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;…
Auxin-induced nanoclustering of membrane signaling complexes underlies cell polarity establishment (bioRxiv)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMembranes have long been considered somewhat inert materials in a cell’s organization, but it is becoming clear that lipid composition and distribution contributes actively to cell shape and dynamics. Pan et al. examined the contribution of lipids to the shape of epidermal pavement cells in Arabidopsis…
ABA receptor abundance, thus ABA sensitivity, is regulated by ALIX ($) (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyTo balance water loss and CO2 assimilation, stomatal aperture is tightly controlled in accordance with environmental changes, mediated by ABA signaling. Here, García-León et al. found that ABA sensitivity and stomatal aperture are regulated by the trafficking and vacuolar degradation of ABA receptors…
Cytoskeleton dynamics necessary for early events of lateral root initiation (Curr. Biol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklySymmetric cell division leads to proliferation, and asymmetric cell division establishes differential growth. Formation of lateral roots (LRs) depends on asymmetric division of initially symmetric founder cells. Barro et al. studied the mechanism of asymmetric radial expansion by analyzing cytoskeleton…