What We’re Reading This Week Articles

Systemic acquired resistance is a form of long-distance immunity employed by plants to protect distal uninfected tissues upon localized pathogen attack. Over the past two decades, a number of putative long-distance signals have been described as regulators of systemic immunity including the lysine catabolite pipecolic acid (Pip). Two recent studies expand on this knowledge (Chen […]

Drought stress drastically decreases crop productivity. Some root-associated bacteria have been shown to decrease the negative effects of drought stress on plants, but the role of drought in the development of the root microbiome has not been studied. Xu and colleagues use root metabolomics and 16S rRNA amplicon and metatranscriptome sequencing to elucidate the impact […]

Plastic plant growth serves them well, as it ensures efficient exploration of the environment. A plant can direct the growth of its roots towards the water, but the mechanisms behind hydrotropism are still to be fully understood. Miao et al. performed a screen of 30 Arabidopsis accessions for altered root hydrotropic responses. The accessions were […]

Sensing sugar is important, especially if you are a plant, as it helps you to decide whether to invest it in new tissues, or rather store it for later. Low levels of glucose promote seedling growth, while high concentrations repress the development. Peng et al. discovered that brassinosteroid signaling is playing a crucial role in […]

Potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca2+) ions are important for stomatal function in seed plants,  however little is known about the contributions of these ions in the stomata of bryophytes and early-branching vascular plants. Voss et al. focus on how fern stomata regulate ion transport. Injection of K+ into guard cells (GC) activated outward ion channels, […]

Gender inequality has been a much-discussed topic in recent years, and many studies on gender inequality relating to employment, business success, and opportunities for education have recently been published. Academia is no different, and gender inequality is still a major concern in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) fields. Although many agree that […]