Review: Current Opinion in Plant Biology reviews plant nutrition ($)
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The October issue of Current Opinion in Plant Biology includes several articles that review various topics on the subject of plant nutrition. These span the spectrum of nutrients from trace and metal nutrients to macronutrients. The reviews also span topics such as membrane and tissue-level transport,…
Phloem loading through plasmodesmata: a biophysical analysis
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogSugars produced in photosynthetically active mesophyll cells move into the phloem through a process known as phloem loading, but not all plants phloem load the same way. Some use a passive process in which sugars move down a concentration gradient into the phloem, but others use active transport processes.…
Leaf Photosynthesis and Biomass Accumulation
Blog, Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: On The Inside, Research, Research BlogImproving photosynthetic efficiency is a major target for increasing crop biomass production and yield potential. The canopy photosynthetic efficiency, which is determined by leaf area index, canopy architecture, and leaf photosynthetic properties, plays an important role in determining biomass accumulation.…
Transporter Function and N Use Efficiency
Blog, Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: On The Inside, Research, Research BlogNitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient that plants require in large amounts for growth and development. In industrial countries, high N fertilization enables maximum crop yields, and in the last 50 years, the use of synthetic N fertilizers has increased dramatically to meet food demands. Improving the…
Interrupting long nights by short pulses of light accelerates flowering in wheat
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchIn order to address the knowledge gap in the mechanisms of photoperiodic induction of flowering by phytochrome, Pearce et al. studied flowering behavior in wheat grown under short days, with the interruption of the long nights by short pluses of light (night breaks). Their study showed that night breaks…
A plant cryptochrome controls key features of the Chlamydomonas circadian clock and its life cycle
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchAnimals and plants have divergent sets of blue light receptors, called Cryptochromes. However, green alga Chlamydomonas has both animal-like and plant cryptochrome (pCRY). The presence of multiple cryptochrome suggests specific roles in different pathways in respective organisms. In this paper, Müller…
Natural allelic variation of FRO2 modulates Arabidopsis root growth under iron deficiency
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchIron is an essential nutrient that plants assimilate from the soil. Moderate iron deficiency induces an increase in primary root length and lateral root production. Satbhai et al. examined natural variation of root responses and showed a correlation between root length and allelic variation at the FRO2…
Review: Phosphate scouting by root tips ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchPhosphate is both really important (think of its abundance in DNA, RNA, ATP, and membrane lipids), and really difficult to assimilate due to its insolubility and immobility in soil. Phosphate is frequently limiting for growth, meaning that it is widely applied as fertilizer, but global supplies of phosphate…
Review: Chloroplast function and ion regulation in plants growing on saline soils: lessons from halophytes ($)
Plant Science Research Weekly, ResearchSalinity is a growing problem for food production. Progress has been made in understanding how plants tolerate salinity, mostly focused on strategies for tolerance at the plasma membrane and cytosol. Bose et al. review studies that focus on how the chloroplast is affected by salinity. The authors review…