor and plant disease resistance. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac082 Yang Yang and Weixing Shan  State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas and College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling,…

Cao et al. demonstrate that the photomorphogenic repressors BBX28 and BBX29 enhance brassinosteroid signaling to promote hypocotyl elongation and cotyledon closure.  By Jing Cao and Fang Lin  Background: Light signals and brassinosteroids (BRs) are external stimuli and internal cues, respectively,…

Jo et al. uncover the role of a spliceosome component in removing retained introns in Arabidopsis in response to heat stress https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac084  Background: Alternative splicing plays a key role in abiotic stress responses in plants, especially responses to heat stress. The spliceosome…

Krawczyk et al. describe a tethering complex that anchors a subset of lipid droplets to the plasma membrane during post-germinative seedling growth in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac095 By Hannah Elisa Krawczyk, Till Ischebeck Background: Germinating seeds are not yet able to produce…

By Dariusz Jan Smoliński, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland Rudzka and colleagues characterize the retention of Sm pre-mRNAs that retain introns in Cajal bodies over the course of microsporocyte development in European larch (Larix decidua) Background: Reports in both animals and plants have…

By Margot Raffeiner and Frederik Börnke (Leibniz-Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops) Background: Like other organisms, plants defend themselves against pathogens by activating immune responses. One of the first lines of plant immunity is to block the entry of bacteria into the leaf through…

Peng, D. Guo, Y. Guo, et al. Shui Wang, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China  Background: Immune receptors recognize invading microorganisms and activate immune responses. There are two types of immune systems, innate immunity and adaptive immunity. In animals,…

Misawa, Ito, et al. explore how nitrate transporters and NIN-like protein transcription factors repress nodulation in the presence of exogenous nitrate. Momoyo Ito, Takuya Suzaki Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan  Background Through…

Xu et al. identify a key transcriptional regulatory module involved in biosynthesis of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan I in the mucilage surrounding the Arabidopsis seed. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac011 Background: Pectin is a complex cell wall polysaccharide that plays important…

Kang et al. (2022) show that Arabidopsis CHROMATIN REMODELING 19 represses transcription and functions in plant defenses against pathogens. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab318 by Huijia Kang and Yan Zhu, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University. Background: Plants induce defenses in response…

Choi et al. report that the Chlamydomonas bZIP transcription factor BLZ8 induces the carbon-concentrating mechanism to provide an electron sink pathway, reducing reactive oxygen species production under oxidative stress conditions. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab293 By Bae Young Choi,…

Wang et al. find an RNA 3’-terminal phosphate cyclase-like protein that participates in processing the 18S ribosomal RNA in maize. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac052 by Tao Wang and Jun Yang The National Engineering Laboratory of Crop Resistance Breeding, School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural…

Huang et al. elucidate the relationship between fatty acid biosynthesis and seed maturation in Arabidopsis. By Ruihua Huang and Shengchun Zhang  Background: Storage substances such as starch, protein, and oil in crop seeds are major sources of food for humans. These substances mainly accumulate…

Peng et al. discover that COP1, a central repressor of seedling photomorphogenic development, positively regulates ABA signal transduction during Arabidopsis seedling growth in darkness by mediating ABA-induced ABI5 accumulation.  By Jing Peng and Jigang Li  Background: The phytohormone abscisic…

Dahhan et al. explore the clathrin-coated vesicle proteome in Arabidopsis By Dana A. Dahhan and Sebastian Y. Bednarek, Dept. of Biochemistry, UW-Madison Background: Trafficking of vacuolar and plasma membrane proteins and other macromolecules is essential for plant development, nutrient uptake,…

Zakaria and Stegemann et al. identify and characterize an enzyme involved in pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis in a member of the borage family. Mahmoud M. Zakariaa,b, Thomas Stegemanna,b, Dietrich Obera a Botanical Institute and Botanic Gardens, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany b Department…

Murcia et al. discover how plants store information about daytime temperatures to control stem growth during the night. By Germán Murcia, Cristina Nieto, Romina Sellaro, Salomé Prat, and Jorge J. Casal Background: Plants increase their stature in response to warm temperatures by enhancing stem…

Kitazawa et al. identified a unique proteasome-utilizing mechanism of phyllogen, a bacterial effector protein produced by pathogenic phytoplasmas. Plant Cell. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac062 By Yugo Kitazawa and Kensaku Maejima, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate…

Karimi et al. showed that Arabidopsis plants secrete numerous RNAs, which are associated with proteins and are located outside extracellular vesicles. Plant Cell. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac043 By: Hana Zand Karimi and Roger W. Innes, Indiana University Background: To prevent infection…

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…

Sun et al. explore the molecular basis of the stomatal response and stomatal development in maize.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac047  Guiling Sun, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University…

Author et al. explore the non-autonomous mechanism controlling stomatal aperture https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac038 Manuel Nieves-Cordones, Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UMR BPMP, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier 34060, France. Present address:…

Author(s) and Institutions: Leelyn Chong and Yingfang Zhu State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China Sanya Institute, Henan University, Sanya, 572025, China Leelyn Chong and colleagues provide cues as to how plants…

Li et al. developed a new tool called LeafNet for segmenting and quantifying stomata and pavement cells. Background: Stomata are microscopic openings in the leaf epidermis that allow for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange between a plant and the atmosphere. The phenotypes of stomata and the surrounding…

Deng, Chen and colleagues focus on fruit ripening in tomato and describe the role of the EAR domain-containing Ethylene Response Factor SlERF.F12 in recruiting transcriptional repressors to the promoter regions of their targets By Heng Deng, Yao Chen and Mingchun Liu, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource…

Fuchs et al. report that reductive stress triggers retrograde signaling to safeguard the endoplasmic reticulum by boosting mitochondrial respiratory capacity. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac017 By Philippe Fuchs, Markus Schwarzländer Background: A strict division into specialized…

Hasegawa, Reyes et al. discover a link between the ubiquitination of a key membrane trafficking regulator and carbon/nitrogen nutrient stress.  Background: Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification that functions in numerous cellular processes by serving as a molecular signal, such as protein…

Qin et al. identify a mechanism by which ethylene activates gibberellin catabolism to determine primary root growth in rice. Hua Qin and Rongfeng Huang Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Background: The optimization of root architecture is one of the…

Nan, Teng et al. uncover bHLH-regulated genetic networks that sequentially control maize anther development.  By Chong Teng (DDPSC, MO), Guo-Ling Nan (Stanford University, CA), Blake Meyers (DDPSC and University of Missouri–Columbia, MO), and Virginia Walbot (Stanford University, CA)  Background:…

Von der Heyde and Hallmann uncover the enormous dynamics of early cell divisions in Volvox embryos.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac004 Eva Laura von der Heyde and Armin Hallmann Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology of Plants, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615…

