Recent Posts

Sometimes “jammed paper” can be a good thing: functional interactions between pectins and cellulose in the plant cell wall

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…

Useless no more: infertile spikelets contribute to grain yield in a major food crop and its relatives

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…

The sweet smell of sucrose transport during rose petal abscission

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…

Together at last: The UPR and HSR

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…

A Tip-Localized Phospholipid Is Key for Polar Growth of Pollen Tubes

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…

A Toolkit for Proximity-Dependent Biotinylation in Plants

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…

How do Chromosomes Evolve via Unstable Intermediates?

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…

Plant Metabolic Redox Dynamics–Live!

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,…

A Geminivirus Exploits the Host Machinery to Inhibit Methylation-mediated Defense Responses

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…