A high‐throughput transient expression system for rice (Plant Cell Environ)
Plant Science Research WeeklyTransient expression platforms allow short-term expression of candidate genes in the host plant, without the integration of DNA into the host genome. The expression cassettes are delivered to the host cells either by Agrobacterium- or microprojectile-mediated approaches. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation…
CRISPR-Chip: Detection of gene variants in unamplified DNA using graphene field-effect transistors ($) Nature Biomed Engineering
Plant Science Research WeeklyCRISPR-Chip combines the selectivity of CRISPR-Cas gene recognition with the sensitivity of a graphene-based field-effect transistor. It contains an immobilized complex of catalytically deactivated Cas9/CRISPR and an appropriate guide strand attached to a graphene surface. When this complex recognizes…
Generating novel, dual herbicide-resistant crops using CRISPR-mediated gene editing (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThere is an ever-growing need for novel herbicides as more weeds are becoming resistant to commonly used herbicides. In a recent report from Hu et al., the authors identified that a previously described cellulose biosynthesis-inhibiting chemical, C17, possesses an herbicidal quality. The authors showed…
Tandem fluorescent protein timers for non-invasive relative protein lifetime measurement in plants (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyProteins are in a dynamic state of synthesis and degradation and their half-lives can be adjusted under various circumstances. Many rapidly degraded proteins function as regulatory molecules, such as transcription factors. The rapid turnover of these proteins is necessary to allow their levels to change…
Life between the cells: measuring apoplast hydration and content (Plant Phys)
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe extracellular space within the leaves, or apoplast, has an active role in many aspects of plant physiology; since water from transpiration, sucrose from photosynthesis and other metabolites pass through the apoplast. Since abiotic and biotic factors (i.e., pathogens) modify the composition of the…
Four auxin-like compounds can selectively regulate plant development (PNAS)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants have developed their own strategies to ensure developmental plasticity, such as the use of phytohormones. The phytohormone auxin affects multiple aspects of plant development. Auxin is perceived via a co-receptor complex called TIR1/AFB-AUX/IAA, and SCF TIR1/AFB degrades AUX/IAA proteins to liberate…
Glycomic analysis of plant endomembrane vesicles (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyEndomembrane vesicles carry not only secreted proteins but also carbohydrates for cell wall synthesis, yet relatively less is know about this latter process. Wilkop et al. describe a method to investigate the glycan contents of specific subsets of vesicles, to begin to understand how these cargos are…
Proteome-wide, structure-based prediction of protein-protein interactions (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGenomics and transcriptomics have brought huge advances in understanding of plant science, but proteomics is both more challenging and in some ways more relevant to understand what is happening inside of a cell. Proteins function largely through their interactions with other proteins, so it is important…
Arabidopsis bioinformatics resources: Current state, challenges, and priorities for the future (Plant Direct)
Plant Science Research WeeklyFuture research success demands that data are reliable, accessible and shareable. This means that as types and magnitudes of data change, best practices for how data are collected and stored must be regularly updated. Following a focused workshop, the International Arabidopsis Informatics Consortium…