Review: Epidermis-derived secretory structures I’d never thought about the fact that there are two distinct types of epidermal-derived secretory structures, both mainly involved in stress responses and defense. Glandular trichomes (GTs) are well known structures that protrude outwards, but they…

Founders review: Forty years of research into hormone mimics, inhibitors, and agrochemicals This review, by Tadao Asami, looks back at his career as a scientist who designs and synthesizes small, physiologically active molecules with applications in research and agriculture.  It’s an impressive…

Commentary: Fund food research now Recently, a team of agricultural economists (Pardey et al.) released a powerful commentary about the state of agricultural research funding, which they say is insufficient. They observe that, fueled in part by the changing climate, food prices are rising everywhere,…

Review: A complete guide to metabolomics This review by Rai et al., part of a focus collection on metabolism, comprehensively covers the role of metabolomics in plant biology: its history, its tools and techniques, and its impact. As the authors point out, metabolomics bridge the gap between genotype…

Review.When the sun becomes too hot: Non-photochemical quenching in plants Plant photosynthetic machinery can easily be overwhelmed by strong sunlight. Therefore, plants developed a set of processes called Non-Photochemical Quenching, a safety valve that dissipates excess light energy as heat. In…

Opinion: Genomic studies hint at what makes a tree a tree This is such an engaging and though-provoking review article. I’d love to ask a group of students to think about what makes a tree a tree, including such questions as: How do we define trees? Do woody plants share a single origin? How many…

Review: Beautiful mutations This is an interesting and engaging review article, written by a team from Bayer US Crop Science, on how mutations (broadly defined) have benefited plant domestication and breeding. While it briefly covers the basics, such as population genetics, it really focuses on demystifying…

Review: How to evaluate the climate-mitigation potential of plant agricultural interventions Agriculture contributes substantially to climate change. Many agricultural interventions have been suggested as opportunities to lower this impact, through CO2 sequestration or through reducing emissions of…