Volume 170, Issue 4, April 2016

Knowledge about the mechanism of non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching adds to an understanding of its effectiveness at protecting plants from photodamage.

Precise genome editing enables an herbicide tolerance trait in a commercially relevant crop by improving the outcome of DNA double strand break repair using single-stranded oligonucleotides.

A software tool incorporating a range of experimental and data analysis choices in a sequencing-based forward genetics study aids in the design of an optimal procedure for gene identification.

Tocopherol-like methyltransferases in the Apocynaceae family of angiosperms are monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA)-N-methyltransferases that contribute to chemical and biological diversity of the plants.

Isoprene emission modulates stress-induced NO production and S-nitrosylation pattern in poplar.

A type II transmembrane protein from tobacco pollen is associated with (1,5)-α-arabinan synthesis.

A NADPH dehydrogenase is critical for balancing electron flow between energy-dissipating and energy-generating pathways during the acclimation to photoautotrophic nitrogen deprivation.

Genome-wide association analysis identifies novel alleles controlling seed element accumulation.

A xylan synthase engages an unusual regulatory mechanism linking ER complex assembly with forward trafficking.

Suppressing a chloroplast oxidoreductase decreases carbon utilization during the night, and inhibits plant growth.

The protease post-translationally fine-tunes a key enzyme in the synthesis of 5-Aminolevulinic acid during photoperiodic growth.

Lipid droplet-associated proteins play different roles in various physiological contexts and during plant stress responses.

During wood formation, water availability is the most important factor for cell production, while carbon is more important to sustain the differentiation of living cells.

Small herbaceous species are vulnerable to water stress but adjusted to their habitat conditions and internally coordinated to avoid hydraulic failure.

Three ancient classes of genes encoding leucine-rich repeat proteins diverged into at least 23 lineages in the common ancestor of angiosperm, from which all current gene repertoires evolved through dynamic expansion.

The White Panicle1 gene, encoding a Val-tRNA synthetase, plays an essential role in early chloroplast development.

Despite widespread vernalization responsiveness in the grass subfamily Pooideae, the flowering repressor VERNALIZATION2 evolved more recently in core members of this subfamily.

Wounding induces expression of the NAC1 transcription factor that affects root tip emergence during de novo regeneration of adventitious root.

Two barley transcription factors interact to serve as a gene expression switch at key stages of seed development: maturation and germination.

Homodimerization of an inducer of florigen gene expression, Ehd1, promotes flowering, but can be interrupted by the response regulator OsRR1.

expVIP is an adaptable platform to create an integrated gene expression interface for any species with a transcriptome assembly.

Integration of genome wide association mapping and genomic prediction increases resolution of genetic architecture and uncovers missing heritability of quantitative traits in plants.

A Cystathionine-β-Synthase like protein, exclusively expressed during Medicago-Rhizobium symbiosis, is required for infection thread propagation and bacterial endocytosis.

A seed-to-seedling gene coexpression network reveals homeodomain leucine zipper I transcription factor AtHB13 as a novel key regulator affecting primary root length during late seedling establishment.

Buds of a phytochrome B mutant express high levels of the flowering regulators TFL1, TPPI, and gibberellic acid oxidase and become dormant, whereas wild-type buds with higher cytokinin/sugar induce a SWEET transporter, cell wall invertases, and grow into tillers.

An allopolyploid’s level of hybrid vigor may depend on environmental and ecological conditions.

Protein kinase CIPK23 and channel subunit AtKC1 are both crucial for the modulation of potassium channel AKT1 as well as for the response to low-potassium stress.

Light-evoked cotyledon greening and chloroplast differentiation in deetiolating tomato seedlings are orchestrated by regulatory feedback loops involving phytochromes, nitric oxide, auxins, and ethylene.

Six Arabidopsis LLM-domain B-GATA transcription factors control greening, hypocotyl elongation, phyllotaxy, floral organ initiation, branching, flowering time and senescence.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase PUB1 is a common negative regulator for both rhizobial and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses and interacts with a key receptor kinase.

A plant-pathogenic fungus alters its infection strategy, depending on initial spore density on the leaf surface and intensity of the corresponding plant immune.

Salt stress and ethylene antagonistically regulate the nucleocytoplasmic partitioning of the COP1 E3 ligase, thereby suppressing seed germination.

Soil flooding reactivates dormant adventitious root primordia via ethylene-induced reduction in ABA level.

Micro-RNA miR444 and its MADS-box targets directly alter RNA-dependent RNA polymerase transcription in antiviral defense.

The OsOTS1 SUMO protease acts in the nucleus to promote root growth and confer salt tolerance.

The root apoplast secretome of Gossypium barbadense actively changes upon infection, and a thioredoxin plays an important role in apoplastic ROS balance.

Feeding caterpillars trigger various types of electrophysiological reactions with diverse voltage patterns that are specific for plant species.

Perturbation of AGO1, a key enzyme in microRNA metabolism, sensitizes seedlings to stochastic instances of cell death due to up-regulated jasmonate signaling.

Repression of the jasmonic acid pathway by insect eggs is associated with degradation of transcription factors that control defense gene activation.

A programmed cell death protein, by its interaction with histone acetyltransferases, has an important role during DNA damage responses induced by UV-B radiation in Arabidopsis.

A heat stress transcription factor is involved in tomato pollen thermotolerance, contributing to stress responses as well as the abundance of chaperones in the priming program activated during microsporogenesis.

Two transcription factors positively regulate Fe homeostasis by activating the transcription of the Ib subgroup bHLH genes.

A small rubber particle protein homolog plays dual roles as positive factors in post-germination growth and the drought stress tolerance response

Over-expressing or silencing proteases or their inhibitors alter the metabolite composition of the grain and modify the germination process in barley