Recent Posts

Genomes losing balance – what is the consequence?

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…

Genomic imbalance: an extra chromosome arm can induce severe phenotypic and gene expression changes

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…

Unbalanced subgenome regulation in wheat

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…

Size no longer matters: Cloning algal genes just became easier

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…

How algae adjust light harvesting efficiency to the prevailing supply of CO2

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,…

Why does telomere length vary in plants?

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…

Molecular Mechanism for the CO-FT Module

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…

The secret arsenal of phytopathogenic fungi

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…

A New Tool for Visualizing Protein-Protein Interactions

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…