Recent Posts

LEC1 acts as a molecular signal between the endosperm and embryo to initiate and regulate embryo maturation (Nature Comms)

In most angiosperms, the seed is an outcome of a double fertilization process that initiates the development of the embryo and endosperm. The endosperm plays an essential role in nourishing the developing embryo by ensuring adequate maternal nutrient transfer. However, we are far from knowing the factors…

Proteomics-based protein complex discovery in the developing rice aleurone-subaleurone

Lee et al. use a co-fractionation mass spectrometry pipeline to predict the compositions of cytosolic protein complexes present during early rice seed development. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab182  Background: Many proteins act as components of multiprotein complexes that…

Lipid Synthesis and Beyond: SAD Fatty Acid Desaturases Contribute to Seed Development

Fatty acid (FA) desaturases have long been recognized as key enzymes in synthesizing lipids containing unsaturated FAs, which constitute the majority of seed oil. As a major class of FA desaturases, stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturases (SADs) catalyze the first desaturation step, producing the monounsaturated…

SnRK1-ZmRFWD3-Opaque2: A Nexus of Seed Nutrient Accumulation and Diurnal Cycles

Plant seeds store nutrients in the form of protein, starch, and oil to support seed germination and seedling establishment. The seed nutrient reserves are supplied with carbon and nitrogen assimilated in vegetative tissues, where primary metabolism oscillates in a circadian manner (Farré and Weise,…

Unregulated Sphingolipid Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis ORM Mutants

Gonzalez Solis et al. describe the metabolic, cellular, and physiological consequences of the complete loss of regulation of sphingolipid biosynthesis. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00015  By Ariadna Gonzalez Solis and Edgar B. Cahoon  Background: Glycosphingolipids are molecules…

Cellular plasticity in protein re-balancing

Rolletschek et al. examine the role of cellular plasticity in oil-protein balancing. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00879 By Hardy Rolletschek and Ljudmilla Borisjuk Leibniz Inst Plant Genet & Crop Plant Res (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany Background: Seeds of some crops like…

The Way Out: A Transcriptionally Unique Group of Endosperm Cells Implicated in Nutrient Export to the Embryo

Successful development of the maize (Zea mays) kernel requires proper nutrient transport and signaling among its genetically distinct components: the embryo that gives rise to the next generation, the endosperm that nourishes the embryo, and the maternal tissues that surround the embryo and the endosperm…

Embryonic photosynthesis affects post-germination plant growth (Plant Physiol.)

Angiosperm seeds develop within maternal tissues, yet in some species including Arabidopsis the developing embryos carry out photosynthesis. In Arabidopsis, this is transitory, and the embryonic chloroplasts lose chlorophyll and dedifferentiate into eoplasts as the seed matures. Sela et al. set out to…

VP1 regulates intra-kernel protein reallocation (Plant Cell)

Maize kernels have a triploid endosperm and a diploid embryo. Storage reserves move from the endosperm to the embryo as it grows. Mutants have been identified with abnormal embryos but normal endosperms, although usually a defective endosperm prevents normal embryo formation. Here Zheng and Li et al.…