Showing papers in "Trends in Plant Science in 2008"

TL;DR: Environmental stress enhances the extent of photoinhibition, a process that is determined by the balance between the rate of photodamage to photosystem II (PSII) and the rates of its repair, through suppression of the synthesis of PSII proteins.

TL;DR: The analysis of plant lines with modified cutins and suberins has begun to reveal the inter-relationships between the composition and function of these polymers.

TL;DR: The potential for rapid adaptation from standing genetic variation and from new mutations is reviewed, and four types of evolutionary change that might promote or constrain rapid adaptation during the invasion process are examined.

TL;DR: Several recent papers are discussed that cover the evolutionary history and molecular mode of action of Pentatricopeptide repeat proteins, and propose hypotheses for their physiological roles that could explain why PPR proteins are so numerous in terrestrial plants.

TL;DR: The ABC superfamily comprises both membrane-bound transporters and soluble proteins involved in a broad range of processes, many of which are of considerable agricultural, biotechnological and medical potential.

TL;DR: In apple, three recent papers describe the discovery of MYB genes activating skin, flesh and foliage anthocyanic colour as mentioned in this paper, which lead the way to new approaches in the breeding and biotechnological development of fruit with new colour patterns.

TL;DR: The premise that GABA metabolism plays a major role in carbon and nitrogen primary metabolism is discussed, and technological developments that will likely allow us to address the quantitative importance of this shunt within the biological processes to which it contributes are evaluated.

TL;DR: Current knowledge of, and advances in, research on chemical signals that are sent from roots under drought are described and the contribution of these different potential signals is discussed within the context of their role in stress signaling.

TL;DR: Glycinebetaine has been studied extensively as a compatible solute because of the availability of GB-accumulating transgenic plants that harbor a variety of transgenes for GB-biosynthetic enzymes.

TL;DR: This work compares the advantages and constraints of vascular and airborne signals for the plant, and discusses how they can act in synergy to achieve optimised resistance in distal plant parts.

TL;DR: Upon sensing the energy deficit associated with stress, nutrient deprivation and darkness, SnRK1 triggers extensive transcriptional changes that contribute to restoring homeostasis, promoting cell survival and elaborating longer-term responses for adaptation, growth and development.

TL;DR: New findings demonstrate that the root-shoot distribution of zinc is controlled mainly by heavy metal transporting P1B-ATPases and the metal tolerance protein (MTP) family.

TL;DR: This work examines how biotechnology, such as lignin modification, abiotic stress resistance, nutrition usage, in planta expression of cell wall digestion enzymes, biomass production, feedstock establishment, biocontainment of transgenes, metabolic engineering, and basic research, can be used to address the challenges faced by bioenergy crop production.

TL;DR: A coherent set of hypotheses explaining the birth, selection and death of miRNAs in land plants are provided, suggesting at least two independent origins from an ancestral small RNA-producing pathway.

TL;DR: This review will focus on recent developments in the understanding of retrograde and systemic signals generated by organelles, with an emphasis on chloroplasts.

TL;DR: Characterization of two- component elements in Arabidopsis, maize and rice shows that cytokinin responses are mediated via partially redundant two-component protein families: histidine kinases, histidine phosphotransfer proteins and response regulators, as well as by novel players, such as the cytokinIn response factors.

TL;DR: The strategy of combining transcriptome and metabolome as a powerful technology for studying the functional genomics of model plants and also crop and medicinal plants is reviewed.

TL;DR: It is proposed that specific target genes activated by the LEC TFs underlie, in part, their roles in the maturation phase and SE, and that the effect of L EC TFs on the balance of abscisic acid to gibberellic acid might link their role in totipotency and thematuration phase.

TL;DR: The uniformity of plant cell responses to AM colonization in haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes, in non-root organs, and throughout many seed plant clades highlights the ancient origin of the interaction and suggests the existence of common molecular and cellular processes.

TL;DR: The anatomy, development and physiology of laticifers are discussed with a focus on evolutionary and ecological perspectives.

TL;DR: The discovery of JAZ transcriptional regulators greatly advances the understanding of how jasmonate signaling regulates plant growth and response to the environment.

TL;DR: The purpose of this review is to summarize different strategies employed to identify essential genes in Arabidopsis, an important component of the minimal gene set in plants, to present an overview of the datasets and specific genes identified to date, and to discuss the prospects for future saturation of this important class of genes.

TL;DR: Recent evidence suggests that endogenous RDR activities intercept several RNA quality control pathways that normally prevent or restrain widespread amplification of silencing, which is likely to be detrimental.

TL;DR: Transgenic approaches show promise for generating crops that are tolerant of B deficiency and toxicity, and B-toxicity tolerance in yeast and plants are discussed.

TL;DR: The Ca2+-signalling mechanisms absent from land plants were, in fact, present in ancestral eukaryotes and were lost by land plants after their divergence from the chlorophyte algae.

TL;DR: A reorganization of the various naming systems for the plastid-localized 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway is proposed with the aim of facilitating the dissemination and sharing of genetic resources and tools central to plant isoprenoid research.

TL;DR: Changes in transcription and protein metabolism were observed in the 'dry' (1) quiescent seed state, suggesting that careful controls are required for seed expression-profiling experiments.

TL;DR: The plant-specific B3 superfamily encompasses well-characterized families such as the auxin response factor (ARF) family and the LAV family, as well as less well understood families, such as RAV and REM.

TL;DR: Recent advances in AM research are reviewed and the use of breeding approaches to generate new crop varieties that enhance the agronomic potential of AM associations are reviewed.

TL;DR: Understanding how plant morphological and developmental remodeling and pathogen cell wall targeted virulence influence infections provides new perspectives about plant-pathogen interactions.