Recent Posts

The genetic basis of nitrogen responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Ella Katz1 and Dan J. Kliebenstein1,2. 1Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA 2DynaMo Center of Excellence, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Background: Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development. Nitrogen availability and form…

A mechanism that precisely guides pollen tube growth

Yang et al. investigate the role of the phospholipid flippase ALA3 in pollen tube guidance in Arabidopsis.    Background: In flowering plants, pollen tube guidance regulates the rapid growth and timely targeting of the pollen tube to the ovule in the pistil during sexual reproduction, when signaling…

Tick tock: TIME FOR COFFEE regulates far-red light inhibited hypocotyl growth

Wang et al. explore how the circadian clock regulates phytochrome A abundance and activity to mediate far-red light inhibited hypocotyl growth. Background: To enhance plant adaptability to natural conditions, the circadian clock is synchronized and entrained by light via photoreceptors. Intriguingly,…

Cauliflower mosaic virus uses Arabidopsis RNA processing body components to its advantage

Hoffmann et al. discover how Arabidopsis RNA processing body components are co-opted by Cauliflower mosaic virus to evade translational repression. By Gesa Hoffmann and Anders Hafrén, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences  Background: Viruses are unique in their ability to reuse and recycle…

A new link between light and brassinosteroid signaling

Cao et al. demonstrate that the photomorphogenic repressors BBX28 and BBX29 enhance brassinosteroid signaling to promote hypocotyl elongation and cotyledon closure.  By Jing Cao and Fang Lin  Background: Light signals and brassinosteroids (BRs) are external stimuli and internal cues, respectively,…

A spliceophilin helps Arabidopsis adapt to heat stress

Jo et al. uncover the role of a spliceosome component in removing retained introns in Arabidopsis in response to heat stress https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac084  Background: Alternative splicing plays a key role in abiotic stress responses in plants, especially responses to heat stress. The spliceosome…

Lower oil content leads to wrinkled, immature seeds

Huang et al. elucidate the relationship between fatty acid biosynthesis and seed maturation in Arabidopsis. By Ruihua Huang and Shengchun Zhang  Background: Storage substances such as starch, protein, and oil in crop seeds are major sources of food for humans. These substances mainly accumulate…

Short-term memory of warm daytime in Arabidopsis

Murcia et al. discover how plants store information about daytime temperatures to control stem growth during the night. By Germán Murcia, Cristina Nieto, Romina Sellaro, Salomé Prat, and Jorge J. Casal Background: Plants increase their stature in response to warm temperatures by enhancing stem…

An N-terminally truncated NLR is functional

Wu et al. uncover the unexpected role of the truncated NLR NRG1C in negatively regulating plant immunity by antagonizing its full-length NRG1 neighbors. Background: Plants utilize sophisticated innate immune systems to fight against pathogens. Their genomes encode abundant immune receptors to detect…