Make two from one: How embryonic algal cells divide in an orchestrated flow of subcellular structures
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellVon der Heyde and Hallmann uncover the enormous dynamics of early cell divisions in Volvox embryos. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac004
Eva Laura von der Heyde and Armin Hallmann
Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology of Plants, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615…
Special issue: Sex determination and sex chromosome evolution in land plants (Philosophical Transactions B)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAt some point, most biology students learn the term “dioecy” (two houses), which refers to the separation of male and female function into different individuals, a characteristic that is common in animals but less so in flowering plants. About 6% of angiosperms and 65% of gymnosperms are dioecious,…
The urban environment led to unintended adaptive evolution in plants (Science)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGenerally, evolution is driven by natural selection, but not always. Human activities lead to the creation of unique niches, and other organisms must adapt accordingly. Cities are unique niches that are significantly different from rural areas and natural conditions. The urban habitat provides plants…
Seed dormancy in space and time: global distribution, paleo- and present climatic drivers and evolutionary adaptations ($) (New Phytol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklySeed dormancy is widely recognized as a key mechanism to ensure that germination takes place under the most suitable conditions. Such is its importance that multiple studies have described the morphological, physiological, and genetic mechanisms behind it, yet its global distribution and the past and…
A species-specific partial duplicate gene in Arabidopsis thaliana evolved novel morphological effects
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellHuang, Chen and colleagues take advantage of a partial duplicated gene to compare the functions of the partial duplicate and its parental copy.
By Yuan Huang, Jiahui Chen, Shengqian Xia and Manyuan Long, Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Background:…
Water-related innovations in land plants evolved by different patterns of gene cooption and novelty (New Phytol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe availability of genome data from across the kingdom of plants has provided insights into plant evolution, and particularly the emergence of land plants. Here, Bowles et al. explore the genetic origins of three key innovations that supported the expansion of land plants: stomata, vascular tissues,…
Convergent evolution of red nectar in vertebrate-pollinated flowers (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyNesocodon mauritianus is about one out of 70 plant species that produce colored nectar. The nectar of Nesocodon starts off yellow in newly opened flowers and progresses to blood-red in color as the flowers mature. The authors showed that the red colored nectar is both visible and attractive to geckos,…
Dynamic Evolution of Self-Incompatibility in Angiosperms
The Plant Cell: In a NutshellZhao et al. demonstrate the dynamic evolutionary processes of self-incompatibility in angiosperms.
By Hong Zhao and Yongbiao Xue, State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, and the Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy…
After all, mutations are not that random (Nature)
Plant Science Research WeeklyMutations, defined as changes in DNA sequence, have long been considered to be random. However, growing evidence suggests that maybe mutations are not random, but instead some loci in the genome are hot spots for mutations, while other loci rarely mutate. This effect is considered mutation bias. A recent…