Recent Posts

Unraveling Ammonium Transporter-Mediated Nitrogen Transfer in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

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…

Live and let die: Unexpected BOTRYTIS SENSITIVE1 gene activation by a T-DNA

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,…

A tetratricopeptide repeat protein promotes heading in rice

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…

To repress or to activate: that is what defines leaf shape

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…

Identifying thousands of RNA genes in Brassicaceae

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…

Fungal Proteins for Invading Multiple Plants

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,…

Knockout of PagDA1 in poplar enhances cambial activity and wood formation

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…

Phosphorylation of OsTGA5 by CKII switches rice defenses on against blast fungus

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…

Xanthomonas inhibits host innate immunity by disrupting exocyst-dependent exocytosis

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,…