Getting It Done On Time: How Maize Orders DNA Replication
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellWear et al. examine replication programs in plants. The Plant Cell 2017. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00037
By William Thompson, Emily Wear, and Linda Hanley-Bowdoin
DNA replication is fundamental to all life, as it is the process by which genetic material is duplicated so it can be passed from…
Review: Mechanosensitive ion channels ($)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogIon channels are proteins that regulate the passage of ions across membranes. Ion channels are regulated in diverse ways – some are calcium-regulated, some are pH sensitive, some are charge sensitive, and some are sensitive to mechanical stimulation i.e., membrane tension. Basu and Haswell review mechanosensitive…
Three-dimensional analysis of chloroplast structures associated with virus infection
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogIt’s not uncommon for viruses to manipulate the host’s membrane system to create protected structures for viral replication. These viral replication complexes (VRCs) “are thought to shield viruses from host defense systems such as RNA silencing, and … provide a microenvironment for enriching…
Detection of nucleic acid–protein interactions in leaves using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy ($)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogFRET-FLIM (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer – Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) is a method that allows detection of interactions between two fluorescently-tagged molecules. Camborde and Jauneau et al. describe the use of FRET-FLIM to identify interactions in leaves between GFP-tagged…
Review: Plant signaling and metabolic pathways enabling arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis ($)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogThe relationship between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi has persisted for 400 million years, but we are still learning about the biochemistry of this interaction. MacLean, Bravo and Harrison review how plants attract, recognize, and accommodate their fungal partners, from pre-contact through…
Establishment of photosynthesis is controlled by two distinct regulatory phases ($)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogChloroplast biogenesis and leaf development are closely linked processes that have been difficult to tease apart, until recently. Dubreuil et al. used a pluripotent inducible cell line from Arabidopsis, basically plant stem cells, which develop chloroplasts on demand when exposed to light. Using this…
VPS9a activates the Rab5 GTPase ARA7 to confer distinct pre- and post-invasive plant innate immunity ($)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogFungal invasion exploits plant cell membrane trafficking components. For instance, plant immunity against fungi such as Vlumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Bgh) is defined through two stages: pre- and post-invasive immunity. Nielsen et al. found that Vacuolar Protein Sorting 9a (VPS9a) acts as a guanine…
The ARM domain of ARMADILLO-REPEAT KINESIS 1 is not required for microtubule catastrophe but can negatively regulate NIMA-RELATED KINASE 6 in Arabidopsis thaliana
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogARMADILLO-REPEAT KINESIN 1 (ARK1) promotes microtubule disassembly and NIMA-RELATED KINASE 6 (NEK6) organizes microtubule arrays. Previous studies showed that NEK6 interacts with ARK1 through Armadillo-repeat (ARM) cargo domain. Eng et al. looked at two constructs: one which lacks ARM (ARK1▲ARM-GFP)…
Zygotic genome activation occurs shortly after fertilization in maize
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A plant’s life begins with the fusion of haploid egg and sperm cells to produce a diploid zygote. Many of the processes that control early development are under the control of the maternal genome, but at some point there is a shift towards zygotic control. Chen et al. investigated when this shift occurs…