š» The Week in Botany, March 11, 2024
Thank you for all the well-wishes. I've done very little this week, but plan to make a slow return in the coming week. I'm finding recuperation tedious, and I've been reading a few papers I'd like to tell people about.
In other news, the Australian Academy of Scienceās National Symposium will, for the first time, be held in Brisbane on March 22. The topic will be Food Futures: Nourishing a Nation, and it looks like there'll be sessions hitting food production from different angles. If you're not able to get to Brisvegas, there's an online option for attendance starting at 0930. That'll be 0030 in Berlin, 2330, the previous day in London and, I think 1930 in New York, 1630 Los Angeles. We're in the confusing period where US clocks have changes and European ones haven't yet, so confirm those times if you're interested.
I'll try to send another newsletter at the usual European time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
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Synthetic microbe-to-plant communication channels (OA)
Boo et al. develop modular interkingdom communication channels, enabling bacteria to convey environmental stimuli to plants. They introduce a āsender deviceā in Pseudomonas putida and Klebsiella pneumoniae, that produces the small molecule p-coumaroyl-homoserine lactone (pC-HSL) when the output of a sensor or circuit turns on. This molecule triggers a āreceiver deviceā in the plant to activate gene expression. They validate this system in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum (potato) grown hydroponically and in soil, demonstrating its modularity by swapping bacteria that process different stimuli, including IPTG, aTc and arsenic.
Floral pigments and their perception by avian pollinators in three Chilean Puya species ($)
The Chilean Puya species, Puya coerulea var. violacea and P. chilensis bear blue and pale-yellow flowers, respectively, while P. alpestris considered to be their hybrid-derived species has unique turquoise flowers. In this study, the chemical basis underlying the different coloration of the three Puya species was explored. The modeling demonstrated that the higher pH of the turquoise and pale-yellow species enhances the chromatic contrast and spectral purity. The precise regulation of flower color by flavonoid composition and vacuolar pH may be adapted to the visual perception of their avian pollinator vision.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/dAD5N
ā»ļø Epigenetic Changes in Hybrids (OA)
A paper that's getting a fresh flush of attention thanks to this image, shared by Sebastian Coioba on Twitter who notes: "What an excellent figure to demonstrate hybrid vigor and the segregation of this in subsequent progeny."
Structure of the multi-subunit chloroplast RNA polymerase (OA)
do Prado et al. report the cryo-EM structure of a 19-subunit PEP complex from Sinapis alba (white mustard). The structure reveals that the PEP core resembles prokaryotic and nuclear RNAPs but contains chloroplast-specific features that mediate interactions with the PAPs.
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Plant RNA-binding proteins: phase-separation dynamics and functional mechanisms underlying plant development and stress responses ($)
Fan et al. summarize the current knowledge showing that dynamic partitioning of RBPs (RNA-binding proteins) into condensates controls plant development and senses experimental changes to confer growth plasticity under stress conditions, with a focus on the dynamics and functional mechanisms of RBP-rich nuclear condensates and cytoplasmic granules in mediating RNA metabolism.
Relictithismia kimotsukiensis, a new genus and species of Thismiaceae from southern Japan with discussions on its phylogenetic relationship (OA)
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Structure of the plant plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (OA)
Vergara-Cruces et al. present cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of native 21-subunit PEP and a PEP transcription elongation complex from white mustard (Sinapis alba). They identify that PAPs encase the core polymerase, forming extensive interactions that likely promote complex assembly and stability.
Careers
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