Volume 170, Issue 3, March 2016

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables nondestructive 3D imaging and quantification of roots or root system architecture in soil and is suited for automated and routine measurements of root development.

New methods allow for efficient affinity purification of polymerization-competent tubulin from tobacco and Arabidopsis cell cultures.

Multiple modes of auxin action are integrated as a crucial growth regulator in the single cell model of the root hair.

A transcription factor induced by phosphate starvation regulates metabolism genes to enhance starch biosynthesis in microalgae.

Grapevine responds to increased exposure in the bunch zone by up-regulating photoprotective carotenoids in the early developmental stages and volatile terpenoids in the later ripening stages of the berries in a proposed mechanism of antioxidant homeostasis maintenance.

Deficiency of starch synthases IIIa and IVb, which elongate the long chains of amylopectin, drastically changes starch granule morphology from polyhedral to spherical in rice endosperm.

Rice lines with enhanced ADPglc synthesis and import into amyloplasts reveal additional barriers within the stroma that restrict maximum carbon flow into starch.

The Fe-S binding monothiol GrxS15 is localized to mitochondria; its absence slows growth and respiration and increases arsenic susceptibility.

The ALA10 phospholipid flippase reduces phosphatidylcholine desaturation and stimulates galactolipid-tophosphatidylcholine ratio in photosynthetic tissues.

An MYB transcription factor influences organ coloration and acidity by activating the expression of the genes encoding vacuolar proton pump subunits as well as anthocyanin transporters and malate transporters.

Acylsugar acylhydrolases are carboxylesterases that catalyze the hydrolysis of specific acyl chains from acylsugars found in trichomes.

Transcript profiling from closely related C₃ and C₄ species identifies a core guard cell signature as well as two patterns of gene expression associated with C₄ photosynthesis across the C₄ leaf.

Arabidopsis lignins, which are genetically p-coumaroylated up to the grass lignin level, display dramatic structural changes that make them more amenable to solubilization in alkali at room temperature.

During germination, defective xylose trimming alters xyloglucan anisotropic localization in cell walls during hypocotyl elongation and decreases endosperm resistance to radicle protrusion

A type 1 protein phosphatase, TOPP4, participates in the phyB signaling pathway by dephosphorylating PIF5 and controlling the stability of PIF5 in seedlings.

Sufficient cellulose and xyloglucan production controls proper guard cell expansion and allows for cellulose reorganization as stomata open or close.

The nuclear localization of subclass I actin-depolymerizing factor is critical for the susceptibility against an adapted powdery mildew.

The Arabidopsis tetraploid ecotype, Me-0, overcomes the handicap of stomatal opening that is typical for tetraploid plants and achieves a high stomatal conductance.

Starch grain size is an important factor for industrial applications of starch and is affected by a novel amyloplast membrane protein.

Mild water deficit enhances C export to the roots and modifies root architecture, with a subset of sucrose transporters involved in both shoot and roots.

Changes in climate alter specific shape features of grapevine leaves, regardless of evolutionary or developmental context.

Isolation and analysis of parasitic plant mutants with defects in haustorial hair development shows that these specialized root hairs are important for tight interactions with the host plant roots.

Enlarged leaf size, stem diameter, and root system of autotetraploid energy willows are associated with changes in hormonal status and the efficiency of photosynthesis.

A regulatory region consisting of duplicated motifs activates gene expression in plant male gamete.

Agronomically realistic, long-term drought stress mis-regulates some miRNAs and induces the down-regulation of a set of small RNA loci in the maize leaf.

Gene transcript profiles during barley endosperm cellularization reveal functional modules, coexpression networks, and regulatory genes, all of which align with cell wall changes in developing grain.

Profiling of histone H3 modifications by MS/MS identified the H3K36ac histone modification, which is introduced at the first 500 bp of active Arabidopsis genes and is conserved in gymnosperms and angiosperms.

A wheat microRNA promotes heading by negatively regulating expression of homologs of the clock gene TOC1.

Phylogenetic analysis of leucine-rich repeat-containing receptor-like kinases demonstrates the dynamic nature of gene duplication, loss, and selection in this family.

Timely production of superoxides is essential for initiation of tapetum degeneration in rice.

TEMPRANILLO repress epidermal trichome initiation by controlling gibberellin accumulation in the mesophyll as well as by acting as link between GA and CK signaling in the epidermis.

Aquaporins located in the vacuolar membrane contribute to the proper development of lateral roots.

A combined transcriptomic and physiological analysis of rice leaf development identifies the stage (P3/P4 transition) when photosynthetic competence is first established.

The transcription factor SEU promotes middle cortex formation through a network of transcription factor interactions.

Nitrogen use efficiency is mediated by vacuolar nitrate sequestration capacity in roots

The heme oxygenase HY1 functions negatively and acts upstream in drought-induced ABA signaling, and this cascade depends on RbohD-derived ROS production in the regulation of stomatal closure.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase promotes proton pump activation, resulting in vacuolar acidification and stomatal closing, thereby delaying methyl jasmonate-induced leaf senescence.

A small subset of ethylene response factor genes emerge as main actors in controlling fruit ripening via both ethylene-dependent and RIN/NOR-mediated mechanisms.

Chloroplasts modulate programmed cell death via at least two different pathways: photosynthetic activity is required for cell death while a retrograde signal negatively regulates cell death and plant innate immunity.

The AGC kinase OXI1 regulates ¹O₂-induced cell death in plants exposed to excess light energy.

MiR163 targets PXMT1 transcripts at the early stage of light responses to promote seed germination and root development.

Root type-specific lateral root branching and pericycle-specific transcriptome reprogramming highlight diverse foraging strategies of maize roots in heterogeneous nitrate environments.

A conserved Mediator complex subunit physically interacts with the transcription factor ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3-LIKE1 (TaEIL1) to promote ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR1 (TaERF1) expression and repress powdery mildew resistance.

The gene product associated with a so-called Genomes UNcoupled (gun) mutant interacts with proteins involved in plastid protein homeostasis.

A growth-inhibiting protein boosts the action of the defense-related plant hormones salicylic acid and jasmonic acid, rendering rice plants more resistant to pathogen attack.

Combining in-depth phenotyping with transcript profiling in maize recombinant inbred lines untangles the genetic control of complex traits.

Synthetic carboxysome shells, containing all of the key component proteins provide a platform for fundamental studies of shell permeability and metabolic modeling of organelle function.

Gene module multiplication drives pathway expansion in plants.