Recent Posts

Perspective: Periodic lateral root priming: What makes it tick

/
The very earliest step in lateral root formation is “priming”, a still-elusive process that establishes a subset of cells as competent to form lateral roots. In this Perspective, ten Tusscher and Laskowski review  evidence for priming, which involves oscillations of auxin level or responsiveness…

Generation of shape complexity through tissue conflict resolution

/
It’s easy to visualize how a sheet of cells grows, but how does a sheet of cells form a complex, three-dimensional structure? Rebocho et al. describe how differential growth rates between cell layers and across the growing surface can produce a variety of complex shapes. As a model for shape complexity,…

Review: Reshaping plant biology: Qualitative and quantitative descriptors for plant morphology

/
As automated phenotyping platforms are becoming prevalent, scientists increasingly need to be familiar with tools used to describe and model form and growth. Balduzzi et al. provide an overview of the key concepts used in quantifying and describing plant morphology. They point to the need for a common…

Orchidstra 2.0 – A transcriptomics resource for the orchid family ($)

/
There are more than 25,000 species in the Orchidaceae, the orchid family. Chao et al. have updated and restructured the Orchidstra database, which now houses more than half-a million protein-coding genes from 18 species (12 genera and five subfamilies). Access and explore it at http://orchidstra2.abrc.sinica.edu.tw.…

MarpoDB: An open registry for Marchantia polymorpha genetic parts

/
Marchantia polymorpha (a liverwort) is a living relative of the earliest terrestrial plants. As it has a simple genome and morphology and is readily transformable, it provides a good platform for synthetic biology (see https://www.openplant.org/marchantia/). Delmans et al. have designed an “engineering-oriented”…

Origins of the regular vegetation patterns described as Namibian fairy circles ($)

/
For decades, scientists have debated the origin of the strange patterns of grass growth known as fairy circles in the Namibian desert. Photographs show a strikingly regular pattern circles of bare ground surrounded by a ring of grass. One hypothesis is that these patterns form due to the action of insects;…

Response of US crops to elevated temperatures

/
Climate change could affect agricultural productivity by increasing the number of days with temperatures above 30°C that staple crops like soybean, maize and wheat will experience during a given growing season. Schauberger et al. used nine statistical models to assess future threats to US crops. They…

Network-based integration of systems genetics data reveals lignocellulosic metabolic pathways

/
Eucalypts are fast-growing trees increasingly exploited for pulp, paper, bioenergy and other wood-based products. Using genetics tools and a network-based data integration (NBDI) approach, Mizrachi et al. explore a segregating Eucalyptus hybrid population for genes and pathways underlying biomass / bioenergy…

The origin of floral identity quartets

/
Where do flowers come from? Their sudden appearance and rapid radiation was described as an “abominable mystery” by Charles Darwin. Ruelens et al. examine the genetic toolkit that underpins reproductive organ formation in gymnosperms to uncover the origins of flowers (which they pragmatically describe…