
Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Zhangjian Hu
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesZhangjian Hu, featured first author of A Plant Phytosulfokine Peptide Initiates Auxin-Dependent Immunity through Cytosolic Ca2+ Signaling in Tomato
Current Position: Graduate student in the Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, China
Education: B.S. (2012) in Applied Biological Science…

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Huan Zhang
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesHuan Zhang, featured first author of A Plant Phytosulfokine Peptide Initiates Auxin-Dependent Immunity through Cytosolic Ca2+ Signaling in Tomato
Current Position: Graduate student in the Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, China.
Education: Bachelor's degree (2013) from the College…

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Suayib Üstün
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesSuayib Üstün, featured first author of Bacteria exploit autophagy for proteasome degradation and enhanced virulence in plants
Current Position: FEBS (Federation of European Biochemical Societies) long-term postdoctoral fellow at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden
Education:…

Interview with Benjamin Firester, winner of the Regeneron Science Talent Search, 2018
Blog, Careers, Careers - BlogFrom Facebook to disease control, starting in New York via the UK to the Volcani centre in Israel and back again, my interview with Benjy Firester, winner of the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2018, felt like a whistlestop global tour.
This bright senior student at Hunter College High School in New…

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: André N. Müller
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: Author ProfilesAndré N. Müller, featured first author of The Biotrophic Development of Ustilago maydis Studied by RNA-Seq Analysis
Current Position: Project Manager, GSK Vaccines GmbH, Marburg
Education: PhD in Molecular Phytopathology, Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial…

Crosstalk between PTGS and TGS pathways in natural antiviral immunity and disease recovery (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyViruses are significant pathogens of plants, and we know that plants defend themselves in part through the production of small RNAs (sRNAs) that suppress the virus. The viral pathogens in turn can produce viral supressors of RNA silencing (VSR). Kørner et al. investigated the role of gene silencing…

Transcriptome landscape of a bacterial pathogen under plant immunity (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMany studies have examined how plants respond transcriptionally to pathogen attack. This study investigates how a bacterial pathogen [Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pto)] alters its transcriptome very early in the infection process. To accomplish this, Nobori et al. developed two methods to…

Gene Expression Study Reveals Distinct Virulence Modules of Corn Smut Fungus
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellLanver et al. investigate fungal gene expression during corn infection by Ustilago maydis. The Plant Cell (2018) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00764
By Daniel Lanver and Regine Kahmann
Background: The corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a model organism for studying how fungi can colonize living…

Nodule Symbiosis: Cleavage of Bacterial Signals Affects Nodule Shape
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCai et al. investigate the function of a Medicago truncatula enzyme (MtNFH1) that cleaves nodulation signals of symbiotic Sinorhizobium meliloti bacteria. Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00420.
By Jie Cai, Zhi-Ping Xie and Christian Staehelin
Background: Nitrogen-fixing rhizobia…