Recent Posts

KonMari for Maize - keeping genomes clutter-free during selfing ($) (Nature Plants)

Just like years of hoarding can end up cluttering our homes, years of self-fertilization or selfing can also accumulate harmful mutations in plant genomes. By removing such harmful alleles from the genome (i.e., purging) plants can reduce the mutational load and prevent fitness loss due to selfing. Roessler…

Genome sequence of Striga asiatica provides insight into the evolution of plant parasitism (Curr Biol)

The parasitic plant Striga asiatica is both a serious agricultural pest and a fascinating plant oddity. Yoshida et al. report its genome sequence, which provides a glimpse into how a plant becomes an obligate parasite. Three key findings are the tremendous expansion of receptors for strigolactones (host-released…

Mapping the landscape of C4 gene regulation

Burgess et al characterize genome-wide patterns of transcription factor binding to provide insight into the architecture associated with C4 photosynthesis gene expression. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00078 By Steven James Burgess (University of Cambridge, UK) and Ivan A. Reyna-Llorens…

Review: Revolutions in agriculture chart a course for targeted breeding of old and new crops ($) (Science)

A few traits are associated with domestication across many species. Eshed and Lippman provide an overview of the changes to plant stature and flowering time that have been repeatedly selected by our ancestors. By comparing the molecular underpinnings of these traits across crops, it becomes clear that…

A reference genome for pea provides insight into legume genome evolution (Nature Genetics)

Pea (Pisum sativum) is an important protein-rich crop that introduces most students to the principles of Mendelian genetics, but it has lagged behind in the genomics era due to its much larger genome size than newer model legumes. Kreplak et al.  have now released an annotated chromosome-level reference…

Selaginella moellendorffii expression atlas provides insight into the origin and evolution of plant vasculature (bioRxiv)

Land plants (embryophytes) evolved from freshwater algal predecessors over 450 million years ago and have since separated into the morphologically diverse lineages observed today. A key feature in the expansion of plant life on land was the development of the plant vasculature and complex rooting systems.…

Evolution of the KANADI gene family and leaf development in lycophytes and ferns ($) (Plants)

Plants constantly grow post embryonically through shoot and root apical meristems. Multiple transcriptional factors and other regulators fine-tune such growth. Leaf growth from the apical meristem is well studied in the model plant Arabidopsis where two main transcription factors, namely HD-ZIP III (Class…

Genome-wide transcription factor binding in leaves from C3 and C4 grasses (Plant Cell)

Most plants use the C3 photosynthesis pathway, however many have evolved strategies like C4 photosynthesis that accumulate CO2 around RuBisCO. Burgess et al. performed DNAseI-SEQ in three C4 plants: S. bicolor, Z. mays and S. italica, and one C3: B. dystachion, to offer an insight into the cis-element…

Review. Fellowship of the rings: a saga of strigolactones and other small signals (New Phytol)

Strigolactones are small signal molecules synthesized by plants. In the past few years, many studies highlighting the importance of this emerging phytohormone have been published. Strigolactones play important roles as a hormonal signals in plants and for mycorrhizal fungi interactions, they are present…