Wang et al. investigate the downstream effectors of CLE peptide ligand-mediated meristem homeostasis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab315 By Wenping Wang, Chong Hu, Xiaoping Gou and Jing Yi Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life Sciences,…

Jiang et al. discover a module controlling endoreduplication, a process in which DNA replication occurs in the absence of mitosis. Background: Organ size is coordinately regulated by both cell number and cell size. Endoreduplication is often associated with cell size in plants and animals, but the…

By Raphael Tröscha, Fabian Riesb, Lisa Désirée Westrichb, Felix Willmundb, a Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany; b Molecular Genetics of Eukaryotes, University of Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 23, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany Trösch,…

Huc et al. discover a method for bypassing the triploid block via chemically induced epimutagenesis using 5-Azacytidine. Background: Hybridization of plants with different chromosome numbers is often hindered by reproductive barriers established after fertilization. This is because the correct balance…

Wang et al. explore cellulose deposition in maize seeds. Qun Wang and Rentao Song China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Plant seeds are mainly classified into two types: one with a persistent endosperm as in cereals, and the other with a transient endosperm as in…

Lung et al. demonstrate that acyl-CoA-binding proteins initiate oxylipin signaling to help soybean adapt to the salty environment. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab306 By Shiu-Cheung Lung and Mee-Len Chye, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China Background:…

Han et al demonstrate that sugar-activated TOR promotes guard cell starch degradation and stomatal opening. Chao Han and Ming-yi Bai The Key Laboratory of Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237,…

Kyung, Jeon et al. investigated the nature of the molecular mechanism by which winter cold accelerates flowering and discovered that circadian clock regulators are involved. By Jinseul Kyung and Myeongjune Jeon; School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea Background: Appropriate…

Longkumer et al. explore how plant growth is regulated during drought. Paul E. Verslues and Toshisangba Longkumer, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, TAIWAN Background: Plants can deliberately slow down their growth in response to even a small decrease in water…

Huang, Chen and colleagues take advantage of a partial duplicated gene to compare the functions of the partial duplicate and its parental copy.  By Yuan Huang, Jiahui Chen, Shengqian Xia and Manyuan Long, Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA  Background:…

Chang et al. discover the role of an evolutionarily conserved splicing factor in regulating temperature-responsive flowering in Arabidopsis. Background: Eukaryotic genes contain non-coding sequences termed introns that intervene between coding sequences. After being transcribed into pre-mRNA, these…

Li et al. found that SOG1, a functional homolog of mammalian p53, protects radicle growth when seeds accumulate DNA damage. By Jinchao Li and Weiqiang Qian, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Background:…

Groen et al. investigate the genes and traits under selection when rice experiences drought.  By Simon C. “Niels” Groen a,b and Amelia Henryc a Institute of Integrative Genome Biology and Department of Nematology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA; b Center for Genomics…

Chang et al. discover the phenotypic consequences of different isoforms of Coat Protein Complex II genes in the moss Physcomitrium patens. Background: Vesicles that form on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are bound for the Golgi apparatus are coated in a complex of proteins known as Coat Protein…

Noack et al. provide insight into the biosynthesis of an important plasma membrane lipid. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab135 Lise Noack and Yvon Jaillais Laboratoire Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INRAE, F-69342,…

Joke De Jaeger-Braet & Arp Schnittger, Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology, Department of Developmental Biology, University of Hamburg, Germany De Jaeger-Braet and colleagues explore the effects of high temperatures on meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis. Background: One of the hidden,…

Ma et al. demonstrate that plant membrane nanodomains condense formin for actin remodeling during pathogen infection. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab261 By Zhiming Ma and Yansong Miao School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Background: When bacterial…

By Sydney G. Duncombe, Samir Grama Chethan, Charles T. Anderson, Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA   Duncombe and colleagues apply the latest in imaging techniques to follow the paths of cellulose biosynthesis complexes along the plasma membrane…

Tran et al. found that outer membrane vesicles produced by plant pathogenic bacterium could trigger plant immune responses through the interactions with the plant plasma membrane. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab276 By Tuan Minh Tran 1,2 and Yansong Miao 1 School of Biological…

Yang et al. reveal the coordination between stomatal development and cuticle formation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab260 By Shao-Li Yang and Chin-Min Kimmy Ho Background: The plant epidermis is composed of functionally specialized cells, such as the valves on the leaf surface known…

Hüdig and Tronconi et al. reveal that the housekeeping and C4-decarboxylase functions of a C4 enzyme are performed by isoforms that combine the same α subunit with different β subunits. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab265  Meike Hüdig, Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Bonn;…

Liu et al. investigate regulation of innate immunity in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab242 Xiaotong Liu, Yuanyuan Zhou and Dongping Lu State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental…

Li et al. discover that HY5 and TZP, two factors helping plants respond to far-red light, mutually upregulate each other by distinct mechanisms in transmitting the far-red light signal. The Plant Cell (2021)  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab254 By Cong Li, Lijuan Qi and Jigang Li Background:…

Zhou and colleagues dissect the transcriptional response of maize seedlings to cold and heat stress and explore to what extent gene expression can be predicted from cis-regulatory motifs in promoters by employing machine learning approaches By Peng Zhou, University of Minnesota Background: Plants…

Zhao et al. demonstrate the dynamic evolutionary processes of self-incompatibility in angiosperms.  By Hong Zhao and Yongbiao Xue, State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, and the Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy…

Ostermeier et al. introduce AncM, a new factor for structuring the photosynthetic membrane system in cyanobacteria. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab253 By Matthias Ostermeier, Steffen Heinz and Jörg Nickelsen at Molecular Plant Science at LMU Munich Background: Cyanobacteria are…

Feng Zhu and colleagues investigate the time-resolved mGWAS of dark-induced senescence.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab251 By Feng Zhu and Alisdair R. Fernie Background: In cellular circumstances under which nutrients are scarce, plants must degrade polymers to recycle carbon (C) and nitrogen…

Lee et al. unravel a mitochondrial transporter responsible for selectively exporting citrate in exchange for malate. Plant Cell (2021) By Chun Pong Leea, Marlene Elsässerb, Philippe Fuchsb,c, Ricarda Fenskea, Markus Schwarzländerb, A. Harvey Millara aARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology,…

Ye et al. investigate H+ tolerance mechanisms in Arabidopsis The Plant Cell (2021) Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab226 By Jia Yuan Ye and Chong Wei Jin Background: Acid soils cover nearly half of the world's arable lands. Application of urea-N and ammonium-N fertilizers markedly…

Ballester et al. reveal how stigma development in Arabidopsis requires the formation of different higher-order transcription factor complexes of increasing complexity. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab236  By Cristina Ferrándiz Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, CSIC-UPV Background:…

