Protein intrinsic disorder (ID), referring to the lack of a fixed tertiary structure, is an emerging topic in plant science. Proteins with ID challenge our perception of protein interactions because of their malleable behavior. They are abundant in highly regulated processes such as cellular signaling and transcription, where they exploit the flexibility of ID. On pages 625–632 Karen Skriver and colleagues highlight trends in the field of protein ID and discuss its implications for interactions between plant transcription factors (TFs) and the cellular signaling hub protein RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH 1 (RCD1). The authors propose RCD1–TF interactions as models for translating knowledge of ID-based interactions in vitro to the organismal level in vivo, and call for increased focus on ID in basic plant research and agricultural sciences. Cover design by Susanne C. Brink.
新植物学家：印度科学家揭示调控水稻叶片大小的分子机制
关于水稻叶片大小的遗传调控机制目前知之甚少。栽培水稻与野生水稻叶片大小差异显著。本研究借助比较转录组学分析栽培水稻和野生水稻叶片大小差异的分子机制。
作者分析发现，赤霉素、细胞循环是造成野生型水稻和栽培水稻叶片长度差异的两个重要因素，而转录因子growth-regulating
factors (GRFs)在这个过程中发挥重要作用。赤霉素水平与叶片长度成正相关关系，野生型水稻中高赤霉素水平导致其叶片长度较之栽培水稻叶片长度增加，这与依赖于GA的细胞分裂过程有关。
在赤霉素下游 OsGRF7 and OsGRF8两个转录因子参与了对细胞分裂过程的调控过程。此外作者还进一步解析了由GA介导的细胞分裂区域以及 OsGRF7 and OsGRF8下游的信号转导组分。
本研究揭示的造成野生水稻和栽培水稻叶片长度差异的分子机制如下：
Fig. 8 GA-OsGRF7/8 module is a key regulator of the rice leaf length via controlling the size of the division zone. GA-mediated induction in the expression domain of OsGRF7 and OsGRF8 transcription factors expands the region with cell division activity at the leaf base, thus promoting the longer division zone with a higher cell production rate leading to longer leaves in rice. Higher GA levels and downstream signalling resulting in increased cell division activity explained the longer leaves of the wild rice O. australiensis compared with the cultivated varieties. Arrows (↓) indicate promoting effects, whereas bluntended arrows indicate (⊥) inhibiting effects.
原文：
V. Jathar, K. Saini, A. Chauhan, R. Rani, Y. Ichihashi, A. Ranjan. Spatial control of cell division by GA‐OsGRF7/8 module in a leaf explaining the leaf length variation between cultivated and wild rice. The New phytologist. 234 (2022), 867-883
