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Nanoscale movements of cellulose microfibrils in primary cell walls ($)

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Cell walls are complex mixtures of cellulose microfibrils, proteins and other materials. Their mechanical properties can be measured and modeled, but it is not always simple to translate these measurements to changes at the molecular level. Zhang et al. used atomic force microscopy to provide an unprecedented…

Single nucleus analysis of Arabidopsis seeds reveals new cell types and imprinting dynamics (bioRxiv)

Arabidopsis seeds consist of various tissue like seed coat, embryo, and endosperm. The endosperm provides the nutrient supplies to the growing embryo and has three domains namely, micropylar (surrounding embryo), chalazal (opposite end of the seed), and peripheral (in between micropylar and chalazal)…

In the Cold of the Night: how COR27 Regulates HY5 Activity and Integrates Light and Circadian Signals

Zhu et al. discover that the COR27 protein interacts with the central regulators of light-mediated development COP1 and HY5 and plays a critical role in hypocotyl elongation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00192 By Wei Zhu (Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)…

SPLICEd in the Seeds: Integration of ABA and Light Signaling in Arabidopsis

Dhineshkumar Thiruppathi 1,2  ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2018-3356 Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, Missouri 63132 1Author for contact: dthiruppathi@danforthcenter.org 2Lead author Plant development and adjustment to the environment require not only tight regulation of core…

Structural basis of salicylic acid perception by Arabidopsis NPR proteins (Nature) ($)

Salicylic acid (SA) is a critical hormone in plant-pathogen responses. The main receptors of this hormonal signal are a small family of NPR proteins (NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES). Although NPR1 is a positive regulator of defense signaling, NPR3 and NPR4 serve as negative regulators; they…

Dwarfed no longer: how one mutant can help the other

Willems et al. establish that meristem organization and development rely on Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome-mediated breakdown of a cyclin.   Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00208 By Alex Willemsa,b and Lieven De Veyldera,b aDepartment of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics,…

From one cell to many: Morphogenetic field of lateral root founder cells in Arabidopsis is built by gradual recruitment (PNAS)

Because plant cells don’t usually move within an organ, it is possible to trace the developmental program cell by cell, through a technique called clonal analysis. If a single cell can be labeled in some heritable way, then all its progeny will also carry this label. Torres-Martínez et al. randomly…

Membrane tethering proteins cooperate in lipid droplet formation

Greer et al. explore the role of SEIPIN in packaging oils into lipid droplets. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00771 By Yingqi Cai, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Department of Biology, Upton, NY 11973 Kent D. Chapman, University of North Texas, BioDiscovery Institute, Denton, TX…

Correcting organellar spelling with RNA editors

Oldenkott et al. use evolution to their advantage by testing whether independently evolved RNA editors can reciprocally correct the errors of organellar transcripts. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00311. By Bastian Oldenkott and Mareike Schallenberg-Rüdinger, IZMB, University…

Trafficking of VHA-a isoforms in Arabidopsis thaliana (bioRxiv)

Vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase) is a highly conserved enzyme but functionally diverse among eukaryotic cells. V-ATPases couple the energy released by ATP hydrolysis to pump protons across membranes of many cell types. In Arabidopsis, the V-ATPases containing different isoforms of V-ATPase catalytic…