For plant viruses a successful infection correlates with the ability to access the vascular phloem and move systemically into distal tissues. However, how viruses gain access to and usurp vascular tissues is poorly understood. Here we show how tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) enhances its access to the phloem of mature plant tissues through the targeted disruption of auxin/indole acetic acid (Aux/IAA) transcriptional regulators that control expression of host genes involved in virus cell-to-cell movement, plasmodesmata gating, and defense.

Plant often responds to fungal pathogens by expressing a group of proteins known as pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs). The expression of PR is mediated through pathogen-induced signal-transduction pathways that are fine-tuned by phytohormones such as methyl jasmonate (MeJA)

Rice blast is a devastating fungal disease worldwide. The use of blast resistance (R) genes is the most important approach to control the disease in rice breeding. In the present study, we finely mapped a novel resistance gene Pi65(t), conferring a broad-spectrum resistance to the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, using bulked segregant analysis in combination with next-generation sequencing technology.

This article presents a comprehensive review on the genetic and biochemical mechanisms governing rice-planthopper interactions, aiming to contribute substantial planthopper control and facilitate breeding for resistance to planthoppers in rice. The rice planthopper is the most destructive pest of rice and a substantial threat to rice production.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are integral membrane proteins that initiate stimulus-dependent activation of cognate heterotrimeric G-proteins, triggering ensuing downstream cellular responses. Tight regulation of GPCR-evoked pathways is required because prolonged stimulation can be detrimental to an organism. Ste2, a GPCR in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that mediates response of MATa haploids to the peptide mating pheromone α-factor, is down-regulated by both constitutive and agonist-induced endocytosis.

Over-expression of OsMYB55 in maize decreased the negative effects of high temperature and drought resulting in improved plant growth and performance under these conditions. This was evidenced by the higher plant biomass and reduced leaf damage exhibited by the transgenic lines compared to wild type when plants were subjected to individual or combined stresses and during or after recovery from stress. A global transcriptomic analysis using RNA sequencing revealed that several genes induced by heat stress in wild type plants are constitutively up-regulated in OsMYB55 transgenic maize.

A century of genetic analysis has revealed that multiple mechanisms control the distribution of meiotic crossover events. In Drosophila melanogaster, two significant positional controls are interference and the strongly polar centromere effect.

High temperatures have the potential to cause severe damages to maize production. This study aims to elucidate the genetic mechanisms of heat tolerance under field conditions in maize and the genome regions contributing to natural variation

More than half a century ago, Oliver Nelson and Edwin Mertz at Purdue University found the maize opaque2 (o2) mutation produces doubling of the endosperm lysine content, creating the foundation for quality protein maize (QPM) breeding. QPM has the potential to benefit millions of people in developing countries who consume maize as their sole protein source.

Here we report for the first time that bacterial blight of rice can be alleviated by silicon (Si) added. In both inoculated and uninoculated plants, shoot dry weight was significantly higher in the +Si plants than in the -Si plants. A soil-cultured trial showed that disease severity was 24.3% lower in the Si-amended plants than in the non-Si-amended plants. Plants that were switched from -Si to +Si nutrient solution and simultaneously inoculated with Xoo also exhibited the same high resistance to bacterial blight as the plants that were treated continuously with Si