Cells, Genes & Molecules
How is flower diversity produced? Insights from Asarum
The core Heterotropa group was divided into nine subclades, each of which had a narrow geographic distribution.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Microscopes and roots: investigating whether cell wall thickenings are phi (Φ) or “C” shaped
Noccaea caerulescens has some tricks that help it cope with heavy metals.
Close Encounters
An acceptable elitism? Getting the best out of nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Marcela Mendoza-Suárez and colleagues have a new tool to turbocharge legumes.
Growth & Development
Dying to grow: Programmed Cell Death key to an epiphytic orchid’s root development
Li and colleagues combined the use of transmission electron microscopy, x-ray microtomography, and transcriptome methods to characterize the major anatomical and molecular changes that occur during the development and death of velamen radicum cells of Cymbidium tracyanum, a typical epiphytic orchid.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Do plants use ‘expanding beams’ to build their cell walls?
Beams of homogalacturonan in plant cells could be creating peculiar the shapes of pavement cells.
Ecosystems
Population genetic variability and distribution of the endangered Greek endemic Cicer graecum
In recent years, wild relatives of crop species have come under the spotlight as a potential solution to the genetic bottleneck experienced by many domesticated crops.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Spectacular speckles: silicon only disguises the signs of manganese toxicity in sunflowers and soybeans
Silicon is essential for string plants, but new research reveals that it can also hide evidence of poisoning in plants.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Fields of yellow: getting the nutrient balance right in oilseed rape
How Brassica napus takes up phosphorus can also change how it takes up other nutrients.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Control of masting may be epigenetic
Successive years of epigenetic marking may allow trees to ‘remember’ the conditions of the past few years.
Taxonomy & Evolution
Morphology is most informative in reconstructing early tracheophyte evolution
More so than reproductive or anatomical features, morphology defines evolutionary relationships among early vascular plants.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Balancing the battle: how oak trees defend against new pathogens
Population genetics may decide if oak can fight off infections it has never seen before.
Growth & Development
Staminodes of Aquilegia: how an unusual floral organ develops
Why would a flower want sterile stamens. An investigation into their development yields some clues.