Recent Posts

Precise integration of large DNA sequences in plant genomes using PrimeRoot editors

Although CRISPR/Cas9 tools have provided new opportunities for genome editing, using these systems to introduce large pieces of DNA has been challenging. A new genome editing technique, “PrimeRoot” (Prime editing-mediated Recombination Of Opportune Targets), was introduced by Sun et al. and shown…

Review: Proximity labeling in plants

Genetic studies can suggest that two proteins function in the same pathway, but how can we figure out if they share the same space? In this review, Xu et al. provide an overview of proximity labeling, a method to identify proteins that co-localize in space. Proximity labeling uses a biotin ligase which…

Gaining cis-elements contributed to enhanced expression of C4 genes

C4 photosynthesis is derived from C3 photosynthesis. When related genes are compared, those involved in C4 photosynthesis tend to be more highly expressed. To understand this phenomenon, Singh et al. undertook a very impressive approach to look at transcriptional regulation of essentially all the photosynthetic…

Seeing clearly: Plant anatomy through Katherine Esau’s microscopy lens

This is a fun and interesting paper that combines two threads, a historical overview of the many contributions of Katherine Esau to plant anatomy (many of you have her book on your shelf) and the historical advancements in microscopy. Geitmann weaves these threads together by putting Esau’s drawings…

eINTACT – An effective system for isolating effector-recipient cells in plant tissues

Bacteria can cause plant diseases by secreting small molecules called effectors. Studies of these effectors on host plants mostly have not accounted for the cellular complexity of plant tissues. The difficulty of detecting and isolating effector-recipient cells means that scientists mostly use bulk-infected…

Update: Toward a data infrastructure for the Plant Cell Atlas (Plant Physiol)

The ability to analyze the information contained within a single cell, for example through single-cell RNA sequening (scRNA-seq) presents exciting possibilities to biologists. Building on this and similar technologies, the Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) (www.plantcellatlas.org/) has the goal of creating an information…

Arabidopsis latent virus 1, a comovirus widely spread in Arabidopsis thaliana collections (New Phytol)

Arabidopsis thaliana has been established as a versatile and important model plant species, with abundant genetic and genomic resources. Through RNA sequencing, Verhoeven et al. identified an unexpected and previously unnoticed latent comovirus (the name “como” derives from cowpea mosaic virus) lurking…

Robust transcriptional indicators of immune cell death revealed by spatio-temporal transcriptome analyses (Mol Plant)

Many plants trigger a form of cell death, known as the hypersensitive response (HR), immediately upon pathogen recognition. To minimize damage to the plant, this cell death must be highly localized to the site of attack, while more distal cells survive and activate other immune responses. However, the…

Live Plant Cell Tracking: A Fiji plugin to analyze cell proliferation dynamics and understand morphogenesis (Plant Physiol.)

Live Plant Cell Tracking: A Fiji plugin to analyze cell proliferation dynamics and understand morphogenesis Morphogenesis in plants occurs in 3D space over time, referred to as 4D. Recent advances in high-resolution microscopy imaging and computational pipelines have helped to better understand…