The secret toolkit of Mother of Thousands
Plant Science Research WeeklyKalenchoe plants, sometimes called “Mother of Thousands” are instantly recognizable by the abundance of little plantlets that form on their leaf margins. Kalenchoe daigremontiana is probably the most recognizable species, in which plantlet formation is constitutive, but other species in this genus…
A distal SNP downstream to SHOOT APICAL MERISTEM ENLARGER1 regulates its expression to promote branch and silique numbers in rapeseed
Plant Science Research WeeklyRapeseed (Brassica napus) is an important crop providing vegetable oil. Yield is positively correlated with increased numbers of seeds, siliques, and branches. In a previous study, a rapeseed germplasm having normal branch and silique numbers was crossed with another germplasm having higher branch and…
Rapid shifts in the patterns of gene expression shapes flowering plant diversity
Plant Science Research WeeklyFlowering plants are the most widespread group of plants, occupying almost every environment on our planet. They play important roles in maintaining the earth’s biodiversity and have a remarkably high rate of diversification. What’s always puzzled scientists is how they became so incredibly diverse.…
Reprogramming plant development: How Ustilago maydis hijacks auxin signaling to build galls
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlant pathogens often succeed not by brute force, but by subtly rewiring host developmental programs. Ustilago maydis, the basidiomycete fungus responsible for maize common smut, exemplifies this strategy by inducing tumor-like galls on aerial organs of its host. Although the U. maydis genome encodes…
Bypassing hormones: Engineering pluripotency through a minimal transcription factor module
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants possess the remarkable ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissues, a trait that underpins both their survival in nature and their utility in modern biotechnology. This intrinsic regenerative capacity forms the basis of tissue culture systems used for species preservation, breeding, and crop…
Consistency is key: Shaping a sepal
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe development of the 3D shape of an is complex, and the contributions of underlying pathways are difficult to untangle. Battu et al. decouple the organ size and organ shape by conducting a thorough quantification of organ geometry in 3D together with Principle Component Analysis (PCA), and using the…
Stochastic gene expression, an ordinary part of multicellular life
Plant Science Research WeeklyStochasticity is an important feature of genes, allowing for variability in their abundance and activity prior to ‘fine-tuning’ at later periods of development. Kong et al. describe this feature in auxin responsive genes, attributing their ‘stochastic’- or inherently random expression – as…
When CLV walked in fields of gold
Plant Science Research WeeklyA recent study by Vardanega et al. focuses on the development of the unique barley inflorescence architecture and unveils key molecular controls underlying meristematic determinacy. The CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-related (CLE) – CLAVATA1 (CLV1) interaction has been tied to meristem size and…
Expanding the resolution limits of conventional microscopy in whole plant tissues
Plant Science Research WeeklyHow can we precisely image plant tissues in super-resolution when approaching the optical limits of conventional microscopes? One solution lies in expansion microscopy, a technique that embeds tissue samples in an expandable hydrogel that proportionally increases the distances between structures, allowing…