Wang and colleagues investigated the starvation response of rice seedlings. By Wentao Wang and Yue Lu Background: For survival and growth, cells of all living organisms must balance their energy consumption and supply. Although energetically autonomous (through photosynthesis), plants are continuously…

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…

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:…

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…

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.…

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…

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:…

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…

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,…

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.…

Koga et al. identified a mechanism that produces heterophylly in aquatic plants grown either submerged in water or in air.  Plant Cell.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab192 By Hiroyuki Koga, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. Background: Amphibious plants,…

Lopez-Obando et al. unravel the complex pathways for the perception of strigolactones and related compounds in the moss Physcomitrium patens.  By Ambre Guillory1, Mauricio Lopez-Obando2, Alexandre de Saint Germain3, and Sandrine Bonhomme3 1Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes Microbes Environnement…

Lee et al. use a co-fractionation mass spectrometry pipeline to predict the compositions of cytosolic protein complexes present during early rice seed development. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab182  Background: Many proteins act as components of multiprotein complexes that…

Yang et al. study the role of the SMC5/6 complex during reproductive development in Arabidopsis. By Ales Pecinka a, Fen Yang a, Nadia Fernández-Jiménez b and Mónica Pradillo b a Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Acad Sci, Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural…

Niemeyer et al. investigate the distribution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in an algal cell. By J. Niemeyer a, D. Scheuring b, J. Oestreicher c, B. Morgan c,d, and M. Schroda a,d a Molekulare Biotechnologie & Systembiologie, TU Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich Straße 23, D-67663 Kaiserslautern,…

Yan and co-workers follow the localization of various membrane proteins upon blocking clathrin- and adaptor protein-mediated membrane trafficking, and reveal that blocking endocytosis reduces exocytosis (and vice-versa).  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab180  By Xu Yan, Yutong Wang, Dana A. Dahhan,…

Qin et al. show that the ARP2/3 complex and formins act cooperatively to orchestrate the actin patch formation and regulate the penetration resistance against fungal invasion. The Plant Cell (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab170  By Li Qin and Yangdou Wei. Department of Biology, University…

Pyc and Gidda et al. investigate the role of the lipid droplet biogenetic protein LDIP. Plant Cell.  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab179 Michal Pyc, John Dyer and Robert Mullen, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, U.S. Department of Agriculture,…

Author et al. Huang et al. investigate the roles of auxin in flag leaf angle regulation. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab175 Guoqiang Huang Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, SJTU-University of Adelaide…

Chu et al. demonstrate that H2O2 inhibits the nitrate-promoted nuclear localization of NLP7 in plants. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab165 By XiaoQian Chu, Jia-Gang Wang and Ming-Yi Bai Background: Nitrate is both an essential macronutrient for plants and a critical signaling molecule…

Chen et al. uncover the effects of a pectate lyase-like gene on cell wall mechanics and cell pressurization in guard cells. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab161  By Yintong Chen and Charles T. Anderson Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University…

Hou et al. explore the role of the HOPS/CORVET complex in plant reproduction Saiying Hou, Sheng Zhong and Li-Jia Qu State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences at College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic…

Nonis et al. explore the circular permutation of the common sugar-binding protein ConA https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab130  by Samuel Nonis and Joshua Mylne* (The University of Western Australia; *,current address, Curtin University)  Background: Jack bean concanavalin A (conA) is a sugar-binding…

Stuart et al. identify the barley Viridis-k gene and assign a specific function for a C-type ferredoxin as the long-sought electron donor for the cyclase enzyme in chlorophyll biosynthesis. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab150 Background: Chlorophyll is the green color of plants. It is made in several…

Pedroza-Garcia report that the necessity for DNA damage response kinases under non-stress conditions is higher in maize than in Arabidopsis, indicating that the mechanisms maintaining genome integrity may be more important for vegetative and reproductive development than previously thought. Plant Cell…

Zupok et al. demonstrate that photosynthesis genes encoded on the chloroplast genome can establish hybridization barriers. Plant Cell. (2021)  https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab155 By Arkadiusz Zupok, Danijela Kozul and Stephan Greiner, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam/Golm,…

Furuya et al. identify BEH3 as a stabilizer in the cambium in Arabidopsis thaliana By Tomoyuki Furuyaa,b  and Yuki Kondoa,b. a Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Japan b Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Background: Just like trees, plants like Arabidopsis…

Le et al. demonstrate that mitochondria get pyruvate three different ways. Plant Cell By X.H. Le, C.P. Lee and A.H. Millar The University of Western Australia Perth, Australia Background: Plants photosynthesise and make starch in the day so that at night they can extract energy from…

Zhang et al. show that a transcription factor module modulates TCA cycle strength and thus reactive oxygen species homeostasis in rose petals. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab152  Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are by-products of several primary metabolic pathways and high…

Baile et al. discover how EAR domain-containing transcription factors recruit the polycomb group complex PRC2 to mediate gene repression in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab139  By Fernando Baile and Myriam Calonje Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis…

Zhou, Kusmec, Mirnezami et al. reveal how genetically determined measurement bias affects the accuracy of high-throughput phenotyping and genetic analysis. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab134 By Yan Zhou Iowa State University Background: The accuracy of trait measurement…

Goodman et al. uncover the roles of ESCRT (Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport) proteins in the exocytosis of plasma membrane and secreted proteins in tapetal cells during pollen development. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab132  By Marisa Otegui Background:…

Wang et al. identify a WRKY-type transcription factor as being critical to fiber development and elongation in cotton. By Na-Na Wang, Yang Li, Yi-Hao Chen, Rui Lu, Li Zhou, Yao Wang,Yong Zheng, Xue-Bao Li Background: Cotton, one of the most important crops in the world, produces natural fiber materials…

Billey et al. uncover the roles of LARP6C as a translational repressor in dormant pollen and an activator when the pollen “awakens”. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab131  By Elodie Billey1,2,3, Said Hafidh4, Cécile Bousquet-Antonelli1,2 1 CNRS LGDP-UMR5096, 58 Av.…

Lian et al. investigated the molecular mechanism of AGO protein MEL1 degradation mediated by a new monocot-specific E3 ligase, XBOS36. The Plant Cell (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab138 By Jian-Ping Lian, Yu-Chan Zhang and Yue-Qin Chen, Sun Yat-Sen University Background: Sporogenesis…

Yuan et al. investigate the molecular mechanism of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis and find a new regulator. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab133 By Li Yuan and Xiaodong Xu; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng…

Tian et al. report a link between classic brassinosteroid signaling and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in regulation of rice architecture and seed size. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab137 By Xiaojie Tian, Mingliang He, Enyang Mei, Baowen Zhang, Jiaqi Tang, Min Xu, Jiali…

