Volume 2 Issue 6, June 2016

Boosted by next-generation sequencing technology, there is now an ever-growing list of fully sequenced plant genomes. Recent additions to this list are two presumed ancestors of Petunia hybrida, the most popular bedding plant worldwide. These genome sequences provide new information on a species at a key position in plant phylogeny, and support the use of petunia as a research model plant species.

Transgenic biotechnology offers great opportunities for food security. But the potential effects on human health and the environment are a major concern to the public, which hinders the application of the technology. Along with continually implementing rigid biosafety assessment, educating the public is critical for promoting transgenic crops in China.

The need for GM crops is growing rapidly as a consequence of the overriding priority for the sustainable generation of vastly increased food production. Although demands for energy and raw materials from the bioeconomy remain, they may become eclipsed by the quest for more food.

Bread wheat, so-called because of its springy gluten protein that allows dough to rise, accounts for around 90% of global wheat production today. This presents a striking contrast to ancient cuisines based on subsistence farming, which incorporated a diverse range of foods including staple grains.

Lignin is a principal component of plant cell walls and was thought to be mostly produced from L-phenylalanine. A new study in Brachypodium demonstrates that in grasses — a major source of food, livestock feed and biofuels — nearly half of the plant's lignin is actually made through fewer steps via l-tyrosine.

Florigen plant hormone is made in the leaf and then travels to the shoot apical meristem to trigger flowering. The phloem-mobile metal-binding protein NaKR1 physically interacts with florigen and mediates its long-distance transport through the sieve element.

The rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis has a chequered and little-understood social history underlying its status as one of the world's most useful plants. Anthropological insight into its history can help to tackle the challenges rubber production will face in the future.

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) is a key enzyme that connects primary and secondary metabolic pathways. In the grass Brachypodium, one PAL can use tyrosine as a substrate. This bifunctional PTAL enzyme can produce half of the cell wall lignin.

One major transition in early plant development is de-etiolation of the young seedling. A retrograde signal from plastids and the light perception pathway converge to antagonistic regulators (ABI4 and HY5) that optimize this transition.

A high-quality rubber tree genome reveals insights into the evolution of rubber biosynthesis and ethylene stimulation in rubber production. Together with transcriptome data, this study provides valuable data for the research and breeding of rubber trees.

As photosynthesis requires water, its transport to and within leaves is a potential determinant of photosynthetic productivity. This comparison of 30 species of Viburnum shows how variations in venation architecture constrain photosynthetic rate.

Two high-quality genomes of petunia wild parents reveal two rounds of hexaploidization in the evolution of Petunia lineage and provide insights into the diversity of floral patterns and pollination systems — enhancing the model value of this genus.

FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is a mobile florigenic signal in plants. But how it moves across long distances through tissues and organs is not very well known. Here the authors show that a protein called NaKR1 regulates the movement of FT in Arabidopsis.