Old Gene, New Function
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellXie et al. discover an EPSP synthase gene involved in the transcriptional regulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway in Populus trichocarpa The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00168.
By Meng Xie, Wellington Mechuro, Jin-Gui Chen, and Gerald A. Tuskan
Background: 5-enolpyruvylshikimate…
Tectonic Movements Across the Tomato Genome
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellCorem et al. demonstrate a switch in DNA methylation patterns across the tomato genome. The Plant Cell (2018). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00167.
By Shira Corem, Tzahi Arazi and Nicolas Bouché
Background: Crop genomes are covered by transposons, which are DNA sequences that can jump from one…
Autophagy During Viral Infection: Viruses Fight Back!
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellYang et al. investigate the role of autophagy in the ongoing arms race of plant defense and viral counterdefense. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00122
By Meng Yang and Dawei Li
Background: Most plants have defense mechanisms that enable resistance to pathogens. One of theses is…
Genome-Wide Assessment of Alternative Splicing in Maize
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellChen et al. higlight the importance of AS in diversifying gene function and regulating phenotypic variation. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00109
Background: Alternative splicing (AS) of precursor mRNAs is an essential regulatory mechanism that greatly enhances transcriptome and proteome…
Mitigating Yield Loss Under Global Warming
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMa et al. investigate epigenetic aspects of heat-induced male sterility in cotton.
By Yizan Ma, Ling Min and Xianlong Zhang
Background: Global warming causes extremely high temperatures in summer in some areas. Certain crops cultivated in summer cannot tolerate extreme heat stress and begin…
Heterochromatin keeps RNA-directed DNA methylation in place?
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellFu et al. demonstrate a requirement for the heterochromatin factors CMT and DDM1 in RNA-directed DNA methylation in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00053
By Fang-fang Fu and Jonathan I. Gent
Background: DNA methylation is a chemical modification of DNA consisting of addition…
A New Nuclear Transporter
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellYamada and Goshisma identify a nuclear transporter that controls the position of the nucleus during cell growth in plants https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00038.
Background: Transportation of cellular components to appropriate locations for their activity is a critical aspect of cell function. Microtubule…
Defense or Disease: It’s a Matter of Timing
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellMine et al. use RNA-seq to study RPS2-mediated bacterial resistance https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00970
By Akira Mine, Carolin Seyfferth and Kenichi Tsuda
Background: To fight against pathogens, plants can detect enemies and transduce the signal to reprogram gene expression in the cell as a defense…
Newly Discovered Abscisic Acid Transporter in Rice
Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In a NutshellYao et al. found that OsPM1 can move the plant hormone abscisic acid into rice cells. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00770.
By Lingya Yao and Xiaochun Ge
Background: Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important plant hormone that regulates plant seed dormancy and stress responses, especially drought responses.…