Recent Posts

Multiple Mediator Subunits Impact Metabolism

Dolan et al. examine how a complex that regulates gene expression alters the production of phenylpropanoids  https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00282 By Whitney Dolan and Clint Chapple Background: Plants produce a vast array of compounds known as phenylpropanoids from the amino acid phenylalanine.…

Methylome robustness in plants is conferred by a methylation-sensitive system.

DNA methylation is instrumental in promoting transcriptional silencing at repetitive elements, inhibiting illegitimate recombination and establishing genomic imprinting. In plants, DNA methylation profiles are stably inherited over generations through the activities of cytosine DNA methyltransferases…

DROUGHT HYPERSENSITIVE negatively regulates cuticular wax biosynthesis by promoting the degradation of transcription factor ROC4 in rice

Wax covering the outer surface of the shoot (epicuticular wax) is crucial in the ability of the plant to conserve water. Wang et al. identified a drought hypersensitive plant that overexpresses an E3 ubiquitin ligase which they named DROUGHT HYPERSENSITIVE. In these overexpression plants, there was a…

Mediator complex subunits in the regulation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis ($)

The Mediator complex is a transcriptional co-regulator that is conserved across kingdoms. Several subunits have been identified through genetic approaches in Arabidopsis. Recessive loss-of-function mutants of MED5 subunits cause phenylpropanoid overaccumulation, but ef4-3, a semi-dominant mutation of…

Regulatory small RNAs responsible for natural variation in snapdragon flower color patterning ($)

Flower color pattern is a major trait influencing pollinator attraction, but underlying regulatory mechanisms are still poorly understood. Using co-existing Snapdragon subspecies displaying different flower pigmentation motifs, Bradley et al. investigated the molecular basis of flower color patterning.…

Granting an Extension: mRNAs Produced by Read-through from Small Nuclear RNAs

The C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) extends from the catalytic core and consists of repeats of a seven-amino acid motif. The CTD functions in the regulation of Pol II function and is subject to just about every protein modification you can think of, including methylation, acetylation,…

Update: Cytoplasmic mRNA dynamics

By Thanin Chantarachot and Julia Bailey-Serres The export of an mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm begins an odyssey of dynamic regulation that determines the location, longevity and use of the transcript in the production of polypeptides by ribosomes in plant cells. Recent leveraging of mutants,…

Resistance to Wheat Stripe Rust

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields can be severely reduced by the obligate biotrophic pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst).  Currently, approaches to manage this disease rely on cultivar resistance coupled with fungicide application. However, driven by a greater need for wheat production,…

Chromatin accessibility changes between Arabidopsis stem cells and mesophyll cells illuminate cell type-specific

What gives stem cells their plasticity and why are differentiated cells so specialized? Sijacic et al. approach this question by analyzing transcription factor (TF) accessibility to chromatin. Nuclei were isolated from shoot apical meristem (SAM) pluripotent stem cells and fully-differentiated mesophyll…