Volume 4 Issue 9, September 2018

Like all living organisms, without exception, plants integrate many external signals to adapt to their environment and increase their fitness. Is this a proof of intelligence? It depends on the meaning of the word; and it really does not matter.

Pioneering archeobotanist

Self-compatible diploid potatoes have been developed by knocking out the self-incompatibility gene S-RNase using CRISPR–Cas9 editing, opening new avenues for diploid potato breeding.

Plants are amazing chemical factories. Within the plant kingdom, more than 450 distinct fatty acid structures have been described. Two new C₂₄ dihydroxy fatty acids have now been discovered that are synthesized by an unprecedented biosynthetic route termed ‘discontinuous elongation’.

Cell walls made mainly of polysaccharides are a distinguishing feature of plants. They play key roles in adaptation today and during pivotal evolutionary events, such as colonization of dry land and development of a water-conducting vascular system. A critical enzyme involved in cell wall biosynthesis has now been identified.

Ploidy differences in sex-linked genes typically produce gene expression imbalances between the sexes. A two-sex plant offers a solution for the early stages of resolution of this gene expression imbalance, very much reminiscent of a model proposed for mammals 50 years ago.

Light microscopy has been experiencing explosive innovation and development. In this Review, the biological applications of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) are synthesized to provide a reference for perspective users in plant research.

Self-incompatibility of potatoes hinders the development of inbred diploid lines and breeding efficiency. Now, a study generated self-compatible diploid potatoes by knocking out a self-incompatibility gene, opening new avenues for potato breeding.

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is one of the most important sources of nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, the researchers demonstrate that light availability is an outstanding driver of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in tropical leguminous trees.

Crop fungal diseases pose great threats to global food security. This study isolates and characterizes three BED-domain-containing immune receptor genes from hexaploid wheat that confer resistance to yellow rust with distinct recognition specificities.

Pectin, the major gelling component of the plant cell wall, is rich in galacturonic acids that compose the backbones of pectic polysaccharides. Now, researchers have identified a new family of enzymes responsible for synthesizing the backbone of pectin, RG-I.

A study finds a novel mechanism of plant dosage compensation, where genomic imprinting results in higher expression of maternal X chromosomes, by examining the evolutionarily young XY sex determination system of Silene latifolia.

REF6 is a histone demethylase that antagonizes the effect of the Polycomb gene-silencing complex. Genome-wide approaches on a novel triple mutant show that REF6 and its paralogues dynamically and spatially restrict Polycomb activity during development.

The circadian clock involves daily variations in transcription of a set of core genes. Here, the authors show that oscillations in free calcium concentration, read by calmodulin-like proteins, regulate the clock and are part of this complex mechanism.

SNC1 is an intracellular NLR immune receptor controlled by the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCF^CPR1. A reverse genetic screen in Arabidopsis identified three clustered NLR partners of SNC1 named SIKICs, which are themselves regulated by novel E3 ubiquitin ligases MUSE1 and MUSE2.

Vegetable oils are used in cooking, manufacturing and supplying biofuel. Now, researchers have identified two new fatty acids in the seed oil of a Brassicaceae species whose biosynthesis involves an unprecedented fatty acid hydroxylation pathway.

The origin and regulatory roles of isopentenyl phosphate (IP) in plant terpenoid metabolism remain unclear. Now, a study reports the enzymes for IP production and shows that these enzymes can be used to manipulate terpene production.