Tag: Development

Roots grow into new regions of the soil in their constant quest for water and dissolved minerals. This crucial task is made possible by the root meristem and stem cell niche, where neatly arranged stem cells quickly divide beneath a protective root cap. Stem cells give rise to transit amplifying cells,…

In plants, the balance between stem cell renewal and loss is carefully maintained by intricate regulatory networks. Although the root and shoot apical meristems can in principle continue to grow and self-renew indefinitely, the floral meristem is terminated once flower formation is completed. The precise…

Cell. The tomato plant has been of keen interest to mankind for centuries, and its domestication led to delicious fruits much larger than their wild, bitter-tasting ancestors. Domestication of tomato had many intended outcomes (increased fruit size, less bitter taste), and several unintended consequences.…

Plant Cell. Plants sense competitors through phytochromes. Phytochromes detect the reflection of far-red light from nearby plants, resulting in a reduced red:far-red (R:FR) ratio. The reduced ratio causes shade avoidance responses which modify shoot and root system architecture. This paper by van Gelderen…

Ann. Botany. Melatonin was first identified in plants in 1995. Since then, it has been found to be involved in many aspects of plant response to biotic and abiotic stress. Chen et al. investigate the effect of melatonin during lateral root (LR) development in alfalfa and Arabidopsis seedlings. Exogenous…

Godfroy et al investigate basal cell fate determination in the brown alga Ectocarpus https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00440 BACKGROUND: Brown algae are multicellular photosynthetic marine organisms living on rocky shores across the globe and representing one of the most developmentally complex groups…

Robinson et al. develop a method to measure mechanical properties of plant tissue with cellular resolution https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00753 Background: Plant growth is controlled by the extensibility of the cell wall and the turgor pressure inside. The spatial regulation of these properties…

Plant Cell. The yield potential of crops is strongly influenced by floral architecture, a trait determined by the fate of stem cells in meristematic tissue.  Meristems themselves are influenced by several factors, including phytohormones such as brassinosteroids (BRs) and gibberellic acid (GA).  BRs…