Volume 188, Issue 2, February 2022

Combining spatial transcriptomics with 3D imaging technologies can demonstrate how genes are regulated across plant cells in a multi-dimensional space.

Recent advances in single-cell proteomics for animal systems could be adapted for plants to increase our understanding of plant development, response to stimuli, and cell-to-cell signaling.

Recent advances in our understanding of plant development and ability to control gene expression in plants may enable a new strategy for engineering plant form and function.

With single-cell genomics having the potential to revolutionize the study of plant development, we address the current state, future directions, and hurdles to overcome.

Innovation of new enzymes and methods makes proximity labeling an attractive tool for discovery of protein interactions and subcellular proteomes and broadens the spectrum of applications in plants.

Confocal live-imaging provides a quantitative atlas for analyzing cellular growth dynamics underlying stamen organogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

One-sentence summary: Simultaneous visualization of the expression profiles of ninety genes on sections through the maize shoot apex captures concurrent temporal sequence of transcriptional events within a spatial context.

The late-stage onset of an “areal” spreading and stabilizing force is essential for regular plant cell plate development and maturation.

A mathematical model of the plant G-signaling switch agrees with recent data and suggests a role of 7-transmembrane regulator of G signaling in processing dynamical signals.

REPRISAL allows mapping lignification dynamics in plants based upon a combination of a monolignol chemical reporter strategy, parametric- and AI-based cell wall segmentation, and ratiometrics.

Lab-based X-ray microscopy allows high-resolution 3D imaging of intact plant samples over a wide range of sample types and sizes, filling the imaging gap between light and electron microscopy.

A pipeline and the plugin “Live Plant Cell Tracking” (LiPlaCeT) coupled to the publicly available ImageJ image analysis program allow 4D cell tracking and lineage analysis.

Analysis of Arabidopsis single cell transcriptome of roots (at end of day) and above ground tissues (at the end of day and the end of night) revealed marker genes, cell type differences, and similarities.

The genome and single-nuclei transcriptome of the Lesser Duckweed Lemna minuta provide preliminary evidence that tandem gene duplication and tissue-specific expression play roles in invasiveness.

Profiling young Arabidopsis leaves at the single-cell level enables mapping different cell populations, their development, and their sensitivity to mild drought.

Regulation of transport proteins involved in mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbioses is best understood by incorporating what is known about regulation of related transporter proteins in the same family.

By integrating all known features of short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), AnnoSINE is a tool for both accurate and fast genome-scale SINE annotation in plant genomes.

Continuous directed evolution using the yeast OrthoRep system is a powerful way to improve enzymes for use in plant engineering as illustrated by “plantizing” a bacterial thiamin synthesis enzyme.

Expressing exogenous, apple-derived chalcone synthase in actively lignifying poplar xylem tissue results in less total lignin, improved saccharification rates, and incorporation of naringenin into lignins.

A pair of evolutionarily conserved proteins involved in iron–sulfur cofactor assembly have a specific role in lipoate biosynthesis for mitochondrial dehydrogenases.

An enzyme from poplar, p-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA monolignol transferase (pHBMT1), adds ester-linked p-hydroxybenzoate moieties to lignin that can be readily hydrolyzed to release the aromatic compound.

Altered location of a key enzyme involved in the post-photosystem I electron transport chain ameliorates damage to photosystem I during increasing light intensity.

A proton-coupled potassium transporter regulates root hair development and root gravitropism in a cell-file-specific manner by facilitating polar auxin transport in Arabidopsis root tips.

Mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel proteins associate with the dynamic Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV)-induced complex and support BaMV accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Algal chloroplast proteins undergo localization changes in response to CO2 concentrations, reflecting their physiological function in survival under fluctuating CO2 environments.

The BABY BOOM transcription factor induces YUCCA-dependent auxin biosynthesis during somatic embryogenesis to maintain embryo identity and development.

Loss of all three rice Cell Division Cycle 20 genes caused male sterility, meiotic chromosome missegregation, aberrant spindle morphology, loss of meiotic cytokinesis, and disrupted tapetal function.

Moderate N fertilization enhances plant–beneficial rhizobacteria interactions and promotes plant N use efficiency, which is mediated by the signaling effect of denitrification-produced NO.

Big breeding data demonstrate that linking genomics and physiology through crop modeling-genomic prediction can hasten genetic gain and reduce the yield and water productivity gaps.

Floret-specific differences in cell wall composition and sugar accumulation likely contribute to growth suppression in the lower floret of maize spikelets.

A NYN domain endoribonuclease interacts with proteins involved in mRNA decapping activation and is involved in the specification of phyllotactic pattern in Arabidopsis.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The increase of genome-wide CHH methylation through RNA-directed DNA methylation in anther and pistil is required for proper expression of developmental genes and fertility in rice

High temperature increases meiotic instability in newly generated autotetraploid Arabidopsis thaliana by interfering with chromosome pairing.

ylem development and secondary cell wall formation partially depend on the control of cytosolic sugar availability, which is regulated by tonoplastic sugar transporters.

A barley vacuolar H⁺-pyrophosphatase plays a critical role in developing salt tolerance via the modulation of Na⁺ sequestration into root vacuoles.

A safety valve for electrons originating from Chlamydomonas efficiently functions in Arabidopsis but the PGR5 protein is still necessary to oxidize photosystem I during induction of photosynthesis.

A soybean resistance gene cluster encoding atypical TNL-type R proteins might accelerate our understanding of molecular mechanisms contributing to plant immunity against viruses.

Low red:far-red shade induces genes in roots regulated by WRKY transcription factors and ethylene, restricting primary and lateral root growth.

The ethylene F-box protein interacts with abscisic acid-insensitive 5-like protein to regulate banana fruit starch and cell wall degradation, mediating cold stress-induced softening disorders.

bHLH IVc proteins promote bHLH11 accumulation in the nucleus where it inhibits the transcriptional activation ability of bHLH IVc by recruiting TOPLESS/TOPLESS-RELATED corepressors.

A defense-inducible plant lectin aggregates bacteria by binding to surface bacterial polysaccharides, and accumulation of the lectin corresponds with enhanced resistance.

Designed strigolactone antagonists inhibit Striga seed germination.

Salt induces the phosphorylation of UNFERTILIZED EMBRYO SAC 12, enabling it to mediate the salt-overly-sensitive pathway and stomatal aperture movement to improve salt tolerance.