Root branching is not induced by auxins in Selaginella moellendorffii (Front Plant Sci)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAuxin is crucial for root development across angiosperms. All the auxin signal transduction pathway components are conserved in land plants, but their role is still not completely clear in early diverged lineages. Here, Fang et al. present a comprehensive analysis of exogenous auxin addition and polar…
De novo origins of multicellularity in response to predation (Sci Reports)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMulticellularity has evolved independently many times in eukaryotes (e.g. land plants, fungi, animals). Predation is one driver that is hypothesised to lead to this evolution from unicellular ancestors. Here, using evolution experiments, Herron et al. demonstrate that the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas…
Multiple transcriptional factors control stomata development in rice (New Phytol) ($)
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn the model plant Arabidopsis, stomatal development occurs in a scattered pattern with that avoids direct contact between them. In rice and other monocots, the stomata are distributed in a uniformly oriented manner. Such unique patterning and morphology of stomata intrigued Wu et al. to examine if the…
Pseudogenes in Plants: Their Associations with Long Noncoding RNAs and MicroRNAs
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellXie et al. applied a multifaceted approach to study plant pseudogenes, combining RNA-seq, comparative genomics, and molecular biology. They conclude that rapid rewiring of psuedogene transcriptional regulatory regions is a major mechanism driving the origin of novel regulatory modules. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00601
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Review: Evolutionary and ecological insights from herbicide resistant weeds (New Phytol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyWeeds represent a problem for the economy due to their easy resistance of pesticides, but they are also a model for adaptation, ecology and evolution. In this review Baucom focusses on three areas: the genetic basis of adaptation, evolutionary constraints, and experimental evolution. Weed resistance…
An aberrant protein phosphatase 2C confers abscisic acid tolerance and drives high transpiration during drought conditions in a parasitic plant, Striga ($) (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyStriga hermonthica is a parasitic plant which infects major crops in arid environments. The rate of transpiration in Striga is higher than that of the host plant, thus maintaining a water potential gradient from the host to the Striga plant. Until recently, the exact mechanism has been poorly understood.…
Evolutionary origins of pseudogenes and association with regulatory sequences (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyProtein-coding genes have undergone frameshifts, in-frame stop codons, and truncation to produce pseudogenes (Ψs), which had been thought to be non-functional. Recently, Ψs have been shown to play regulatory roles in gene expression by acting as a source of small interfering RNAs or sequestering microRNAs.…
Metabolism gene prediction using diversiform molecular features (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAdvances in sequencing technologies enable scientists to obtain molecular features of genes in high-dimensionality. Features of individual gene like expression, methylation, histone modification, evolutionary signals and sequence itself provide high resolution for distinguishing annotated genes. In plant…
Understanding leaf shape development and diversity in Brassicaceae (New Phytol) ($)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMany economically important crops are in the Brassicaceae family, such as cabbage, mustard, and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Recently, the systematics of Brassicaceae has assigned most of the species to 52 monophyletic groupings (tribes). However, relationships along the backbone of the phylogeny…