The first structure of plant actin filaments
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellRen et al. examine the structure of maize pollen actin.
Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00973
Zhanhong Ren (Ph.D. candidate), Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, Center for Biological Science and Technology, College of Life Sciences, Beijing…
Mesostigma viride genome and transcriptome provide insights into the origin and evolution of Streptophyta (Adv. Sci)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMulticellularity has arisen independently many times across the eukaryotic tree of life (e.g., in plants, animals and fungi). Comparisons of green algae with land plants is likely to identify the genetic toolkit of multicellularity as well as the colonization of terrestrial habitats. Here, Liang et al.…
Review: Interplay between turgor pressure and plasmodesmata during development (J Exp Bot)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlasmodesmata, small cytoplasmic channels connecting adjacent cells, allow small molecules to move and redistribute information and resources. Plasmodesmatal aperture is highly regulated, which is crucial to development and defense. Hernández-Hernández et al. review the contribution of turgor pressure…
A sensor kinase controls turgor-driven plant infection by the rice blast fungus ($) (Nature)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMagnaporthe oryzae, the causal organism of blast disease in rice and wheat, is the most devasting pathogen in rice production. During infection, it develops a germ tube that forms an infection structure called the appressorium. Through septin-mediated reorganization of the cytoskeleton, a high amount…
Optimal levels of PLETHORA2 for root regeneration capacity (Cell Reports)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants can regenerate organs after damage, or even regenerate a whole plant. The regeneration efficiency is different across the organism. In this study, Durgaprasad et al. studied the factors that determine regeneration competence across Arabidopsis roots. They focussed on PLETHORA2 (PLT2), a gene involved…
Chemical screening pipeline for identification of specific plant autophagy modulators ($) (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAutophagy is a recycling pathway that supports numerous processes, from nutrient remobilization to abiotic and biotic stress responses. Dauphinee, Cardoso et al. have developed a multi-step pathway that allows them to screen for inhibitors of autophagy in order to build a repertoire of new tools. For…
The QKY-SYP121 complex controls long-distance florigen movement ($) (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn Arabidopsis thaliana, changes in day-length (photoperiod) activate the expression and transport of phloem-mobile florigen (FT, FLOWERING LOCUS T) to the shoot apical meristem to trigger the transition to flowering. While the role of FT as a long-distance signal is well-established, the underlying…
Halotropism requires phospholipase Dζ1‐mediated modulation of cellular polarity of auxin transport carriers ($) (Plant Cell Environ)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPhospholipase D (PLD) enzymes cleave phosopholipds to release phosphatidic acid (PA), which is a signal that affects membrane dynamics. Previous studies have indicated a role for PLD and PA in root responses to osmotic and salt stress, but as the Arabidopsis genome has 12 genes encoding PLD questions…
A Rubisco-binding protein is required for normal pyrenoid number and starch sheath morphology in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn most eukaryotic algae, carbon fixation takes place in an organelle within an organelle, the pyrenoid inside of the chloroplast. Besides being functionally very important, pyrenoids are interesting because they are what is called a phase-separated structure, that is they are not membrane enclosed;…