Review: The bHLH network underlying plant shade-avoidance (Physiol. Plant.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyShade avoidance is a complex phenomenon in which plants avoid shade by altering their developmental program in various ways including early flowering, hypocotyl elongation, and more. Many photoreceptors and transcription factors (TFs) are involved in regulating shade avoidance, including the bHLH (basic…
Nutrient dose-responsive transcriptome changes driven by Michaelis–Menten kinetics underlie plant growth rates (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants can increase their growth and biomass proportionately to an increase in nutrient dose and, conversely, their growth is limited by limiting nutrients. In this study, Swift et al. explored the molecular underpinnings of the nutrient dose-response phenomenon. The authors first show that nitrogen-dose…
Design principles of a minimal auxin response system (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAuxin controls virtually all facets of growth and development. This plant hormone is sensed by TIR1/AFB F-box receptors which promote ubiquitin-mediated degradation of AUX/IAA transcriptional repressors, releasing ARF transcription factors from inhibition. Phylogenetic analyses divide the ARF family…
Plant synthetic promoters to fine tune expression of engineered genes (bioRxiv)
Plant Science Research WeeklySynthetic genetic circuits allow the reconstruction of metabolic pathways in plant systems for production of many natural products including pharmaceuticals. A challenge in genetic engineering these circuits is precisely and predictably regulating gene expression, especially when genes may be desired…
Master regulator of gene expression in plant defense upregulates its own transcription (Plant Physiol.)
Plant Science Research WeeklyNPR1 (NONEXPRESSER OF PR GENES1) is a master regulator that controls expression of over 2000 genes during plant defense. NPR1 interacts with transcription factors to activate expression of defense genes, but the mechanism is poorly understood. Chen et al. determined that in the presence of salicylic…
Plant 22-nt siRNAs mediate translational repression and stress adaptation (Nature)
Plant Science Research WeeklyAmong the myriad small interfering RNAs, 21- and 24-nucleotides siRNAs control plant development and immunity through mRNA cleavage and RNA-directed DNA methylation, respectively. Still, the regulation and biological function of 22-nt siRNAs remain unresolved. In this report, Wu and coworkers investigated…
An RNA thermoswitch regulates daytime growth in Arabidopsis (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants are sessile organisms and as such they must be highly responsive to environmental cues including temperature, and adjust their growth and development accordingly. Considering that mean global surface temperatures are expected to continue to rise dramatically in the 21st century, it is crucial…
Nuclear-encoded synthesis of the D1 subunit of photosystem II increases photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPhotosystem II (PSII) is a protein complex located in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts that is involved in executing the initial reaction of photosynthesis in plants. When plants are exposed to extreme temperature conditions, PSII gets damaged. To repair the damage, one of the core proteins of…
Mystery of adventitious root formation in grapevine (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGrapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) are clonally propagated by stem cuttings, which depends on the formation of adventitious (stem-borne) roots. In this paper Chen at al., showed the function of microRNA encoded peptides (miPEPs) in adventitious root formation of cultured grape plantlets. MicroRNA biogenesis…