Recent Posts

Review: Transcriptional control of photosynthetic capacity - conservation and divergence from Arabidopsis to rice

About 3000 genes are required for a plant to carry out photosynthesis. Wang et al. review the transcriptional control of these photosynthetic genes, drawing on transcriptomic and evolutionary studies to make comparisons between Arabidopsis and grasses. Photosynthesis of course starts with light, and…

Regulation of rice root development by a retrotransposon acting as a microRNA sponge

Transposable elements (TEs) compose a considerable portion of most plant genomes, and mounting evidence shows various roles of TEs in the regulation of gene expression. Some TE transcripts have been hypothesized to work as “sponges” to help fine-tune the levels of miRNAs through complementary binding.…

The G-box transcriptional regulatory code in Arabidopsis

The G-box (CACGTG) is a DNA element widespread in plant genomes and recognized by two large families of transcription factors (TFs), the basic leucine zipper family (bZIP) and the basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family. Members of these TF families contribute to growth, temperature and light signaling,…

Epigenetic memory restoration and maintenance after cell division

Nucleosomes, composed of histones, pack chromatin and make genes less available for transcription. Methylation of some histone positions is associated with repression of transcription and epigenetic silencing of some genes. After cell division during the cell cycle, maintenance of expression patterns…

Flowering Versus Runnering: A Very Important Decision in Strawberry

Tenreira et al. find a gene responsible for the differentiation of the stolon in strawberry. The Plant Cell 2017. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.16.00949 Asexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically identical to the parents. This process takes many forms in flowering plants, including…

Light Helps Plants Cope with Phosphate Starvation

Liu et al. focus on transcriptional regulation of PHR1 expression. The Plant Cell 2017. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00268 Phosphorus (P) is an essential micronutrient for plant growth, development, and metabolism. Phosphate (Pi), the major form of P used by plants, is highly immobile in most soils,…

How Does Histone Phosphorylation Affect Flowering Time?

Su et al. look at chromatin modifications that affect flowering. The Plant Cell 2017. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00266 Plants, unlike animals, begin their lives as seeds that – in flowering plants – develop from flowers. This depends upon proper regulation of flowering time, to ensure pollination,…

Stages of silencing to hold epigenetic memory

The gene FLC (FLOWERING LOCUS C) is a repressor of flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana. It needs to be silenced after exposure to prolonged cold for plants to be able to flower. The memory of winter leads to changes in the methylation state of Histone 3 associated with FLC in two steps: first by recruiting…

4D root gene expression

It becomes more and more clear that regulation of complex traits and processes, such as root growth and lateral root growth, involves not only gene expression quality (which genes are expressed), quantity (how much transcript is present) and space (in which cell-type transcripts are accumulating) but…