Anderson et al. show how the Arabidopsis protein GET3B acts as a targeting factor for proteins important in chloroplast development.  Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab145. By Donna Fernandez and Stacy Anderson, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin…

Bonnot and Nagel explore how heat stress affects the circadian-regulated translatome at different times of day. Titouan Bonnot1 and Dawn H. Nagel1 1Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, USA Background: The plant circadian clock synchronizes…

Adamski et al. reveal that the expression of a MADS-box transcription factor is the basis for a grain phenotype observed in Polish wheat. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab119 By Cristobal Uauy and Nikolai M Adamski John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom Background:…

Ruiz-López & Pérez-Sancho et al describe a mechanism that control the homeostasis of diacylglycerol at the plasma membrane in plants after abiotic stress. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab122 Miguel Ángel Botella Mesa – IHSM-UMA-CSIC, Málaga, Spain Jessica Pérez Sancho…

Nishida, Nosaki, et al. explore how nitrate inhibits nodulation through transcription factors. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab103  Hanna Nishidaa, Shohei Nosakia,b,c, Takuya Suzakia,c aFaculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan bGraduate…

Mizuno et al. show that genes in the KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2-dependent signaling pathway are conserved in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and control early development of the thallus. Yohei Mizuno and Junko Kyozuka Background: Plants hormones play crucial roles in growth and development. Karrikins…

DeTar et al. examined whether disruption of ion homeostasis affects plastid gene expression and chloroplast development. Rachael Ann DeTar and Hans-Henning Kunz both at School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University & Plant Biochemistry at LMU Munich Background: Proteins that…

By Hernán López and Klaus Theres, Max Planck institute for Plant Breeding Research.  López and colleagues identify the gene mutated in the tomato super determinant (sde) mutant, which affects vegetative shoot branching, but not seed set. Background: The degree of shoot branching is an important…

Zhang et al. uncover the roles of NF-YC transcription factors in repressing brassinosteroid biosynthesis and signaling to mediate photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Background: Seedlings, which germinate in the soil, generally undergo rapid hypocotyl elongation to seek light for growth and development.…

Chin et al. identify SPIRRIG and SCAR/WAVE as molecular determinants of actin-mediated root hair development in Arabidopsis.  Background: Root hairs are tip growing cells that extend the radius of a root to optimize water and nutrient absorption. Root hair development is complex and involves the…

Zhang et al. explore the role of myosin XI in exocytosis. Plant Cell Weiwei Zhang and Christopher J. Staiger Purdue University Background: Living organisms secrete molecules from their cells to allow growth and survival in various environments. Materials destined for secretion are often…

Reinar et al. uncover the effects of allelic variation in short tandem repeats across natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana on gene expression.  By Kjetill Jakobsen1, Melinka Butenko2, and William Reinar1 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Department…

Gala et al. perform single cell RNA sequencing to reveal molecular details about lateral root initiation.  By Amy Lanctot, Hardik Gala, Jennifer Nemhauser University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 Background: Roots anchor the plant in place and allow it take up needed water and nutrients.…

Kinser and colleagues explore the transcriptomic, genomic and epigenomic consequences of mixing two genomes with the same number or twice as many chromosomes in monkeyflower.  By Taliesin Kinser (University of Florida) and Joshua Puzey (College of William and Mary) Background: Flowering plants…

Amundson et al. investigate the fate of parental DNA in crosses that produce uniparental dihaploids  By Kirk Amundson and Luca Comai  Background: Plants carrying only the chromosomes of one parent, i.e. haploids, are very useful for research and breeding. Certain crosses are known to yield haploid…

Klusch et al. discover an unusual bridge domain that might participate in regulating the activity of mitochondrial complex I in plants and algae.  By Niklas Klusch1, Jennifer Senkler2, Özkan Yildiz1, Werner Kühlbrandt1 and Hans-Peter Braun2 1 Department of Structural Biology, Max-Planck-Institute…

Liu et al. demonstrate how manipulating ZmEXPA4 gene expression in developing maize ears alleviates the prolonged anthesis and silking interval in response to drought. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab083  By Boxin Liu and Feng Qin Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of…

Wang et al. report how chromatin architecture reorganization shapes transcriptome patterns during polyploidization and domestication of soybean. The Plant Cell (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab081 By Longfei Wang and Qingxin Song Background: Soybean and common bean are important sources…

Deng and colleagues show how the microtubule-associated protein WDL4 contributes to apical hook opening to protect seedligns from damage by soil particles  By Jia Deng, Xiangfeng Wang, Ziqiang Liu, and Tonglin Mao, China Agricultural University Background: When seedlings emerge through the soil…

Li et al. investigate how Arabidopsis seed size is controlled by maternal tissues. By Ying Ju Li, Yang Yu and Ying Hua Su, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Shandong, China  Background: Seed size is determined by the coordinated development…

He et al. demonstrate that Mediator complex subunits have functions beyond their known roles in transcription. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab079 By Huaming He, Patrick Willems, Frank Van Breusegem, and Amna Mhamdi Background: Plants often face challenging environments to which they…

Xing et al. find that Arabidopsis plants ward off pathogen infection by limiting iron availability. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab075 By Yingying Xing, Deepak D. Bhandari, and Jun Liu Background: Iron is an essential nutrient for most lifeforms. Organisms get their iron from their…

Mascher et al. use long-read sequencing to explore the complex genome of barley. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab077 Martin Mascher, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gatersleben, Germany Mona Schreiber, University of Marburg, Germany Background: The…

FEATURED FIGURE CAPTION:  Live imaging of Phytophthora infestans (magenta) growing on Nicotiana benthamiana cells (cyan). Cells that are colonized by the pathogen show increased numbers of vesicles (bright cyan dots) compared to cells that haven’t been colonized yet. Petre, Contreras, et al. investigate…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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)…

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…

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…

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…

Shi et al. (2021). Plant Cell. Gene expression in diploid aneuploids and polyploids. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab030 By Xiaowen Shi and James A. Birchler Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 Background: A change in the number of chromosomes…

Yang et al. use haploid induction, genomic and transcriptomic sequencing to explore gene expression changes across the genome when the chromosome arm was varied in haploid maize. By Hua Yang, James Birchler, University of Missouri-Columbia Background: The phenotypic consequences of the addition…

Meiyue Wang, Zijuan Li, Yu’e Zhang, Yuyun Zhang, et al. explore the differences in gene regulation in wheat subgenomes. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab028  by Meiyue Wang, Yijing Zhang CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology…

Emrich-Mills and Yates et al. develop a method for the large-scale cloning of Chlamydomonas genes without sequence length or complexity limits. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab024  By Tom Z. Emrich-Mills, Gary Yates, and Luke C.M. Mackinder  Background: Chlamydomonas…

