Recent Posts

Single-cell RNA-sequencing of Nicotiana attenuata corolla cells reveals the biosynthetic pathway of a floral scent (New Phytol.)

Release of scents or volatile compounds influence pollinator preference for or localisation of many flora. In excess of 1,700 distinct floral scents have been classified to date, yet our understanding of biosynthetic processes associated with many scents is limited. Kang et al. recently determined the…

The PARTHENOGENESIS gene that contributes the clonal propagation through seeds in dicot dandelion (Nature Genetics)

In plants with sexual reproduction, the male contribution (two sperm cells) is necessary to fertilize two female cells, the egg cell that gives rise to the embryo and the central cell that gives rise to the endosperm. In contrast, apomictic plants (0.1% of flowering plants spread over 120 genera) don´t…

LARP6C reveals its double face during plant fertilization

Billey et al. uncover the roles of LARP6C as a translational repressor in dormant pollen and an activator when the pollen “awakens”. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab131  By Elodie Billey1,2,3, Said Hafidh4, Cécile Bousquet-Antonelli1,2 1 CNRS LGDP-UMR5096, 58 Av.…

TEM1 combinatorially binds to FLOWERING LOCUS T and recruits a Polycomb factor to repress the floral transition in Arabidopsis (PNAS)

Gene expression is primarily controlled by transcriptional regulatory proteins able to recognize and bind short DNA sequences in downstream targets. Understanding how DNA-binding proteins achieve high precision and switch on/off the transcription of selected genes at a specific developmental stage or…

Review: Fleshy structures associated with ovule protection and seed dispersal in gymnosperms (Crit. Rev. Plant Sci.)

While traditionally known for having their ovules exposed to the environment, all gymnosperm lineages have species with fleshy seed-associated tissues. Here, Nigris and colleagues provide an overview of the vast diversity of fruit-like structures present in gymnosperms and the hypothesis available to…

Nurse cell­–derived small RNAs define paternal epigenetic inheritance in Arabidopsis (Science)

New mechanisms for the production and function of small RNAs continue to be discovered. Previous studies have shown a role for small RNAs in methylation reprogramming. Recently, Long et al. found that the epigenetic reprogramming that takes place in the male reproductive tissues also involves mobile…

A tale of two morphs: seed coat differentiation in the dimorphic diaspore model Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae) (Plant J.)

While most plants have a single fruit and seed form, several species produce two or more distinct fruit and seed types, although the mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain unknown. Here, Arshad and colleagues assess the differences in the internal morphology and transcriptomic profile throughout development…

Review:  Postzygotic reproductive isolation established in the endosperm: mechanisms, drivers and relevance ($) (Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B)

In this fascinating review, Köhler and colleagues show us that the seed endosperm is not only a nutritive tissue that supports embryo growth, it also nourishes the course of plant evolution. When closely related species or species with different ploidy levels hybridize, endosperm development deviates…

LEAFY is a pioneer transcription factor and licenses cell reprogramming to floral fate (Nature Comms)

Master transcription factors (TFs) can activate specific genetic programs to reprogram cellular fate in the context of open chromatin. A special class of these proteins known as pioneer TFs are defined by their ability to trigger cell fate reprogramming by binding their cognate cis motifs in a nucleosome…