Volume 166, Issue 2, October 2014

Testing tomato gene expression with tagged nuclei and ribosomes and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing shows conservation of SHORT-ROOT gene function.

Automatic methods developed or reproducible field-based phenotyping allow distinction of genotypes, including 13 newly accessible plant root traits.

Neutron radiography traces the transport of deuterated water in soil and roots to reconstruct the water flow across the root tissue and along the xylem.

The dynamics of nutrient transporters and channels emerges as a critical and highly regulated cellular process controlling nutrient uptake and distribution in plant roots.

Root morphological traits that are relevant for nutrient acquisition are regulated by nutrients and the plant’s nutritional status.

Natural variation of root growth informs on processes that govern root development, responses to nutrient availability, and ion uptake and homeostasis.

Different routes underlie radial transport of nutrients in plant roots and are influenced by the endodermis permeability and the polarity of transporters.

The diversity of postembryonic root forms and their functions add to our understanding of the genes, signals and mechanisms regulating lateral and adventitious root branching in the plant models Arabidopsis and rice.

The endodermis acts as a barrier to solute and water movement but also has important functions in signaling and morphogenesis.

Strigolactones play a role in root development, root response to nutrient deficiency, and plant interactions in the rhizosphere.

Exceptionally well-preserved fossils shed light on the earliest roots and their interactions with the environment.

The functional soil microbiome is an important parameter in developing a sustainable and effective strategy to increase crop yield and food security.

Roots and microbes secrete organic compounds into the rhizosphere that influence plant productivity.

Roots play a key role in determining long life in perennials.

Low crown root number improves nitrogen acquisition in maize by enhancing deep soil exploration in low-nitrogen soils.

The optimal lateral root branching density in the maize root system depends on the relative availability of nitrate (a mobile soil resource) and phosphorus (an immobile soil resource), with the optimum shifting to more branches when the nitrate-to-phosphorus ratio is high.

Cellular and molecular events are inherent to the formation and development of the root cap in rice.

Flavonols contribute to lateral root development through the regulation of auxin transport and root hair and they modulate the levels of reactive oxygen species.

A histone Lys methyltransferase gene is expressed in the root stem cell niche and contributes to coordinated divisions in the immediate cell lineage originating from the same stem cell.

Both abscisic acid and a nitrate transporter regulate the production of ROS and the expression of superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase enzymes to regulate root elongation.

Sorghum homologs of a rice gene contributing to P-starvation tolerance enhance P uptake and crop performance in low-P soils via modulation of root system morphology and architecture.

Pi deprivation shifts the subcellular distribution of two key brassinosteroid-related transcriptional effectors to trigger shallower root system architecture.

Abundant root cortical aerenchyma improves plant growth under nitrogen-limiting conditions by decreasing root metabolic costs, enhancing soil exploration in deep soil strata, thereby increasing nitrogen acquisition at greater depths.

Extended branching order classification describes morphological variability in root systems and respiration better than traditional root diameter classes or root orders alone.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor biosynthesis and glycosylphosphatidylinositol modification of proteins are central to coordinated plant development.

Root exudation of nicotianamine is required for excess zinc tolerance.

An enzyme of cytosolic hexose phosphate metabolism is essential for plant reproduction and important for photosynthesis.

Ginkbilobin2 is shown to exert antifungal activity through its interaction with a1,2-linked mannose chains of fungal cell wall mannan, which provides clues to the molecular function of the DUF26 protein family.

Plants expressing two sesquiterpene synthases emitted increased quantities of target volatiles without changes to other volatiles, defense, growth, or yield in transformants or neighboring plants.

Diversification of anthocyanins in peach is attributed to glycosylation and methylation.

The discrete localization of laccases to secondary cell walls directs lignification in protoxylem.

Disruption of intermitochondrial association affects mitochondrial quality control, leading to mitochondrial stress, cell death, and strong growth defects.

Measurements of leaf vein length per area do not increase systematically with image magnification, contrary to a recent claim, given appropriate attention toward accuracy and precision.

Root secretion of nicotianamine from zinc-hyperaccumulating Arabidopsis halleri facilitates zinc hypertolerance through coordinating zinc uptake and iron homeostasis in roots.

Volatile isoprenoids emitted by plants, enhanced by photosynthesis under drought, have a significant influence on ozone pollution and global climate.

Two mitochondrial translocases are essential for the division during early embryo and endosperm development in Arabidopsis.

Analysis of 61 RNA-seq samples reveals the existence of common, rare, and nondetectable transcripts, including ubiquitous transcripts, dominant/subordinate transcripts, and switch transcripts, in terms of their expression and transcript ratio.

An ATP-dependent binding cassette transporter contributes to plant resistance to infection by Pseudomonas syringae and tolerance of abscisic acid.

A plant-specific protein controls the complexity and connectivity of veins in cotyledons.

A proposed regulatory loop segment of the DEK1 transmembrane domain is required for gametophore patterning in Physcomitrella patens.

Tomato fruit chromoplasts exhibit a respiratory process linked to ATP synthesis that uses NAD(P)H as electron donors and represents 25% of total ripe fruit respiration.

Cadmium inhibits controlled nitrate uptake by roots, but this has the beneficial effect of reducing cadmium entry into roots.

A high-affinity rice potassium transporter plays a major role in K acquisition by roots faced with low external K and in K upward transport from roots to shoots in K-deficient rice plants.

Manipulating the electrostatic charge network that stabilizes the voltage sensor of the KAT1 K⁺ channel displaces channel gating across more than 140 mV within the physiological voltage range.

In synchronized Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells, the carbon-concentrating mechanism is induced prior to dawn, which coincides with the relocalization of key proteins to the chloroplast pyrenoid.

A single receptor-like kinase exhibits distinct signaling requirements to mediate different developmental events in Arabidopsis.

Unbiased screening through forward and chemical genetics unveils components distinctly regulating the peak time and amplitude of the plant general stress responses.

Alteration of the intracellular redox state during endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to autophagy activation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

A triphosphate tunnel metalloenzyme is a negative regulator in amplification of SA-dependent defense responses.

Transcription factors of the APETALA2 superfamily are regulated by DELLAs which represents a cross regulatory node for gibberellins and ethylene to control apical hook opening.

A quantitative proteomic approach enables unambiguous protein localization to the plant Golgi apparatus and rank ordering of the Golgi resident proteins by abundance, providing a unique view on the organization of this organelle.