Olga Blifernez-Klassen and colleagues identify a minimal NAB1 promoter that confers responsiveness to low CO2 supply and the transcription factor LCRF that mediates NAB1 upregulation.  By Olga Blifernez-Klassen and Lutz Wobbe, Algae Biotechnology and Bioenergy, Bielefeld University, Faculty of Biology,…

Choi et al. uncover the association between telomere length and flowering time variation in Arabidopsis, rice, and maize. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab022   Background: Telomeres are DNA-protein complexes found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect the…

Lv et al. investigate the molecular basis for the specific regulation of FT by CONSTANS. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab016  By Xinchen Lv and Jiamu Du  Background: During the floral transition, plants perceive various environmental and endogenous signals to trigger…

Martínez-Cruz et al. identify fungal effectors with chitinase activity, which suppress chitin-triggered immunity. by Jesús Martínez-Cruza,b, Diego Romeroa,b, Jesús Hierrezueloa,b, Michael Thonc, Antonio de Vicentea,b and Alejandro Pérez-Garcíaa,b aDepartamento de Microbiología, Facultad…

Winkler et al. describe a tool to visualize and quantify protein-protein interactions inside Nicotiana benthamiana cells. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab004  Background: Interactions between proteins (protein-protein interactions, PPIs) are an essential aspect of how life…

By Rory J. Craig, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh  Craig and colleagues report the sequencing and gene annotations of close and more distant relative of the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, an emerging model organism for plant biology.  Background: The single-cell…

By Patrice Salomé, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA  Salomé and Merchant analyze hundreds of RNA-seq samples in the single-cell green alga and discover vast co-expression potential and surprising residual synchronized expression across samples derived from cultures…

Ma, Salomé and colleagues use single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) on the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a proof-of-concept for the application of this method to unicellular algae.  By Patrice A. Salomé, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA* Background: The sequenced…

By ES Forsythe, AM Williams, DB Sloan, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Forsythe and colleagues measured the rate of variation across thousands of nucleus-encoded and plastid-encoded proteins to then look for evidence of coevolution, suggestive of similar functions…

Ma et al. provide numerous insights into how whole-genome duplication contributed to the origin and diversification of the grass family. By Peng-Fei Ma, Yun-Long Liu and De-Zhu Li (Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS) Background: Whole genome duplication (WGD), which may result from an organism…

Prigozhin and Krasileva identify highly variable NLR subfamilies responsible for the generation of new immune receptor specificities. The Plant Cell (2021)   By Daniil M. Prigozhin1 and Ksenia V. Krasileva2 1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2University of California Berkeley  Background:…

Sipka and coworkers show that the closed state of photosystem II holds a formerly unrecognized structural and functional plasticity and upon illumination assumes a light-adapted charge-separated state. [Plant Cell https://academic.oup.com/plcell/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koab008/6119330] By…

Bezrutczyk et al. use single cell RNA-seq to show that SWEET13 proteins in maize bundle sheath cells are specialized in nutrient transport to the phloem. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa055. By Margaret Bezrutczyk and Wolf B. Frommer, Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich-Heine-University…

Wei et al. explore how aluminum toxicity and inorganic phosphate limitation inhibit plant growth. Pengliang Weia,b and Lieven De Veyldera,b aDepartment of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium bCenter for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium Background:…

Hosotani et al. explore the molecular mechanisms that modulate stomatal opening under different light conditions. by Sakurako Hosotani and Atsushi Takemiya (Yamaguchi University)  Background: Opening of stomatal pores is essential for photosynthetic CO2 fixation and transpiration in terrestrial…

Corredor-Moreno et al. identify a branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase that is critical for progression of economically damaging diseases of wheat. Pilar Corredor-Moreno and Diane G.O. Saunders John Innes Centre Background: Wheat yellow and stem rust are major diseases of wheat worldwide.…

Zhang et al. explore the mechanisms of epigenetic information transfer in plants. The Plant Cell By Pingxian Zhang and Xiaofeng Gu Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China Background: Both genetic and epigenetic information must be…

Reis et al. explore how an interaction between PHO1.2 mRNA and its cis-natural antisense transcript enhances translation. The Plant Cell Rodrigo S. Reis1 and Yves Poirier1 1 Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland Background: A large proportion…

Yang et al. show that nonspecific phospholipase C4-mediated sphingolipid remodeling regulates root growth in Arabidopsis in response to phosphate deficiency. The Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa054. By: Xuemin Wang, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis/Donald Danforth…

Simpson et al. describe and use PODIUM, a tool for global annotation of metabolites. Plant Cell (https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa046) By Jeffrey Simpson, Brian Dilkes, Clint Chapple Background: Plants synthesize hundreds to thousands of different chemicals. These chemicals help plants adapt…

Kim et al. provide insight into leaf vascular cell types and new resources to build hypotheses and strategies regarding transport of ions, metabolites, and signals. Plant Cell http://bit.ly/2MKOR8M Ji-yun Kim and Wolf Frommer Background: Transport processes are critical for all multicellular…

Bauer et al. characterize UGT76B1 as a metabolic suppressor of the Arabidopsis immune response. The Plant Cell (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa044 By Dereje W. Mekonnen1, Jürgen Zeier2, Anton R. Schäffner1 1Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Department of Environmental Sciences,…

Fratini et al. explore lipid patterns in the plasma membrane of the pollen tube. http://bit.ly/3uwYqsM Ingo Heilmann and Marta Fratini Department of Plant Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany Background:…

Ding et al. investigate the transcriptional regulation mechanism underlying the degree of pectin methylesterification using the mucilage that surrounds Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. Anming Ding, Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) BY:  Yingzhen Kong, College…

Baetsen-Young et al. explore the root transcriptomes of soybean and maize plants infected with a fungus. The Plant Cell By Amy Baetsen-Young and Brad Day, Michigan State University  Background: Diverged plant species respond to microbial interactions through different processes, the outcome…

Zhan and Steglich et al. investigate the small RNA-mediated regulation of the photoprotective Orange Carotenoid Protein in cyanobacteria. https://bit.ly/3d3AqY0 By Jiao Zhan1,2, Wolfgang Hess3 and Diana Kirilovsky1 1 Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the…

Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibara, Masaomi Yamamura et al. identify factors that play essential roles in the biosynthesis of seed-coat protective neolignans. Plant Cell. http://bit.ly/3mseqae By Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibara and Kazuki Saito, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Background: Neolignans…

Martinez et al. use laser capture microdissection and transcriptomic sequencing to explore how gene expression patterns regulate early morphogenesis of the compound tomato leaf. http://bit.ly/3nehiZu  By Ciera Martinez, University of California, Berkeley Neelima Sinha, University of California,…

