Tag: Auxin

Deng and colleagues show how the microtubule-associated protein WDL4 contributes to apical hook opening to protect seedligns from damage by soil particles  By Jia Deng, Xiangfeng Wang, Ziqiang Liu, and Tonglin Mao, China Agricultural University Background: When seedlings emerge through the soil…

Plasmodesmata, the tubular connections that form continua between neighboring cells in plants, play vital roles in long-distance transport of ions, RNA, proteins, and small molecules. While it is known that plasmodesmata are permeable to phytohormones, including auxin, the physiological significance…

Zhang, Zhu, Shen, Ji et al. discover a way to enhance nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield in rice. The Plant Cell (2020) https://bit.ly/3s3bLb3  Background: Nitrogen (N), an essential element for crop growth, is provided to plants by external fertilizer application. However, the excessive use…

Auxin shapes the plant body and drives the formation of lateral organs such as roots and ovules. In the current model, AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORs (ARFs) are transcription factors that regulate plant growth by activating signaling in an auxin dose-dependent manner, regulated by Aux/IAA proteins. Here,…

Photosynthesis, in addition to generating ‘food’ for plants, is also known to control root growth, although the mechanism has been unknown. Duan and co-workers identified CYCLOPHILIN38 (CYP38) as necessary for photosynthesis-mediated lateral root (LR) emergence. The chloroplast-localized CYP38 is…

Upon germination in dark, plants adopt a strategy known as skotomorphogenesis, or etiolation, to protect the shoot apical meristem and cotyledon from damage while the seedling moves through the soil. The seedlings de-etiolate when they perceive light and the apical hook and cotyledon open. Wang et…

Author: David S. Favero1 (ORCID: 0000-0002-6879-0323) [email protected] Affiliation: 1RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045 Japan  Main text: As autotrophs, plants must maintain photosynthesis to thrive. In order for this to happen, a plant’s…

A network of transcriptional repressors modulates auxin responses Untangling developmental programs and their methods of regulation are key to understanding the lives of all organisms. In plants, auxin is a hormone essential for plant growth and development. The class A AUSIN RESPONSE FACTOR…