Plant Science Research Weekly

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

RECENT SUMMARIES

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Review. Multicellular systems biology: Applying network science to plant organ patterning and function (Mol Plant)

I really enjoyed this review article, which very successfully introduces the reader to the why and how of how to apply network science to plant science. Bassel never veers off into abstraction or “math-speak”, but instead roots his explanations in familiar biological or ordinary terms. As an example,…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Review: Towards a sustainable bio-based economy through plant synthetic biology ($) (Plant Sci)

Plant synthetic biology is heating up, as ideas and methods initially developed for single-celled organisms…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Review: Synthetic switches and regulatory circuits in plants (Plant Physiol)

Switches and circuits are key parts of a synthetic biologist’s toolbox. Andres et al. provide historical…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Review: Applications of protein engineering and directed evolution in plant research (Plant Physiol)

Half of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Frances Arnold “for the directed evolution…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Review: The plant immune system in heterogeneous environments (Curr Opin Plant Bio)

Nobori and Tsuda review how the plant immune system is able to function in heterogeneous environments…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Structure and activation of a plant NLR resistosome ($) (Science)

The 2017 Chemistry Nobel Prize went to the developers of cryo-electron microscopy, and this method is…

April 19, 2019/by Mary Williams

Detection and stealth at the wall: glycosidases and glycans in flagellin peptide recognition ($) (Science)

Bacterial flagellin is a well-known microbial pattern that triggers plant immune responses. Flagellin…

April 19, 2019/by Muthamilarasan Mehanathan

A high‐throughput transient expression system for rice (Plant Cell Environ)

Transient expression platforms allow short-term expression of candidate genes in the host plant, without…

April 19, 2019/by Nathan Scinto-Madonich

EXPANSIN A1-mediated radial swelling of pericycle cells positions anticlinal cell divisions during lateral root initiation ($) (PNAS)

Lateral root development helps plants explore the soil for mineral nutrients and water, and there are…

April 12, 2019/by Francesca Resentini

Review: Connecting the pieces: uncovering the molecular basis for long-distance communication through plant grafting (New Phytol)

Grafting is an ancient vegetative asexual plant propagation technique. It is characterized by the…

April 12, 2019/by Zhikai Liang

Diverse metabolites across maize GWAS panel for dissecting maize genetic architecture (Plant Cell)

Plants can produce metabolites that are directly involved in various biological pathways. Identifying…

April 12, 2019/by Saima Shahid

Dramatic changes in repeat element content and gene family sizes underlie the high-altitude adaptation of rock-cress (PNAS)

The ability to grow on the ‘roof of the world’ - the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, makes Crucihimalaya himalaica…

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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.

Ideas? Sign-in to Plantae, then you can connect with Mary and send her a direct message.

Plant Science Research Weekly

RECENT SUMMARIES

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Mary Williams, Editor

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