Hou et al. report a DEAD-box helicase as a component of the RNA microprocessor complex and highlight its importance in embryogenesis. Plant Cell http://bit.ly/2LhT7LO By Xiu-Li Hou,a,b Xiu-Fen Song,a,b Chun-Ming Liua,b,c a Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese…

Herrmann et al. uncover the role of KINESIN-12E in the rapid alignment of chromosomes during cell division. The Plant Cell (2020) http://bit.ly/3lCfIzf  By Arvid Herrmann Howards Hughes Medical Institute at University of Texas at Austin, Sabine Müller, Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University…

Tian et al. Background: Flowering time plays an important role in plant reproductive success. In the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, several flowering time pathways adjust flowering time in response to day length), hormones, and temperature (i.e. vernalization a period of cold). During photoperiodic…

Gao et al. demonstrate TaNAC019 regulates kernel weight and quality in wheat. The Plant Cell (2021). http://bit.ly/3qCTXSH By YJ Gao, KX An, WW Guo, YM Chen, RJ Zhang, X Zhang, SY Chang, V Rossi, FM Jin, XY Cao, MM Xin, HR Peng, ZR Hu, WL Guo, JK Du, ZF Ni, QX Sun, and YY Yao Background: Wheat…

Yokoyama et al. explore regulation of the shikimate biosynthetic pathway in plants. https://bit.ly/3oZeh01 By Ryo Yokoyama and Hiroshi A. Maeda, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison  Background: The shikimate pathway directs bulk carbon toward biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids…

Arteaga et al. report that some natural populations of Arabidopsis have trichomes on fruits. They exploit this previously unknown trait to explore the genetic underpinnings of trichome development and their evolutionary relevance. Plant Cell http://bit.ly/3byAMFl By Noelia Arteaga, Belén Méndez-Vigo,…

Zhang, Zhu, Shen, Ji et al. discover a way to enhance nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield in rice. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3s3bLb3  Background: Nitrogen (N), an essential element for crop growth, is provided to plants by external fertilizer application. However, the excessive use…

Dong, LeBlanc, Poulet et al. investigate genomic stability in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3nhgdQ5  By Jie Dong, Chantal LeBlanc, Axel Poulet, and Yannick Jacob  Background: DNA is the genetic material used by all living organisms on Earth. The faithful replication of DNA…

Summary: Huang et al. elucidate a link between ethylene signaling and heat stress responses. Plant Cell https://bit.ly/3pTjNBK By Jianyan Huang, Xiaobo Zhao, Marco Bürger, Yurong Wang, Joanne Chory Background: Temperature is an environmental factor that has one of the most dramatic effects on…

Hou et al. report a DEAD-box helicase as a component of the RNA microprocessor complex and highlight its importance in embryogenesis. Plant Cell http://bit.ly/2LhT7LO By Xiu-Li Hou,a,b Xiu-Fen Song,a,b Chun-Ming Liua,b,c a Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese…

Shi et al. provide a high-resolution gene expression map of the Arabidopsis stem. The Plant Cell (2021) http://bit.ly/3pgWm4G  By Dongbo Shi and Thomas Greb  Bckground: Multicellular organisms are usually built of numerous different tissues with very special functions. These functions depend…

Yang and colleagues set out to untangle the network of transcription factors controlling O2 expression during maize seed development By 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…

Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibara, Masaomi Yamamura et al. identify factors that play essential roles in the biosynthesis of seed-coat protective neolignans. Plant Cell. http://bit.ly/3mseqae By Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibara and Kazuki Saito, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science Background: Neolignans…

Riediger et al. investigate the RNA-protein complexome of a photosynthetic cyanobacterium. The Plant Cell. https://bit.ly/3njpBn4 By Matthias Riediger and Wolfgang R. Hess Background: Cyanobacteria are a unique group of bacteria with the ability to perform plant-like photosynthesis. Like their…

Yoshinari et al. demonstrate that boron-dependent poly-ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of BOR1 is coupled with its boron transport activity. Plant Cell https://bit.ly/2JYEooF By Akira Yoshinari Background: Abundance and activity of nutrient transporters are continuously tuned to both…

Martinez et al. use laser capture microdissection and transcriptomic sequencing to explore how gene expression patterns regulate early morphogenesis of the compound tomato leaf. https://bit.ly/3nehiZu  By Ciera Martinez, University of California, Berkeley Neelima Sinha, University of California,…

Liu et al. demonstrate that EIJ1 acts as a key repressor of plant immunity. Plant Cell. https://bit.ly/37MF1tg By Hailun Liu, Yuge Li and Xingliang Hou, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Background: Plants have evolved a complicated network to modulate the immune response.…

Herrmann et al. uncover the role of KINESIN-12E in the rapid alignment of chromosomes during cell division. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3lCfIzf  By Arvid Herrmann Howards Hughes Medical Institute at University of Texas at Austin, Sabine Müller, Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University…

Tonosaki et al. explore how the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 component EMBRYONIC FLOWER2a represses rice endosperm development both before and after fertilization. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/33DQdqW By Kaoru Tonosaki and Tetsu Kinoshita Iwate University and Yokohama City University   Background:…

Klasek, Inoue, and Theg show how the chloroplast chaperonin Cpn60 binds Plastidic type I signal peptidase 1 in the chloroplast stroma and delivers it to the cpSecI translocon for targeting to the thylakoid membrane. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00309 By Laura Klasek, University of California,…

Wang et al. demonstrate that Arabidopsis SAUR17 promotes apical hook development and closed cotyledons in the dark by protecting the cell-expansion inhibitor PP2C-D1. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00283   By Jiajun Wang, Ning Sun, Fangfang Zhang, Renbo Yu, Haodong Chen,…

Töpfer et al. created a combined leaf metabolism/gas exchange model to predict water saving and productivity in temperate climates. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00132 By Nadine Töpfera and R. George Ratcliffeb .....a Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben,…

H. Li et al. identified and characterized a new genetic factor that controls grass-specific pollen wall pattern formation in rice. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00551 By HuanJun Li, Yu-Jin Kim and Wanqi Liang Background: Pollen, the male gametophyte in flowering plants, is…

Fang and Zhang et al. show that SUMOylation and deSUMOylation regulate the stability of a transcription factor, thereby influencing aluminum resistance in Arabidopsis. Descriptive paragraph. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00687 Background: Aluminum (Al) is a primary constraint for crop…

Wang et al. uncover the role of Laccase8 from the model system Cleome hassleriana in initiating C-lignin polymerization. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00598   By Xin Wanga,b,, Chunliu Zhuoa,c, and Richard A. Dixona aUniversity of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311428,…

Ana M. Laureano-Marín, Ángeles Aroca, et al. explore the role of persulfidation in the regulation of autophagy. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00766  by Cecilia Gotor, Ana M. Laureano-Marín, Ángeles Aroca Instituto de Bioquímica Vegetal y Fotosíntesis, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones…

