This week's edition is guest edited by Arif Ashraf, a PhD student at Iwate University, Japan and Graduate Student Ambassador of ASPB. His research interest is understanding the hormonal interplay in primary root development of Arabidopsis thaliana. He blogs about plant science (http://www.aribidopsis.com/).…

Review: X-ray fluorescence microscopy imaging Kopittke et al. review the use of synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy as a tool to quantify and localize diverse elements in plants. The authors describe how this method can be used to study nutrients in plants and human foods, as well as metal…

Perspective: The multiplanetary future of plant synthetic biology The exploration of space is one of the most inspiring areas of scientific research and a major driver of technological innovation. One of the major factors limiting human expansion trough space is the immensely high cost of resupplying…

Genome assemblies of maize lines Mo17 and W22: Extensive intraspecific variation, and resource for functional biology The maize genome is largely composed of transposable elements, which is one reason maize has been such a powerful genetic model. However, these transposons also mean that there is…

Review: MYBs drive novel consumer traits in fruits and vegetables The MYB transcription factors, specifically the R2R3 family of MYBs, are closely associated with the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. This easy-to-score trait made MYBs some of the earliest characterized plant transcription factors.…

News: CRISPR gene-edited plants subject to same restrictions as GMO plants On 25 July, the European Court of Justice ruled that “Organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs and are, in principle, subject to the obligations laid down by the GMO Directive,” and “The Court of Justice takes the view,…

This week we have a short edition as the editor and many of the contributors have been busy at the Plant Biology meeting in Montréal, Canada. This was a hugely successful conference by all accounts. You can get a glimpse of it from the level of activity on Twitter - see #PlantBio18. Besides great scientific…

Review. Genetically encoded biosensors in plants: Pathways to discovery ($) Genetically-encoded biosensors are produced from genes, and provide a specific readout (usually fluorescence or luminescence) of the amount and distribution of a compund of interest (the analyte). We’ve all see data obtained…