Tag: Auxin

Gravity is perceived by amyloplast sedimentation in gravity-sensing cells, a process relying on the relocalization of LAZY proteins from the amyloplast to the plasma membrane. Increasing evidence has emerged on this new aspect of gravity sensing, and in this recent publication, Yoshihara and Spalding…

Plant pathogens often succeed not by brute force, but by subtly rewiring host developmental programs. Ustilago maydis, the basidiomycete fungus responsible for maize common smut, exemplifies this strategy by inducing tumor-like galls on aerial organs of its host. Although the U. maydis genome encodes…

Root angle is the direction and spatial orientation of roots in relation to gravity, which aids nutrient uptake and anchorage. Root angle is shaped by gravity perception, asymmetric auxin distribution, and differential growth across root zones. While auxin response factors (ARFs) are known to regulate…

Plants are renowned for their remarkable ability to regenerate tissues and organs. Two typical regeneration pathways—de novo root regeneration (DNRR) and wound-induced callus (WIC) formation—enable recovery from injury but involve entirely different cell fate outcomes. These processes also form the…

In the dark (e.g., under soil), hypocotyls elongate, but when exposed to light, they stop elongation. The biosynthesis of the plant hormone auxin is implicated in the elongation of hypocotyls in the dark. In the light, however, auxin action is inhibited, thereby limiting hypocotyl elongation. The E3…

This exciting paper by Chen, Qi, Zou et al. adds a new twist to the story of auxin. Until this work, the current model for how auxin mediates transcriptional changes has been that auxin (IAA) binds to TIR1, a ubiquitin ligase, when interacts with and causes the degradation of Aux/IAA repressor proteins,…

Auxin is an extremely important plant hormone that must be precisely controlled. Auxin-like herbicides have been developed that are often more stable than the natural auxins, thus their application can damage the plant. Here, Schulz, Ung et al. investigated how these auxin herbicides move in plant tissues.…

Adventitious roots, i.e. those derived from non-root tissues, are key elements of the plastic architecture of root systems. Auxins and cytokinins are known to induce and inhibit (respectively) adventitious root formation, though the exact mechanism remains to be fully explained. Here, Damodaran and Strader…