Recent Posts

XAT catalyzes carotenoid esterification in wheat

Watkins et al. have identified XAT as the enzyme responsible for esterification and subsequent  stabilization of lutein in wheat grains. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.09.00272 By Jacinta Watkinsa, Barry Pogsona and Diane Matherb. aARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Energy Biology, Research…

Breeding improves wheat productivity under contrasting agrochemical input levels (Nature Biotech.)

Wheat breeding programs are releasing new cultivars almost every year for improved yield potential. But is this intensive breeding not compromising the plant performance under adverse environmental conditions? Voss-Fels et al. studied the elite cultivars of winter wheat released during the last 50 years,…

Rate of photosynthetic acclimation to fluctuating light varies widely among genotypes of wheat (bioRxiv)

The speed at which photosynthesis is induced during shade-sun transitions, such as sun-flecks, contributes towards determining crop yield.  The speed of induction can be limited by the dynamics of stomatal and mesophyll conductance, deactivation rates of photoprotective mechanisms, the acclimation rate…