Changing Fates: Brassinosteroids Underlying Yield Potential in Millet
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellYang et al. reveal a role for brassinosteroids in spikelet and floral meristem fate in Setaria viridis. The Plant Cell (2017) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00816
By Jiani Yang and Andrea L. Eveland
Background: Grass inflorescences show extensive morphological diversity between species, due…
Roots Respond to Aboveground Far-Red Light
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a Nutshellvan Gelderen and Kang et al. investigate the root response to Far-Red light detection in the shoot. The Plant Cell (2017). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00771
By Kasper van Gelderen and Ronald Pierik
Background: Sunlight is the energy source for plants, however, when plants grow closely together…
The Phytohormone Ethylene and Transcriptional Repression
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellZhang et al. investigate histone deacetylase in the ethylene response. Plant Cell (2017). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00671
By Fan Zhang
Background: Ethylene is the only gaseous hormone in plants, and is a key hormone controlling plant growth and resistance to stress. Epigenetic mechanisms are…
When Mini Protein Makes Big Fruit
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellBollier et al. investigate locule number control in Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato. The Plant Cell 2018 https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00653.
By N. Bollier and M. Hernould
Background: During flower development, production of a defined number of floral organs is due to the determinate fate of floral…
Recruiter of Chromatin Regulators
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellHohenstatt et al. describe a new recruiter of PcG chromatin regulators affecting flowering and meristem identity in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00117
By Pawel Mikulski
1) BACKGROUND: Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are key regulatory proteins involved in maintaining the ability (and…
Knock-down of rice microRNA166 confers drought resistance through changes in leaf morphology (Plant Physiol.)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogUnder drought conditions, moderate leaf rolling improves yield in rice by reducing water loss and allowing efficient photosynthesis (leaf upright position). In STTM166 transgenic rice plants, miRNA166 is knocked down (STTM means "short tandem target mimic") and the plants constitutively exhibit the…
Review. Use it or average it: Stochasticity in plant development (Curr. Opin. Plant Biol.)
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogIn this interesting review, Roeder describes the importance of stochasticity in plant development. She starts off with an explanation: “A process that can be analyzed statistically but not predicted precisely is stochastic. Stochasticity does not imply the absence of regulation, just that the regulation…
Auxin and ROP GTPase signaling of polar nuclear migration in root epidermal hair cells (Plant Physiology)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogThe nucleus is a dynamic organelle whose positioning and movement is highly coordinated throughout plant development and differs between cell types. Upon the initiation and subsequent elongation of root hairs, the nucleus moves from a central position to the tip of the growing root hair. Nakamura et…
Nutrient modulation of Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem dynamics (PNAS)
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogProc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is essential for the adaptation of aerial plant tissue architecture to changes in the environment. This paper by Landrein and colleagues connects changes in the plant environment (soil type, soil fertility, nitrate concentration) to changes…