Articles in 2016

A new player and mode of action has been discovered in the creation of a dominance hierarchy in the Brassicaceae self-incompatibility system.

A straightforward approach reveals the full cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in tomato, which is composed of ten enzymatic steps, opening the door for bioengineering of high-value molecules in crops. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that cholesterogenesis evolved from the more ancient phytosterol pathway.

The phenotypic expression of SP11 alleles ­— male determinants of self-incompatibility in Brassica rapa ­— is controlled by a five-phased linear hierarchy. A study has found that a polymorphic 24-nt small RNA controls the linear hierarchy of four of the SP11 alleles.

Plants contain small levels of cholesterol. Analysis of transcripts, proteins and individual gene silencing in tomato identifies a biosynthetic pathway involving 12 enzymes that is shown to be functional by expression of the full set in Arabidopsis.

To explore how climate warming may affect rice yield, a study used field experiments and three modelling approaches to examine the sensitivity of rice yield to warming. The study predicts that severe rice yield losses are likely to occur without effective crop improvement.

Pottery remains from archaeological sites in the Libyan Sahara provide the earliest direct evidence for plant processing in pottery, dating to 8200–6400 cal BC. The remains show processing of grasses and aquatic plants gathered from the then green Sahara.

Interrogation of a worldwide database of leaf traits in forest canopies shows that a large proportion of ‘full-sun’ readings were made in the shade. The majority of leaves exist in the shade but research is too focused on conditions in the sun.

Despite improved farming practices, models suggest that droughts like those of the 1930s would still be devastating to the US today. High temperatures are more damaging than rainfall deficit, leading to losses ∼50% larger than the severe drought of 2012.

With the year drawing to a close, what hope is there for a ‘golden’ future for plant sciences in 2017 and beyond?

Two recent studies revealed the genetic architecture of the long fascinating heterostyly in Primula and that the absence of a CYP^T gene determines the long style morph.

Blue tomatoes, pink bananas and red-fleshed apples. Meet the next generation of healthy fruits.

Photosynthetic organisms must protect themselves from damage during high-light conditions. This Review shows how cyanobacteria trigger such photoprotection using the orange carotenoid protein.

The genetic model for heterostyly in Primula involves two floral morphs, pin and thrum, with reciprocal anther and stigma heights. This study reveals that the thrum morph is hemizygous and controlled by a cluster of five linked genes absent in the pin morph.

Photosynthesis in C₃ plants is limited by the kinetics of the CO₂-fixing enzyme Rubisco. Natural variation in Rubisco can be exploited to provide new avenues for adapting photosynthetic performance to a changing climate while reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture.

Two genes controlling the transcriptional network involved in stomatal development in Arabidopsis thaliana have a conserved function in the non-vascular moss Physcomitrella patens. Moss mutants without stomata show delayed capsule dehiscence.