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A detailed phylogenetic study now shows that there is a compelling association between polyploidy and domestication, and that polyploidy more frequently occurs before domestication.
Roots must sort the good from the bad and distinguish the inside from the outside. In endodermal cells, a ring-like apoplastic diffusion barrier called the Casparian strip is established, splitting the cells down the middle into inner and outer lateral halves. Its integrity and polarity depends on a novel protein kinase called SCHENGEN1.
Increased legume production and consumption is a promising route to future food security for several reasons: legumes are nutritious foods in their own right, and their nitrogen-fixing capabilities can benefit subsequent crop cultivation. However, legumes are currently under-used and yields will need to be improved if legumes are to become a major food crop. This will entail improvement of genetic diversity in legume breeding programmes, more widespread cultivation of legumes currently grown in restricted regions (such as cowpea), and, possibly, increased government price support
Dioecious species (those that have distinct male and female plants) are particularly vulnerable to climate change because male and female plants may be spatially segregated and specialized. Female plants will be more impacted by increasing aridity, especially in long-lived species in regions experiencing dramatic climate change. This could lead to an overabundance of male plants at the expense of females in a large number of populations.
The electrostatic charge at the inner surface of the plasma membrane is strongly negative in higher organisms. A new study shows that phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate plays a critical role in establishing plasma membrane surface charge in Arabidopsis, which regulates the correct localization of signalling components.
Trichomes are specific epidermal cells often functional in protection, seed dispersal and, less frequently, development. A MIXTA-like MYB transcription factor from cotton, GhMYBML10, has been shown to control petal trichome formation. Interestingly, the petal trichomes act as natural Velcro in maintaining correct flower bud shape, ensuring seed production.
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.
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.
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.
Micronutrient deficiency in human diets that are over-reliant on cereals can have grave consequences for health. Combining genetics, grafting and multi-elemental image analysis, new research shows that two P1B-ATPases maternally export zinc inside the developing seed in Arabidopsis, offering a new strategy for crop biofortification.
A series of genetic experiments demonstrates that small RNAs can direct gene silencing within germ cells in a non-cell-autonomous manner. This provides evidence for how plant germ and non-germ cells may communicate to maintain genome integrity during reproductive transitions.
A comprehensive analysis of transcripts in grafted cucumber–watermelon plants substantiates specific transcript transport to diverse tissues and provides new insights into phosphate starvation responses.
Cultivated peanut has a large, complex genome, so obtaining its entire sequence is challenging. De novo assemblies of two diploid ancestor genomes provide high-quality reference sequences for decoding allotetraploid peanut genomes, and will become valuable resources for breeding and evolutionary studies.
Plants must adapt to unfavourable environmental conditions. Shade avoidance by organ elongation is an important mechanism to move towards sunlight. A new mutant affected in auxin conjugation shows that auxin homeostasis controls hypocotyl elongation.
Different types of transcribed RNAs are processed by distinct RNases. Arabidopsis thaliana RNASE THREE LIKE2 (RTL2) is likely to play two opposing roles by both positively and negatively modulating the accumulation of 24-nucleotide siRNAs.
Unable to run away, plants adapt to environmental changes by adjusting their development. Two recent publications explore the unexpected contribution of blue light photoreceptors in the growth response to shade and warm temperatures.
Brassinosteroids and gibberellins are two principal growth-promoting hormones in plants. A transcription factor called JUB1 connects their signalling and biosynthesis through positive and negative feedback loops to finely coordinate developmental output.
