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Three independent genetic studies reveal that the GRF–miR396 module regulates rice grain yield by controlling the number of spikelets or the size of individual grains. These findings provide promising targets for significantly increasing crop yield.
The impacts of the prokaryotic ancestry of chloroplasts extend to the occurrence of a bacterial ‘alarm’ hormone, or alarmone, in plants, which is triggered by nutrient deficiency or stress. A new study shows that chloroplast development itself is reduced by alarmone, with seemingly paradoxical consequences for plant growth.
Causal signals for seed initiation have been sought ever since double fertilization was discovered in 1898. New research reveals that auxin is an early driver of endosperm proliferation in Arabidopsis central cells, with or without fertilization.
Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone. The finding that unveils regulation of ethylene signalling at the translational level adds complexity to the ethylene signalling ‘regulatome’ and generates insightful questions that may advance our understanding of the pathway.
The fields of ecology and evolutionary biology are implicitly connected. A new theory that links the global distribution and evolution of nitrogen-fixing trees uses the universal language of mathematics to make this connection more explicit.
The genome of a tiny resurrection plant has been sequenced using PacBio's long-read single-molecule real-time sequencing technology, aiding the understanding of extreme desiccation tolerance. The genome contiguity is comparable to that of genomes sequenced using far more laborious approaches.
Plants contain several tissue-specific decentralized but communicating ‘clocks’. These control developmental outputs in response to environmental change: the vasculature clock for photoperiodic control of flowering, and the epidermis clock for temperature-dependent elongation.
Plants adapt to changing environments by optimizing the fitness costs associated with key biological functions. A comparison of a laboratory strain with other wild Australian accessions of Nicotiana benthamiana reveals that trading viral defence for vigour confers an adaptive advantage in arid habitats.
Wood formation drives the storage of carbon in trees and other woody plants. A detailed analysis of conifer xylem tissue formation reveals how the intra-annual dynamics of biomass production are recorded in wood.
High-resolution microscopies have recently provided new insights into the structure of the chloroplast thylakoid membrane. Its dynamics are vital to its function as the site of photosynthesis and so the source of energy for almost all life on earth.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are one of the most important groups of plant symbionts. The factors that regulate the exchange of resources in this symbiosis are explored in this Review.
The length of root hairs, a critical determinant of a plant's absorption capacity, is dictated by a translational pulse of the transcription factor RSL4. The intensity and duration of this pulse depends on the integration of endogenous and environmental information that tunes the phenotypic readout to the environment.
Most plant pattern recognition receptors induce immune responses by detecting molecular patterns typical to one group of microbes. A newly identified complex, on the other hand, monitors effector proteins widely distributed among bacteria, fungi and oomycetes, casting a new light on the evolution of pattern recognition in plants.
CRISPR–Cas technology has been extensively applied to editing endogenous genes in plants for gene functional studies. New application of this technology to combating viral infection by destroying invading virus DNA has now become possible in plants.
Large trees deliver many benefits to forest ecosystems, including the provision of habitats for other species and the storage of carbon. A synthesis of tree growth and mortality data from around the globe now suggests that under drought large trees are dying in higher numbers than smaller trees.
The involvement of Ca2+ signalling in Brassica self-incompatibility has been a contentious topic. New evidence suggests that stigmas use Ca2+ to signal to incompatible pollen to prevent pollen hydration and self-seed set. Moreover, this may involve a glutamate receptor.
Photosynthesis underpins life on earth and is often limited by the activity of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco. New structural and functional insights into one of Rubisco's assembly chaperones offer opportunities to advance technologies tailored to improve Rubisco performance.
The function and mechanism of the kinesin-14 protein family in plants remain largely obscure. Now, two studies suggest a role in long-distance transport, akin to dynein in animals. One shows that clustering of a moss kinesin-14 is required for cargo transport, the other that in rice a kinesin-14 translocates actin filaments along microtubules.
The maintenance of closed canopy conditions can delay the onset of warming-induced changes in plant community composition, according to an experimental manipulation of temperature, light and nutrient levels in a temperate forest understorey.
GABA, a major brain neurotransmitter, was known to be important in plant development and stress responses. The discovery of an anion channel inhibited by GABA in wheat confirms its signalling role, indicating a convergent similarity between plants and animals.