Hüther et al. develop a new pipeline to extract phenotypic traits from plant pictures with minimal supervision from the user. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00318 By Patrick Hüther, Niklas Schandry, Katharina Jandrasits, Ilja Bezrukov and Claude Becker Background: To understand…

Liu et al. investigate the diverse roles of the salicylic acid receptors NPR1, NPR3 and NPR4 in local and long-range plant immunity. The Plant Cell (2020).  https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00499 By Yanan Liu1,2, Tongjun Sun2,3 and Yuelin Zhang2 (1 College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural…

Zhi Li, Andan Zhu, et al. compare inbred and hybrid lines to explore how daily changes in metabolic pathways affect hybrid vigor. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00320  Background: Heterosis or hybrid vigor refers to the superior growth or fitness in the hybrid progeny compared to one…

Liu et al., generate a novel collection of mutants impaired in PI3P biosynthesis and discovered new features and functions of this phosphoinositide in intracellular trafficking. The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00285 By Richard S. Marshall and Richard D. Vierstra, Washington University,…

Castillejo et al. describe how independent mutations in the transcription factor MYB10 drive natural variation in strawberry color. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00474  By Cristina Castillejo and Iraida Amaya Instituto Andaluz de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera…

Luo et al. demonstrate that ectopic expression of silky3, a novel transcriptional regulator, causes pleiotropic developmental defects in maize inflorescences.. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00043 By Haishan Luo, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Inflorescence…

Xiong et al. investigated the transcriptional regulation of PLT1 in Arabidopsis, which revolves around competitive and antagonistic binding of JANUS and GIF1 to IMPORTIN β4. The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00108 By Feng Xiong and Sha Li, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology,…

Liu et al. demonstrate how canonical tyrosine endocytic motifs control the internalization of plasma membrane proteins by the clathrin adaptor complex AP-2. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00384.   Background: In plants, plasma membrane (PM)-resident proteins are selectively…

Wang et al. demonstrate how rice alters the expression of a sodium transporter gene under salinity stress. The Plant Cell (2020). Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00301 By Jie Wang, Nan Nan, Ning Li, Yutong Liu, Tian-Jing Wang, Inhwan Hwang, Bao Liu and Zheng-Yi Xu Background: Excessive…

Wang et al. explore how plants increase Pi uptake and reduce nitrate uptake during Pi starvation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00361 By Xue Wang and Yi-Fang Chen State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University,…

Zandalinas et al. identify the plant tissues that mediate systemic reactive oxygen signaling in response to high-light stress in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00453 By Sara I Zandalinas and Ron Mittler University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA  Background: Plants constantly…

Ding 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…

Cheng 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…

Mother 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…

María 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,…

Du 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…

AuBuchon-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…

Liang 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…

Li 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…

Zhou 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…

In a systematic multi-lab study, Arora et al. apply a variety of proximity-dependent biotin labelling approaches using several different plant systems and bait proteins, to demonstrate its wide applicability for the plant community. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00235. Background: Protein-protein…

Yalin Liu, Handong Su, Jing Zhang, et al. explore centromere birth and death by inducing rearrangements via pollen irradiation in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00389 Background: The centromere is one of the most important components of chromosomes. Every normal chromosome has one…

Steinbeck et al. investigate in vivo NAD redox dynamics in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00241 By Janina Steinbeck and Markus Schwarzländer Background: All organisms rely on their cellular metabolism to live, develop, grow, and procreate. Metabolism provides the energy,…

Chen et al. uncover a strategy used by a DNA geminivirus to exploit the host machinery in order to inhibit methylation-mediated defense responses when establishing infection. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00249.  Background: Geminiviruses belong to one of the largest and most…

Iwatate et al. demonstrate that SNAP-tag technology can be used to label plant cell proteins. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00439 By Ryu J. Iwatatea,b, Akira Yoshinaria, Noriyoshi Yagia, Wolf B. Frommera,c, and Masayoshi Nakamuraa a Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM),…

López-Hernández et al. reveal that arabinogalactans function in calcium signaling from outside to inside the cell. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00027 Federico López Hernández and Paul Dupree University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge,…

Rodrigues et al. found that the source and sink identities of sugar beet shoots vs. taproots are switched upon vernalization (chilling) due to a cold-induced reversal of the phloem stream. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00072 By Cristina Martins Rodriguesa, Christina Müdsamb and Benjamin…

Liu et al. connect small RNA biogenesis and meiotic recombination by examining RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00213   By Changzhen Liu, Yi Shen and Zhukuan Cheng  Background: Meiosis is a specialized cell division that takes place in sexually…

Rich-Griffin et al. uncover cell type-specific gene networks that function in plant immunity in Arabidopsis roots. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00154   By Charlotte Rich-Griffin1, Ruth Eichmann1,2, Sascha Ott3,4,5 & Patrick Schäfer1,2  1School of Life Sciences,…

Zhu et al. discover that the COR27 protein interacts with the central regulators of light-mediated development COP1 and HY5 and plays a critical role in hypocotyl elongation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00192 By Wei Zhu (Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)…

Zhang et al. explore the mechanisms underlying elaborate petal development and specialized character formation in Nigella damascena. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00330 By Rui Zhang, Xuehao Fu, Caiyao Zhao, Jie Cheng, Hongyan Shan, and Hongzhi Kong Background: Petals can be simple or…

Larson et al. examine the interactions between subunits of the exocyst and SNARE complex and the effects of these interactions on trafficking, secretion, and growth. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00280   Emily R Larson1,3, Jitka Ortmannová2,4, Naomi A Donald1, Jonas Alvim1, Michael…

Li et al. discover a diurnal pattern in sucrose content in developing maize endosperm that relies on the action of an E3 ubiquitin ligase on the master regulator transcription factor Opaque2. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00352 By Chaobin Li, Zeyang Ma, Rentao Song, China Agricultural…

Raxwal et al. uncover the roles of the RNA helicase and ATPase UPF1 in regulating gene expression. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00244   By Vivek K. Raxwal and Karel Riha  CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic   Background: Gene expression, i.e., the…

Willems et al. establish that meristem organization and development rely on Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome-mediated breakdown of a cyclin.   Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00208 By Alex Willemsa,b and Lieven De Veyldera,b aDepartment of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics,…

Greer et al. explore the role of SEIPIN in packaging oils into lipid droplets. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00771 By Yingqi Cai, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Department of Biology, Upton, NY 11973 Kent D. Chapman, University of North Texas, BioDiscovery Institute, Denton, TX…

Zheng et al. demonstrate how monocot plants sense karrikin, a smoke-derived chemical. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00123 By J Zheng, K Hong, L Zeng, S Kang and G Xiong Background: Seedling emergence in rice depends mainly on mesocotyl elongation, which is precisely regulated by the…

