Setaria viridis (green millet) is the wild relative of cultivated foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and an emerging model system for panicoid grasses, including cereal crops such as maize and sugarcane. S. viridis produces sterile bristles in the inflorescences, which apparently arise from the same developmental program as the grain-bearing spikelets. Yang et al. (pages 48–66) report on an S. viridis mutant that produces few to no bristles due to disruption of a spatially restricted brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis gene that is sufficient for homeotic conversion of bristles to spikelets. Thus, bristles arise from suppression of the spikelet identity program, followed by rapid elongation and loss of meristem activity, which is dependent on BRs in a spatiotemporal manner. The work provides insight into the molecular basis underlying variation in inflorescence architecture in grasses and molecular targets for enhancing yield potential in millets. The cover image shows the complex morphology of an S. viridis panicle at anthesis, with sterile bristles interspersed with fertile spikelets.
PLANT CELL:福建农林发现果实成熟过程中新的乙烯信号转导组分
Cell wall-related (CWR) 基因在香蕉成熟过程中发挥重要作用。借助转录组以及全基因组范围内chromatin accessibility and transcription factor (TF) binding分析发现了两个调控果实成熟的关键调控子 Musa acuminata NAC-like, Activated by apetala3/Pistillata1 (MaNAP1) 和 MaMADS1, 它们可以直接结合到CWR基因启动子上或者通过其它转录因子来调控果实成熟。
MaNAP1 and MaMADS1 直接受到经典乙烯信号转导途径中的ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (MaEIN3)的调控,而且MaNAP1 and MaMADS1还受组蛋白相关修饰调控 从而参与MaEIN3介导的乙烯信号转导过程。过表达MaNAP1, MaMADS1以及其它几个转录因子可以显著促进香蕉成熟过程。
小结：本研究揭示了调控香蕉果实成熟过程中的新的转录因子。
原文：The MaNAP1-MaMADS1 transcription factor module mediates ethylene-regulated peel softening and ripening in banana
