Recent Posts

Pollen surface replenished: a tapetal flavonoid transporter

Grunewald et al. identify a flavonoid transporter required for the deposition of flavonol-b-1,2-linked diglycosides to the outer pollen wall in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00801 By Stephan Grunewald and Thomas Vogt, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry,…

Tools to unravel the mystery of why some tomatoes are hairier than others

Galdon-Armero et al. present an image resource that can be used to identify natural variation in leaf epidermal development in tomato. The Plant Cell (2020). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00127 By Javier Galdon-Armero and Cathie Martin, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK Background: Just like our…

RNA polymerase II transcription: cleave to elongate

Antosz et al. show that the ability of RNA polymerase II to cleave transcripts is required for proper transcription and plant growth. Wojciech Antosz and Klaus Grasser, University of Regensburg https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00891   Background: In plants as in other eukaryotes, nuclear…

Phosphorus sensing in Chlamydomonas by TORC1 subunit LST8

Couso et al. developed a TOR kinase assay for Chlamydomonas and show how subunit LST8 senses phosphorus availability and modulates cell growth. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00179 By I. Couso, M.E. Pérez-Pérez, M.M. Ford, E. Martínez-Force, L.M. Hicks, J.G. Umen, and J.L. Crespo. Background:…

The Arabidopsis GPT1 transporter is Essential in Both Plastids and Peroxisomes

Baune et al. explore the roles of a metabolite transporter in two different locations in a single cell. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00959  By Marie-Christin Baune, Hannes Lansing, Antje von Schaewen University of Münster, Germany   Background: The oxidative pentose-phosphate…

Regulation of Carotenoid Pigmentation in Flowers

Stanley et al. Identify a protein in the model plant monkeyflower (Mimulus) required for chromoplast development and carotenoid biosynthesis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00755  By Lauren Stanley and Yao-Wu Yuan, University of Connecticut  Background: Carotenoids are yellow, orange,…

SHORTROOT coordinates phloem development via two pathways

Kim et al. examine how plants coordinate sieve element and companion cell development. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00455 By Hyoujin Kim1 and Ji-Young Lee1,2, School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Science, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826,…

To Catch Crop Genes in Batch

Liu et al. demonstrate an integration of massive genetic mapping and high-throughput targeted mutagenesis to accelerate functional gene identification in maize. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00934 By Hai-Jun Liu & Jianbing Yan, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement,…

HY5 Activates Rather Than Represses its Direct Targets, Including its Negative Regulator SPA1

Burko et al. carry out detailed phenotypic and molecular analyses of constitutive activator and repressor HY5 fusion proteins to identify its direct targets. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00772 Background: Plants are highly responsive to environmental factors, and differences in light,…