Martin-Avila et al. use synthetic biology to improve photosynthesis in tobacco by swapping out the endogenous small subunits of Rubisco for one coming from potato, among other things. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00288 By Spencer Whitney, Elena Martin-Avila, Sally Buck, Timothy Rhodes,…

Guo et al. demonstrate how perceived developmental signals modulate cytokinin homeostasis to shape the rice inflorescence. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00351.  By Tao Guo, Zi-Qi Lu, Jun-Xiang Shan, Wang-Wei Ye, Nai-Qian Dong, Hong-Xuan Lin  Background: Rice is one of…

Gao et al. demonstrate that CK1 regulates plant cytorhabdovirus infections in both plants and insects. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00369   By Qiang Gao and Xian-Bing Wang, China Agricultural University  Background: Phosphorylation is a widespread post-translational modification…

McLoughlin et al. uncover the critical roles of autophagy in recycling amino acids and nitrogen-rich nucleotides, adjusting respiratory substrates, and the retention of assimilated nitrogen in maize during fixed-carbon starvation. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00226  Background:…

Oldenkott et al. use evolution to their advantage by testing whether independently evolved RNA editors can reciprocally correct the errors of organellar transcripts. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00311. By Bastian Oldenkott and Mareike Schallenberg-Rüdinger, IZMB, University…

Sun et al. found that Arabidopsis LUNAPARK, a protein evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes, is an E3 ligase that promotes the degradation of ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE3, an ER fusogen. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc. 18.00937 By Jiaqi Sun, Hugo Zheng, Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205…

Panda et al. use third-generation sequencing to examine the transcriptome of genomic regions that do not encode genes. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00115  By Kaushik Panda – Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and R Keith Slotkin – Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and University…

Gonzalez Solis et al. describe the metabolic, cellular, and physiological consequences of the complete loss of regulation of sphingolipid biosynthesis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00015  By Ariadna Gonzalez Solis and Edgar B. Cahoon  Background: Glycosphingolipids are molecules…

Wang et al. demonstrate that BRs play important roles in seedling development and survival during the initial emergence of seedlings from subterranean darkness into sunlight. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00057. By Lingyan Wang,Yanchen Tian, Wen Shi, Min Fan and Ming-Yi Bai,…

Waadt et al. use a suite of genetically encoded biosensors to monitor signaling compound concentration changes and how they overlap in time and space. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00892 By Rainer Waadt Background: To survive, plants need to sense the environment and adjust their growth…

Ganguly et al. establish that a transporter protein helps stabilize cell wall deposition sites. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00700 By Anindya Gangulya and Ram Dixit Department of Biology and Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University in St. Louis, MO 63130, USA a…

Brumm et al. investigate how the protein GNOM activates dimers of the small GTPase ARF1 and inserts them very close to each other during vesicle formation. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00240 By Sabine Brumm 1,2 and Gerd Jürgens 1, ZMBP, University of Tübingen (1), Sainsbury…

Kimura et al. illuminate a molecular mechanism to allow germinating seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana to adapt to dark and bright light conditions during hypocotyl phototropism.  Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00926 By Taro Kimura and Tatsuya Sakai; Graduate School of Science and Technology,…

Durian et al. searched for phosphorylation substrates of Arabidopsis CALCIUM DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE1 and found that it phosphorylates ORE1, a master regulator of senescence, demonstrating a link between calcium signaling and cell death.  Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00810 By Guido…

Han et al. uncover regulatory DNA landscapes in root, stem, and leaf tissues of multiple grasses. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00716   By Kai Wang and Jinlei Han Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University  Background: Low temperature is a major environmental stress that affects…

Tian et al. identify the factors mediating localization of specific mRNAs in developing rice endosperm cells. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00111  by Li Tian and Thomas W. Okita  Background: Localization of mRNAs is a universal mechanism to efficiently drive protein targeting in eukaryotes…

Abt et al. found that Arabidopsis SS5, a protein homologous to typical starch-synthesizing enzymes, is itself enzymatically inactive, but rather has an important role in the starch granule initiation process. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00946 By Melanie R. Abt and Samuel C. Zeeman, Institute…

Angkawijaya et al. investigate diacylglycerol kinase function in Arabidopsis phospholipid signaling and metabolism. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00251 By Artik Elisa Angkawijaya, Van C. Nguyen, Farrel Gunawan, and Yuki Nakamura, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia…

Jores et al. adapt STARR-seq for identifying enhancers in tobacco leaves. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00155 By Tobias Joresa, Jackson Tonniesa,b, Michael W Dorritya, Josh T Cuperusa, Stanley Fieldsa,c and Christine Queitscha a Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington,…

Baggs et al. look for key immune genes bases on their presence/absence patterns in different plant species. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00903 by Erin Baggs, University of California, Berkeley, USA Ruby O’Grady, The John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK…

Rolletschek et al. examine the role of cellular plasticity in oil-protein balancing. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00879 By Hardy Rolletschek and Ljudmilla Borisjuk Leibniz Inst Plant Genet & Crop Plant Res (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany Background: Seeds of some crops like…

Flütsch et al. examine how starch degradation and light-regulated membrane transport control stomatal opening kinetics. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00802 By Sabrina Flütsch and Diana Santelia Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Background: Stomatal…

Yan et al. discovered that MYB30, an R2R3-MYB family transcription factor, is a negative regulator of Arabidopsis photomorphogenic development and promotes PIF4 and PIF5 accumulation under prolonged red light irradiation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00645 By Yan Yan and Jigang Li, China…

Descriptive paragraph. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00140 By Bing Wang and Qian Xu, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Background: Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived plant hormones that control many aspects of plant development, such…

Lunin et al. describe a structural and biochemical analysis of the enzyme XOAT1, responsible for the acetylation of the cell wall component xylan, with potential applications in cell wall modification for better biomass valorization. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00028 By Vivek…

Garcia et al. discover a plant-specific component of TRAPP membrane trafficking complexes with important roles in plant development. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00044.  By Veder Garcia and Zhi-Yong Wang Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA  Background:…

Ge et al explore the function of a transcription factor that functions upstream of a master regulator of tracheary element differentiation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00689 By Shating Ge1, Juan Xu2, and Shuqun Zhang3 1 College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University,…

Huang et al. identify a new cellulose synthase inhibitor. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00202.  By Lei Huang and Chunhua Zhang  Background: Cellulose is a polymer of b-1,4-D-glucose that serves as an essential source of everyday objects such as cloth, paper, and biofuel. Plant cellulose…

Chan, Panzeri, et al. show how a receptor-like kinase regulates stomatal immunity by phosphorylating an anion channel that mediates closure of stomata. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00578  By Ching Chana,b and Laurent Zimmerlia aDepartment of Life Science and Institute of Plant Biology,…