Review: The sexual advantage of looking, smelling and tasting good, the metabolic network that produces signals for pollinators ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchThe interaction between angiosperms and their pollinators provides an excellent system to study co-evolution, and underpins the evolution of the biosynthesis of numerous interesting and useful specialized metabolites, from pigments to fragrances. Borghi et al. review the metabolic pathways that produce…
GET with it: Targeting of tail-anchored proteins via the GET system
Plant Science Research Weekly, Research0 Comments
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Students learn that membrane proteins are inserted into the endoplasmic-reticulum (ER) membrane co-translationally, but this mechanism does not hold for so-called tail-anchored (TA) proteins which carry a single C-terminal membrane spanning domain and insert into the ER membrane post-translationally.…
Opinion: ATG8 expansion as a driver of selective diversification of autophagy? ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchAutophagy is a process of selective membrane trafficking that delivers cargo to the vacuole or plasma membrane for recycling or secretion. ATG8 is a small ubiquitin-like protein that is required for formation of the double-membrane enclosed autophagy vesicle, the autophagosome. The ATG8 gene family has…
Early origins of diversification in the Solanaceae family ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchThe Solanaceae family is, nowadays, one of the most valuable for humankind as it contains several economically important crops as potato, tobacco, tomatoes, etc. However, fossil records that help as understand how and where this family has evolved are elusive. In this paper, Wilf et al. walk us through…
Gain and loss of floral scent with shifts in pollination strategies
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchTwo papers in Current Biology examine the genetics behind plant-pollinator interactions , focusing on genes controlling floral scent. Amrad et al. 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.023 explore differences between bee, hawkmoth and hummingbird pollinated species of Petunia. They identify changes in expression in…
Sub-Antarctic plants warm up themselves
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchHigh latitude and altitude plants experience short growing seasons, consistent low temperatures, windy environments and unpredictable sunny spots. These plants are usually small and rely on self-pollination, but in Campbell, a Sub-Antarctic island, there are gardens of megaherbs that defy the predictions…
Evolution of fruit types in the Rosaceae family
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchThe evolution of fruits might have been the most important feature that made angiosperms so successful. Fruits protect seeds and contribute to seed dispersal, as well as comprise a food source for humans and other animals, therefore, studying their evolution would help us shed light on the evolution…
Genetic basis of primrose floral dimorphism
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchSelf-fertilization in Primula is avoided by the production of two flower forms (morphs), one with a long style in which the stigma is elevated above the anthers (the L morph or pin) and one with a short style in which the anthers are well above the stigma (the S morph or thrum), although there are also…
Review: Volvox as a developmental model
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchMatt and Umen introduce the multicellular green alga Volvox carteri as a model for developmental studies. They provide an overview of embryonic patterning including the role of asymmetric cell divisions, inversion, (a process with some similarities to vertebrate gastrulation), and the role of cell size…