Tag: Genomics

Taylor Beaulieu (she/her) is currently a third year graduate student at UC-Riverside (UCR). She received her BS in Plant Biology from UCR and also received a minor in Education. She originally spent her undergraduate education training to become a K-12 science teacher which gave her training experience…

The vascular plant body composed of root and shoot is specified during embryogenesis, but most flowering plants can also develop additional root systems post-embryonically: lateral roots, as a response to wounding, or shoot-borne roots (“adventitious” roots, literally meaning “in the wrong place”).…

Symbiotic associations with bacterial or fungal partners enhance nutrient uptake for most plants, and recent years have uncovered the very sophisticated means by which these associations are established and controlled. Peptides have emerged as key regulators of many facets of mycorrhizal and rhizobial…

The availability of genome data from across the kingdom of plants has provided insights into plant evolution, and particularly the emergence of land plants. Here, Bowles et al. explore the genetic origins of three key innovations that supported the expansion of land plants: stomata, vascular tissues,…

Mutations, defined as changes in DNA sequence, have long been considered to be random. However, growing evidence suggests that maybe mutations are not random, but instead some loci in the genome are hot spots for mutations, while other loci rarely mutate. This effect is considered mutation bias. A recent…

A new paper looking at transposable elements in maize uses the framework that genomes are similar to ecosystems, in that it is essential to study them comprehensively, from the level of each element to the global structure. Transposable elements (TEs) are dynamic and persistent within plant genomes.…

The emergence of eukaryotes is associated with endosymbiosis of mitochondria and chloroplast. In the course of evolution, most of the genes from these organelles have either migrated to the nucleus or been lost. But why have a small but significant number of genes remained in these organelle genomes?…

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness about the environmental impact of animal-based protein sources. Legumes such as chickpea (Cicer arientinum) are relatively cheap and sustainable sources of proteins, dietary fibres and micronutrients. Although there is a vast chickpea germplasm collection,…