Recent Posts

EXPANSIN A1-mediated radial swelling of pericycle cells positions anticlinal cell divisions during lateral root initiation ($) (PNAS)

Lateral root development helps plants explore the soil for mineral nutrients and water, and there are environmental and internal cues that precede the formation of lateral root primordia. In Arabidopsis thaliana, some of these internal cues include increased auxin concentrations around lateral root founder…

How to pack chromatin in nuclear space? A plant-specific chromatin regulator associates with component of the nuclear periphery

https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00663 Mikulski et al. find that the PWO chromatin regulator interacts with a structural component of the nuclear periphery.  By Pawel Mikulski, Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK Background: DNA is wrapped around histone proteins forming…

Review: Linking autophagy to abiotic and biotic stress responses (Trends Plant Sci)($)

Autophagy means “self-eating” in ancient Greek. It’s a process in which cellular components are delivered to lytic vacuoles to be reused. This recycling process promotes abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. In this review, Signorelli et al. highlight in detail plant autophagy in abiotic and biotic…

Ubiquitin-dependent chloroplast-associated protein degradation in plants (Science) ($)

The fidelity of the chloroplast proteome is a major factor in the functional efficiency of photosynthesis. A RING-type ubiquitin E3 ligase, SP1, is an outer envelope localized protein in the chloroplast which ubiquitinates the protein import translocases (TOC proteins) and thus target them to 26S mediated…

Cell type specific transcriptional reprogramming during Ustilago maydis and maize interaction (bioRxiv)

Ustilago maydis is a model biotrophic fungus which causes smut disesase in maize, characterized by tumorous symptoms on all aerial parts. Tumor formation in leaves of the host is a result of massive reprogramming by modulation of two processes, hypertrophy (cell expansion) and hyperplasia (cell division).…

Cuticle is found in the root! The root cap cuticle protects young roots from abiotic stress and helps lateral root outgrowth (Cell) ($)

To adapt to life on land, plants developed lipid-derived modifications on the surface of aerial organs (shoot). The cuticle forms a multi-layered structure of lipid components at the outermost surface of the organ to protect plant cells from environment stresses. Roots, as the organ specialized for the…

Glycomic analysis of plant endomembrane vesicles (Plant Cell)

Endomembrane vesicles carry not only secreted proteins but also carbohydrates for cell wall synthesis, yet relatively less is know about this latter process. Wilkop et al. describe a method to investigate the glycan contents of specific subsets of vesicles, to begin to understand how these cargos are…

Membrane systems at the host-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus interface (Nature Plants) ($)

In the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal interaction with plants, the fungal partner promotes nutrient acquisition in exchange for some sugar and fatty acids from host plants. This exchange occurs at the symbiotic interface in the plant cortical cells where fungal hyphae form special branched structure called…

Chloroplasts navigate towards the pathogen interface to counteract Phytophthora infection (bioRxiv)

Chloroplasts have diverse roles in plant defense, including contributing to the production of defense compounds. Toufexi, Duggan et al. show new data indicating the dynamic relocation of chloroplasts to the contact point of the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Infection also causes an increase…