Tissue-specific inhibition of brassinosteroids regulates panicle branching and grain yield in rice

Plant cells communicate to coordinate their cycle of growth, flowering and fruiting, and activities in roots, shoots, and leaves in response to the changing environmental conditions. Plant signaling is distinct from animal signaling. Plants primarily utilize enzyme-linked receptors, whereas the largest class of cell-surface receptors in animals are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Unlike animals, receptor tyrosine kinases are rare in plants. Instead, plants have a diverse class of...

Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.

Plant hormones—or phytohormones—are chemical molecules that modulate one or more physiological processes of a plant. In animals, hormones are often produced in specific glands and circulated via the circulatory system. However, plants lack hormone-producing glands.

Riboswitches are non-coding mRNA domains that regulate the transcription and translation of downstream genes without the help of proteins. Riboswitches bind directly to a metabolite and can form unique stem-loop or hairpin structures in response to the amount of the metabolite present. They have two distinct regions – a metabolite-binding aptamer and an expression platform.
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...