Jasmonate-related MYC transcription factors are functionally conserved in Marchantia polymorpha ($) (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn recent years, studies in the model bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha have provided insights on how the Jasmonic Acid (JA) pathway works in early diverging land plants, starting from its biosynthesis (Yamamoto et al., 2015; Koeduka et al., 2015), followed by perception (Monte et al, 2018) and co-repressor…
Large-effect flowering time mutations reveal conditionally adaptive paths through fitness landscapes in Arabidopsis thaliana (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyWe have a tendency to think of genes carrying mutations as having a negative impact on fitness, which raises the question of why they might persist in a population. Taylor et al. tested whether large-effect mutations that affect flowering time might not be detrimental in all conditions, by comparing…
MYC Transcription Factors are Functionally Conserved between Bryophytes and Eudicots
Research, Research Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellPeñuelas et al. uncover the surprising functional conservation of jasmonate-related MYC transcription factors in liverwort. Plant Cell (2019) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00974
Background: Jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) is a lipid-derived plant hormone that regulates immunity, growth, and development…
Evolution of fast root gravitropism in seed plants (Nature Comms)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants’ invasion of land was accompanied by the evolution of a root system which in seed plants includes a fast gravitropic response. Gravitropism occurs through three distinct steps – (1) gravity perception by dense starch-filled amyloplasts, (2) transmission of gravitropic signal by auxin through…
Divergent gene expression networks underlie morphological diversity of abscission zones in grasses ($)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGrasses scatter their seeds through the process of cell abscission. Losing this trait, in a process known as loss of shattering, was an early step in the domestication of cereals. Interestingly, the abscission zone (AZ) is positionally and morphologically different in different cereals. In order to understand…
A KNOX-cytokinin regulatory module predates the origin of indeterminacy (Curr. Biol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn vascular plants, new organs (e.g., leaves) are produced continuously from the shoot meristem, a process coined indeterminacy. The sister lineage of vascular plants, bryophytes, develop differently, ending with the formation of a determinate spore-bearing shoot (sporangium). The genetic underpinning…
Review: The evolution of betalain biosynthesis in Caryophyllales (New Phytol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn the flowering plant order Caryophyllales (which includes beets), betalains substitute for anthocyanins, which are the most common form of pigmentation across the land plant phylogeny. Also found in the Basidiomycota fungal lineage, betalains are tyrosine-derived pigments that comprise of two groups…
Algal-fungal symbiosis may account for the origin of basal land plant species (eLIFE)
Plant Science Research WeeklyLight serves as the source of energy as well as an information signal for photosynthetic plants. During evolution, plants have acquired the ability to monitor environmental light radiation and adjust their developmental patterns to optimally utilize light energy for photosynthesis. However how the early-diverging…
Perspective: Grazing animals drove domestication of grain crops (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyHere’s an interesting question: Without human intervention, why would one find a dense stand of plants, growing in rather nutrient-rich soil? Perhaps you recognized that these conditions suggest seed dispersal by endozoochory, which involves passage through an animal's digestive tract. Spengler and…