Excess selenium (Se) is toxic to plants; however, relatively little information is known about the regulatory mechanism of plant Se tolerance. Jiang et al. report a novel role of the TPS22 (terpenoid synthase) gene in...
Climate change with increasing periods of drought is expected to reduce the yield of biomass crops such as poplars. To combat yield loss it is important to better understand the molecular mechanisms that control growth...
Plant regrowth in response to defoliation relies on efficient nitrogen use. Roche et al. find that remobilisation of water soluble carbohydrate stores in leaves of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is coordinated with...
Both pathogenic and epiphytic organisms obtain nutrients from host plants. Dhandapani et al. show the differential impact of an epiphytic (avirulent) strain and a pathogenic strain of the cytokinin-producing bacterium...
Constitutive defence activation in plants leads to resistance to a broad-spectrum of pathogens, but also frequently to stunted growth and reduced seed sets; how do plants decide whether to defend against infection or to...
The majority of available data on phytohormone profiles and metabolism concerns vascular plants. Žižková et al. monitor the mechanisms by which two main groups of phytohormones, cytokinins and auxins, control...
Cytokinin and auxin biosynthesis and distribution patterns have been studied intensively in many terrestrial plant species. Until now, no direct phytohormonal screening has been carried out in rootless, aquatic...
Kiwifruit species that have either green flesh (Actinidia deliciosa ‘Haywood’) or gold flesh (A. chinensis ‘Hort 16A’) at harvest provide an interesting comparative system to investigate the mechanism of degreening in...