Category: WWR Full Post

Review. Message in a Bubble: Shuttling small RNAs and proteins between cells and interacting organisms using extracellular vesicles Small RNAs have big effects and can serve to shut down or silence gene expression. Recently, studies have found that small RNAs can contribute to plant defense beyond…

Review: Functional morphology of plants - a key to biomimetic applications Humans have derived inspiration from innumerable corners of the natural world. Plants of diverse forms have inspired many “biomimetics,” or technical products derived from biological models. Speck and Speck review how plant-based…

Focus Issue: Focus on the Biology of Plant Genomes The Plant Cell has published a Focus Issue on the Biology of Plant Genomes. This Focus Issue includes reviews and research articles that highlight some of the most important recent advances in plant genomics and foreshadow future discoveries. Although…

Review. Under siege: virus control in plant meristems and progeny Perhaps, when our lives have been turned upside down by a human pathogenic virus, it’s easy to overlook the fact that plants too suffer from viral infections; but of course, they do. (And of course, famously, viruses were first discovered…

Review: Recent discoveries show novel sensors and regulation of reactive oxygen species Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are produced as metabolic byproducts and are vital participants in development and stress responses. However, ROS can be damaging, and are subcellularly localized to mitigate toxicity.…

Review: Ageing beautifully: can the benefits of seed priming be separated from a reduced lifespan trade-off? Seed priming is a family of presowing techniques that control water uptake in seeds, so they are dehydrated once metabolic activities have restarted but before the end of germination. Primed…

Review: CRISPR screens in plants: Approaches, guidelines, and future prospects We don’t need to remind you of the tremendous positive impact that CRISPR-based technologies have had on the life sciences through enabling any gene to be edited precisely. Here, Gaillochet et al. provide an up-to-date…

Update: Lateral root formation and nutrients: nitrogen in the spotlight We marvel at the ability of starfish to regenerate an arm, or a lizard a new tail, but even more impressive than these feats is the ability of a plant root system to create lateral roots when and where they are needed. This root…