Plant Science Research Weekly

A weekly plant science research roundup curated and summarized by our Plantae Editors and Fellows

RECENT SUMMARIES

March 5, 2021/by Mary Williams

Review: Perspectives on improving light distribution and light use efficiency in crop canopies (Plant Physiol)

Light comes largely from above, and plants have evolved strategies to efficiently capture this light even when competing with other potentially shading plants. However, at a field-level, such competition may (and does) prevent plants from collectively maximizing light use efficiency, hence yield. In…

March 5, 2021/by Michela Osnato

Genome assembly and population genomic analysis provide insights into the evolution of modern sweet corn (Nature Comms)

In maize (Zea mays), loss of function mutations in genes involved in starch biosynthesis characterize…

March 5, 2021/by Arif Ashraf

Enhancing grain-yield-related traits by CRISPR-Cas9 promoter editing of maize CLE genes (Nature Plants)

During domestication of maize, one of the favorable traits was meristem size. Understanding the genetic…

March 5, 2021/by Jesus Leon

Molecular mechanism of cytokinin-activated cell division in Arabidopsis (Science)

Proper organogenesis depends on the precise control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Cytokinin…

March 5, 2021/by Mary Williams

Mechanism and function of root circumnutation (PNAS)

This is an engrossing paper. The authors start off with a simple mutant screen for abnormal root growth…

March 5, 2021/by Marlo Hall

Phytoplasma effector physically interacts with host proteasome to promote bacterial growth

As a way to circumnavigate the plant innate immune system, phytopathogens evolved effector molecules…

February 26, 2021/by Mary Williams

Review: Plant evolution driven by interactions with symbiotic and pathogenic microbes (Science)

One of the great questions in plant science has been, “How do plants recognize friend from foe?”…

February 26, 2021/by Mary Williams

CO2 diffusion in tobacco: a link between mesophyll conductance and leaf anatomy (Interface Focus)

Three key factors affect a plant’s ability to fix carbon: enzymatic activity of Rubisco, stomatal conductance,…

February 26, 2021/by Min May Wong

Multi-omics analysis reveals interplay between BR and TORC signaling (bioRxiv)

Plants have evolved well-coordinated crosstalk between different signaling pathways to respond and adapt…

February 26, 2021/by Michela Osnato

Differential biosynthesis and cellular permeability explain longitudinal gibberellin gradients in growing roots (PNAS)

Gibberellin (GA) controls multiple developmental processes throughout the plant life cycle, from seed…

February 26, 2021/by Humberto Herrera-Ubaldo

Measuring the physical-chemical effects of osmotic stress in living cells (bioRxiv)

The osmotic state of a cell is affected by internal (metabolite content) and external (water availability)…

February 26, 2021/by Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

Evolution and ecology of seed internal morphology in relation to germination characteristics in Amaranthaceae ($) (Ann. Bot.)

Seed germination, a critical life stage in a plant's life cycle, can be affected by internal seed morphology.…

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Each week, the Plantae editors select new plant science research articles to highlight. The short summaries describe the question addressed and key findings, with links to the article. Suggestions? Join/Sign-in to the community to participate in the discussion.

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Mary Williams, Editor

As Plantae Editor, Mary works tirelessly to ensure that our team is creating interesting and valuable content for the community. Mary pursued a traditional academic path (BS in Biochemistry at Berkeley, Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology at Rockefeller, Postdoc in Plant Science at Berkeley); her research focused on transcriptional regulation, root development, and phosphoinositide signaling.

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