Selaginella moellendorffii expression atlas provides insight into the origin and evolution of plant vasculature (bioRxiv)
Plant Science Research WeeklyLand 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 ($) (Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants constantly grow post embryonically through shoot and root apical meristems. Multiple transcriptional factors and other regulators fine-tune such growth. Leaf growth from the apical meristem is well studied in the model plant Arabidopsis where two main transcription factors, namely HD-ZIP III (Class…
Genome-wide transcription factor binding in leaves from C3 and C4 grasses (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMost plants use the C3 photosynthesis pathway, however many have evolved strategies like C4 photosynthesis that accumulate CO2 around RuBisCO. Burgess et al. performed DNAseI-SEQ in three C4 plants: S. bicolor, Z. mays and S. italica, and one C3: B. dystachion, to offer an insight into the cis-element…
Review. Fellowship of the rings: a saga of strigolactones and other small signals (New Phytol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyStrigolactones are small signal molecules synthesized by plants. In the past few years, many studies highlighting the importance of this emerging phytohormone have been published. Strigolactones play important roles as a hormonal signals in plants and for mycorrhizal fungi interactions, they are present…
Natural selection on the Arabidopsis thaliana genome in present and future climates (Nature)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe rapidly changing climate will have profound effects on Earth’s ecosystems, but as yet it is difficult to determine exactly what these effects will be. Exposito-Alonso et al. have set up a large experiment to try to identify how a population’s genetic diversity will enable it to survive a future…
Jasmonate-related MYC transcription factors are functionally conserved in Marchantia polymorpha ($) (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…