Plant eyes in the dark: How a blue-light photoreceptor senses and functions without light
Plant Science Research Weekly, Upcoming Plantae PresentsLight is both a source of energy for photosynthesis and a key environmental signal that regulates plant growth. Seedlings grown in darkness exhibit elongated hypocotyls and shorter roots, while light promotes shorter hypocotyls and longer roots. Cryptochromes (CRYs), as blue-light receptors, mediate…
Cambium secrets for vascular stem cell precision and adaptability
Plant Science Research Weekly, Upcoming Plantae PresentsThe vascular cambium, a bifacial stem cell niche, generates xylem on one side and phloem on the other, driving wood formation—the largest reservoir of terrestrial biomass. This developmental system must balance producing two distinct cell types while maintaining a reservoir of stem cells. Key questions…
How do plants export brassinosteroids?
Plant Science Research WeeklyIf you’ve ever wondered how plants grow, survive, and adapt to their dynamic environment, the secret lies in their vast array of chemical messengers, also called phytohormones. Brassinosteroids are important hormones that are crucial for plant development and defense against environmental stresses.…
Targeting of plasmodesmal proteins requires unconventional signals
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellGabriel Robles Luna, Jung-Youn Lee and colleagues discover that proteins carry targeting signals that send them to plasmodesmata, but these signals show no sequence conservation.
https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad152
Gabriel Robles Luna1, Jiefu Li3, Xu Wang1, Li Liao2,3, and Jung-Youn Lee1,2,4* …
Review: Rapid auxin signaling: Unknowns old and new
Plant Science Research WeeklyYou might think you’ve read enough about auxin, but I recommend you take this opportunity to read one more article, this very interesting and enjoyable review by Fielder and Friml. Auxin has figured prominently in both the classical and molecular eras of plant biology. However, the exciting findings…
Control of guard cell aperture by protein kinase CIPK23
Plant Science Research WeeklyGuard cells are responsible for the opening and closing of stomata through changes in osmotic content and turgor pressure. These changes occur in response to activation or inactivation of ion transport proteins that are in turn regulated by protein kinase and phosphatase networks. The kinase network…