Pea border cell maturation and release involve complex cell wall structural dynamics
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research0 Comments
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Border cells form at the root tip and are shed during growth, protecting the sensitive root apex from damage as it pushes through the soil. Mravec et al. investigated the cell wall chemistry, carbohydrate distributioion and expression of cell-wall modifying genes to determine the mechanism by which border…
Selective autophagy of BES1 mediated by DSK2 balances plant growth and survival
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchBrassinosteroid (BR) signaling promotes growth and development by regulating gene expression through the BES1 and BZR1 transcription factors. Nolan et al. show how plants balance growth and stress tolerance by cross-talk between the BR and autophagy pathways. Under environmental stresses, BES1 is targeted…
The preprophase band of microtubules controls the robustness of division orientation in plants ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchEvery student of plant cell biology learns that the future plane of cell division is marked very early in mitosis by the preprophase band (PPB), a band of microtubules that forms around the periphery of the cell. Prior experimental studies have suggested that the PPB is necessary for proper placement…
LOCALIZER: Subcellular localization prediction of both plant and effector proteins in the plant cell
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchProteins carry sequence tags that are read by cellular machineries that deliver the proteins to their proper destinations, which include the nucleus, mitochondria and plastid. Many pathogen effector proteins have acquired such targeting tags too, but for these can sometimes be cryptic to bioinformatics…
Review: The unfolded protein response in development, defense, and stress
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchThe unfolded protein response (UPR) is a eukaryote-wide signalling pathway in which unfolded proteins in the ER (often caused by abiotic stress) initiate signals transduced to the nucleus that lead to the expression of stress-response genes. Bao and Howell review the UPR in plants. They describe two…
Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate–binding protein AtPH1 controls the localization of the metal transporter NRAMP1
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchNRAMPs are transporters of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn). The nramp3nramp4 double mutant arrests shortly after germination, due to its inability to remobilize Fe from seed vacuolar stores. Agorio et al. used a genetic approach to identify nns1, a partial suppressor of the growth-arrest phenotype. They…
Light sheet fluorescence microscopy quantifies calcium oscillations in root hairs
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchLight sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) is a powerful imaging tool; unlike confocal microscopy, which illuminates a sample one small volume at a time, LSFM illuminates a complete optical section at a time, greatly speeding up the imaging process and lowering phototoxic effects. Candeo et al. use close-to-physiological…
Review: Bound by fate: Reactive oxygen species in receptor-like kinase signaling
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchBoth receptor-like protein kinase (RLK) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling have been shown to affect a plethora of plant processes, including growth, metabolism, development, and environmental responses. To date, previous reviews have focused on mechanisms that govern either ROS or RLK signaling;…
Update: Ion transport at the vacuole during stomatal movement
Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: Updates, Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchGas exchange and transpiration are regulated by the stomatal aperture, which is itself regulated by the changes in volume of the guard cells that overlay the stomatal pore. When triggered to open, solutes such as K+ and Cl– enter the guard cell through ion transporters, followed osmotically by water;…