Plant farming by ants ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research0 Comments
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Farming mutualisms, in which an organism benefits from another to promote growth, have evolved in many lineages. In particular, symbioses between plants and ants are mostly defensive mutualisms. In this paper, Chomicki and Renner describe the obligate mutualism observed between epiphytes in the genus…
Bacteria lower surface tension in pitcher plant traps, trapping prey more efficiently ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchPitcher plants are carnivorous, similar to Venus fly traps. However, pitcher plants have fluid-filled modified leaves instead of the movable lobes found on Venus fly traps. The pitcher plant’s modified leaf contains bacteria-laden water that traps small insects, but how are the insects trapped…
Gibberellin biosynthesis in bacteria: Still more convergent evolution ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchGibberellin hormones were famously identified as the product of Gibberella fujikuroi, a fungal pathogen that stimulates host cell elongation, and then subsequently recognized as a hormone produced by plants as well. Fungi and plants produce gibberellins from distinct biochemical pathways, in an example…
Review: Intracellular innate immune surveillance devices in plants and animals ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchCells recognize invaders through both cell-surface receptors and intracellular receptors, the latter of which can recognize the invader directly or indirectly, for example through its effects on host proteins. Intracellular surveillance proteins in animals and plants share a core domain, the nucleotide…
Bacteria establish an aqueous living space in plants crucial for virulence ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research
Although it is widely accepted that high humidity has a strong influence on plant diseases of the phyllosphere (the above-ground portions of the plant), the molecular basis is not understood. Xin et al. report that an important step in bacterial infection of the phyllosphere is a pathogen-driven…
Stimulation of sugar import for antibacterial defense ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research
When villagers see the marauding hordes approaching, they secure their food sources. Similarly, when the cell-surface FLS2 receptor detects a bacterial pathogen, it (through its co-receptor BAK1) phosphorylates and stimulates the activity of a cell-surface sugar transporter (STP13), leading to the…
Review: Advances on plant-pathogen interactions from molecular through systems biology perspectives ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research
In an interesting and accessible review, Peyraud et al. provide a big-picture view of how systems biology can be used to address plant-pathogen interactions. They describe the core interactions scaling from molecular to ecosystem / environment, and describe the different types of models that can…
Review: Applications of plant volatile-mediated signaling
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research
Smell is one of the many senses that insects use to locate the plants that they use as food sources. Plants have evolved ways to exploit insects’ sense of smell, for example by producing volatile compounds that attract pollinators. Pickett and Khan review plant volatile–mediated signals in terms…
Review: Programmed Cell Death in Development and Disease
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research
Programmed cell death (PCD) is an active process that occurs as part of normal development and also contributes to defense against pathogens. While there are many similarities in developmental PCD (dPCD) and pathogen-triggered PCD (pPCD), there are also differences. Huysmans et al. review and contrast…