Our latest paper on plant responses to cell wall signaling: “A G protein-coupled receptor-like module regulates cellulose synthase secretion from the endomembrane system in Arabidopsis” is now available online at Developmental Cell!

The cell wall provides mechanical support and protection to plant cells. Since plant cells must grow and develop within the confines of their cell wall, there is constant communication between the plant cell and its cell wall, called cell wall signaling. In this paper, we investigate the way that plants respond to signals that the cell wall is weak or damaged. We characterize a mechanism by which plants fortify their cell walls in response to stress and find that this mechanism acts through a G-protein coupled receptor-like module that facilitates secretion of cell wall synthesis enzymes.

doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2021.03.031

Eduardo’s spotlight review on the recent cryo-TEM structure of a higher plant cellulose synthase trimer is now available online at Trends in Plant Science.  This paper highlights the structural information presented in Purushotham et al., 2020 Science and discusses the insights that these new data bring to our understanding of cellulose synthesis in higher plants.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.09.010

Our collaboration with Michael Sauer’s group at the University of Potsdam is now available online with PNAS.  This work presents a comprehensive study of Epsin-like accessory proteins in Arabidopsis and reveals the existence of two independent, parallel transport pathways, which originate from spatially separate regions at the trans-Golgi Network.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004822117

Natalie’s latest paper, the culmination of her MSc project with Lacey Samuels at the University of British Columbia, is now available online with Plant Physiology.  There have been exciting rumours about the cover image, so keep a lookout for the October issue of the journal!

Eduardo has written a book chapter as part of his MSc with Josh Heazlewood at the University of Melbourne. The chapter “Enrichment of N-Linked Glycopeptides and Their Identification by Complementary Fragmentation Techniques” is part of the collection “Plant Proteomics Methods and Protocols”  from Springer and is now available online.

Have you ever wondered how branches have the strength to grow upward against gravity? Check out our recent review how the cytoskeleton influences reaction wood formation in trees: “The cytoskeleton and its role in determining cellulose microfibril angle in secondary cell walls of woody tree species” now available online in the Special Issue on Plant Cell Wall Biology in Plants.

Congratulations Larissa on all of your hard work and another publication from your MSc!

Our collaboration with Barry Pogson’s group at the Australian National University is now online at Plant Cell. The paper characterizes an enzyme that catalyzes carotenoid esterification in wheat, and we contributed the subcellular localization experiments.

The article was the subject of a brief feature article in Plant Cell which highlights one of our micrographs! The paper was also featured on the American Society of Plant Biologists community, Plantae in a great plain language summary.

Our collaboration with Harriet Parsons (Cambridge University/Joint BioEnergy Institute) tracking protein and polysaccharide distribution across sub-compartments of the plant Golgi apparatus is now online at Plant Cell and was also the subject of a brief feature article.