Recent Posts

What We're Reading: August 3rd

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.…

What We're Reading: July 27th

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,…

What We're Reading: July 20th

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…

What We're Reading: July 13th

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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…

What We're Reading: July 6th

Review: Plasmodesmata- form and function ($) Plasmodesmata are cell-cell junctions forming cytosolic bridges between neighbouring plant cells that provide an essential avenue for intercellular communication during a multitude of developmental and stress-related responses throughout the plant kingdom.…

What We're Reading: June 29th

Auxin methylation is required for differential growth in Arabidopsis Plants need to navigate and adjust their growth according to the environmental clues, such as light or gravity. Asymmetric distribution of auxin is necessary for organ bending. Abbas and colleagues show that conversion of indole-3-acetic…

What We're Reading: June 21

This week we have some guest contributions from undergraduate student interns working with Professor Maria Julissa Ek-Ramos from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. Julissa helped the students select and read the papers, and worked with them on writing and editing the summaries, with additional editing…

What We're Reading: June 15th Edition

Plant Vitamins and Cofactors Special Issue This week’s “What We’re Reading” summarizes recent findings on plant vitamin and cofactor biosynthesis and their role in plant defense responses. This selection includes two reviews and nine research papers. The first review focuses on biofortification…

What We're Reading: June 8th

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Guest editor: Danielle Roodt Prinsloo Danielle is a PhD candidate in the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has been a Plantae Fellow since September 2017, having joined after attending her first ASPB Plant Biology meeting. Danielle is a plant…