Recent Posts

Expanded function of the P-type pentatricopeptide repeat protein ATP4 in RNA editing

Tianhu Sun ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2513-1387 Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 ts753@cornell.edu  Chloroplasts are semi-autonomous organelles that retain their own genomes derived from their cyanobacterial ancestors,…

How circadian changes in metabolism affect hybrid vigor

Zhi Li, Andan Zhu, et al. compare inbred and hybrid lines to explore how daily changes in metabolic pathways affect hybrid vigor. The Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00320  Background: Heterosis or hybrid vigor refers to the superior growth or fitness in the hybrid progeny compared to one…

silky3 Is a Novel Transcriptional Regulator that Influences Multiple Flower Development Pathways in Maize

Luo et al. demonstrate that ectopic expression of silky3, a novel transcriptional regulator, causes pleiotropic developmental defects in maize inflorescences.. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00043 By Haishan Luo, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Inflorescence…

Maize RNA Polymerase III Subunit NRPC2: New Kid on the Kernel Development Block

Dhineshkumar Thiruppathi 1,2  ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2018-3356 Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, Missouri 63132 1Senior author 2Author for contact: dthiruppathi@danforthcenter.org Seed (kernel) size affects evolutionary fitness and crop yield. In angiosperms, seed size…

Exploring variation in a key maize regulator of floral form

María Jazmín Abraham-Juárez, Amanda Schrager-Lavelle et. al. explore how variation in a key floral regulator affects floral development, downstream gene expression and protein complex assembly in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00300  by Jazmin Abraham-Juarez, Biology Department,…

How do Chromosomes Evolve via Unstable Intermediates?

Yalin Liu, Handong Su, Jing Zhang, et al. explore centromere birth and death by inducing rearrangements via pollen irradiation in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00389 Background: The centromere is one of the most important components of chromosomes. Every normal chromosome has one…

Rhythms in the dark: how endosperm responds to daylight cycles

Li et al. discover a diurnal pattern in sucrose content in developing maize endosperm that relies on the action of an E3 ubiquitin ligase on the master regulator transcription factor Opaque2. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00352 By Chaobin Li, Zeyang Ma, Rentao Song, China Agricultural…

The Multifaceted Roles of Autophagy in Fixed-carbon Starvation

McLoughlin et al. uncover the critical roles of autophagy in recycling amino acids and nitrogen-rich nucleotides, adjusting respiratory substrates, and the retention of assimilated nitrogen in maize during fixed-carbon starvation. The Plant Cell (2020) https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00226  Background:…

Predicting Gene Regulatory Networks

Zhou et al. develop and test potential gene regulatory networks in maize. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00080 By Peng Zhou and Nathan Springer Background: Transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in regulating the expression of genes. A single TF can control the expression of…