Mechanism of auxin-dependent gene regulation through composite auxin response elements
Plant Science Research WeeklyAuxin signaling influences plant growth and development by controlling gene expression, often through binding of transcription factors from the Auxin Response Factor (ARF) family to ARF elements (AuxRE) present in the promoters of auxin-responsive genes. However, given that auxin signaling produces many…
UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE (UBP14) interacts with HY5 to promote photomorphogenesis under dark-to-light conditions
Plant Science Research WeeklyELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5) is a transcription factor that regulates about one-third of Arabidopsis genes, affecting growth and development of seedlings through light and hormone signaling. UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE (UBP14) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that removes ubiquitin from substrate proteins.…
Flip the light switch for protein production
Plant Science Research WeeklyProtein synthesis, modification, and degradation are not only crucial for responding to environmental change, but they also represent significant energy costs for a plant. Energy homeostasis is highly affected by the presence of light. In young seedlings, light enhances translation during the dark-to-light…
Alone or together: BRI1 signaling controls root growth in a cell-autonomous manner
Plant Science Research WeeklyRoot growth is controlled by a dense network of hormone signals working in shared and distinct root zones and cell types. Brassinosteroids (BR) control root growth through activated signaling in vascular and epidermal tissues, but it is unclear how BR signals in each tissue contribute and whether there…
Review: Long noncoding RNAs and the art of being influential without protein
Plant Science Research WeeklyAdvances in sequencing technologies have led to a tremendous growth in the number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) being identified in plants, but identifying their function lags behind. Here, Ramirez Gonzales and Blom et al. draw on lessons from studies in mammalian systems and highlight several known…
The Marchantia transcription factor atlas
Plant Science Research WeeklyMarchantia’s power as a model organism continues to grow! Here, Ramoni et al. have investigated the expression pattern of the proximal promoters of most of its 450 transcription factor (TF)-encoding genes. The promoter elements were fused to nuclear-localized fluorescent reporters and introduced into…
RNA hairpins underlie preferential use of translation start codons
Plant Science Research WeeklyGene expression regulation facilitates environmental adaptation and survival. This recent paper by Xiang et al. focuses on the regulation of translation, in particular on the mechanism underlying the generation of different translation products in different conditions. In addition to the main start codon…
Review: Rapid auxin signaling: Unknowns old and new
Plant Science Research WeeklyYou might think you’ve read enough about auxin, but I recommend you take this opportunity to read one more article, this very interesting and enjoyable review by Fielder and Friml. Auxin has figured prominently in both the classical and molecular eras of plant biology. However, the exciting findings…
From friend to threat: the mutualist-pathogen transition of plant-fungal interaction is determined by a small gene cluster
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe infection modes of microbes in hosts can be reversible and can range from pathogenic to mutualistic, depending on the environmental conditions. The plant-associated fungus Colletotrichum tofieldiae (Ct) has been shown to promote primary root growth and increase shoot fresh weight of Arabidopsis in…