Volume 6 Issue 11, November 2020

Mothers and fathers contribute equally to the early embryonic transcriptome in plants, but the full extent of parental control of embryogenesis is unknown. Now it has been reported that expression of parental alleles can vary across cell types.

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) has emerged as a signalling molecule in its own right, regulating distinct plant processes independently from its conversion to ethylene. Now it seems that ACC signalling has been steering plant development for hundreds of millions of years, predating the diversification of seed plants.

Genebanks are repositories of genetic diversity, and getting the seeds to the facilities depends on committed researchers going, if necessary, into war-torn areas in order to save and transport their resources. This narrative recounts one such journey and the system that underpins these facilities and individuals.

Genomic analyses of 101 plant species reveals a fundamental shift in the proportion of repetitive sequences in genomes above around 10 Gbp—species with the largest genomes are only about 55% repetitive, and this proportion does not increase further with genome size.

A new multicolour tool named PlaCCI allows for visualization and quantification of discrete cell cycle phases thanks to the sequential expression of three specific fluorescent markers.

Marchantia polymorpha lacks the enzyme that converts ACC into ethylene in higher plants. Genetic characterization of ethylene mutants and treatments with exogenous molecules suggest that, in this species, ACC and ethylene have independent functions.

The authors characterize a cross-talk between ABA and energy pathways. Essential ABA signalling components SnRK2s sequester SnRK1 in a protein complex, decreasing its interaction with the TOR kinase central for energy signalling.

The zygote’s genome is a combination of both the maternal and paternal genomes. Researchers previously found that the maternal and paternal genomes contribute equally to the transcriptome of early plant embryos. However, now Zhao et al. show a strong single parental effect on the development of the basal cell lineage of early proembryos in Arabidopsis.

A secreted protein effector from the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae has bactericidal properties. It allows the pathogen to modify the root microbiome in tomato and cotton, specifically eliminating plant-protective bacteria, to increase its own virulence.

In maize, a comprehensive set of approaches enabled the authors to analyse the biosynthetic pathway of the zealexin group of terpenoids and characterize the role of these antibiotic compounds in disease resistance.