Recent Posts

Molecular teamwork: how three protein families and DNA work together to control gene expression

Hong and Rusnak et al. explore how a 1000-bp region of DNA activates gene expression in giant cells. By Adrienne Roeder and Byron Rusnak Background: Specialized cell types carry out specific functions within plants. Some genes are expressed uniquely in one cell type and not expressed in other…

Ligands and regulatory properties of the HD-ZIPIII START domain

Husbands et al. identify ligands and regulatory properties of the HD-ZIPIII START domain. By By Aman Y. Husbands (University of Pennsylvania) and Marja C.P. Timmermans (University of Tuebingen). Background: Development has been compared to a ball rolling down a hill. Cells initially have broad…

Effectors breaking down the lignin fortress

Singh et al. reveal how the effector ArPEC25 renders chickpea susceptible to a necrotrophic pathogen by targeting the transcription factor CaβLIM1a and negatively modulating the accumulation of lignin.  Shreenivas Kumar Singh, Kamal Kumar, Praveen Kumar Verma Background: Adapted pathogens exploit…

Unraveling cold tolerance in maize

Li et al. discover a cold-tolerance allele that was not selected during maize domestication.   Background: Cold stress is an important environmental factor that limits plant growth, development, and geographical distribution. Maize originated in Mexico and is sensitive to low temperatures. Cold stress…

EAR domain-containing transcription factors attract PRC2 repression machinery to chromatin

Baile et al. discover how EAR domain-containing transcription factors recruit the polycomb group complex PRC2 to mediate gene repression in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab139  By Fernando Baile and Myriam Calonje Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis…

Too much of a good thing - nitrate inhibition of nodulation

Nishida, Nosaki, et al. explore how nitrate inhibits nodulation through transcription factors. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab103  Hanna Nishidaa, Shohei Nosakia,b,c, Takuya Suzakia,c aFaculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan bGraduate…