Recent Posts

It takes two to tango: two GNOMs have to activate ARF1 together

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…

How Do Plants Adapt to Dark and Bright Light Conditions?

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,…

Calcium signaling in senescence

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…

Cold-responsive Regulatory DNA Landscapes and Regulatory Networks in Grasses

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…

Glutelin mRNAs are transported on endosomes

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…

Secret Talents: STARCH SYNTHASE 5—Not an Enzyme, but Very Active!

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…

Lipid kinases in signaling and metabolism

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…

An optimized high-throughput assay for the identification of enhancers in plant genomes

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,…

Comparing genomes of diverse plants reveals new candidate genetic components for plant disease resistance

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…