New discovery reveals how plants regulate cell division
SLCU researchers have discovered a way in which cells order progress through cell division - by keeping certain regulatory components “locked in” the nucleus until needed. All parts of a plant – the stem, leaves, flowers, roots, come from a pool of cells found in plant meristems. To keep the supply of these meristem cells...
Plants and a seaweed species independently evolved a strikingly similar way of placing new organs
Plants present a multitude of patterns to the world. One of the most obvious and striking is phyllotaxis (from Ancient Greek phýllon meaning leaf and táxis meaning arrangement ), the position of organs around the stem. In new work by PhD student Marina Linardic, in the Braybrook Group, potential patterning mechanisms for...
New fluorescent biosensor visualising hormone gradients
Small amounts of a chemical hormone can reprogram a plant cell and change it’s growth and physiology. Which plant cells produce these chemicals? Where and when do these chemical hormones go? And what genetic programs do they influence once they arrive? These questions are now easier to answer for one such chemical, the...
Hormone gradients visualised using a new fluorescent biosensor
Small amounts of a chemical hormone can reprogram a plant cell and change it’s growth and physiology. Which plant cells produce these chemicals? Where and when do these chemical hormones go? And what genetic programs do they influence once they arrive? These questions are now easier to answer for one such chemical, the...
How to breathe well: new insights into stomatal mechanics in leaves
New research published this week, as a collaborative effort between University of Cambridge, University of Sheffield and The John Innes Centre, is changing the way we understand plant ‘breathing’. On almost every leaf of every plant, tiny active pores called stomata act as channels through which carbon dioxide enters and...
Introducing SLCU's newest Group Leader- in her own words
I grew up bringing home living things I wasn’t supposed to take inside. I just wanted to watch them grow and figure out how they did it. I find the idea that living creatures start with one single cell that multiplies and differentiates to create a fully functional organism (and that evolution can act on these processes to...
Plant science research team including SLCU’s Helariutta reveals a missing link in plant transport
Phloem is celebrated for its role in moving the products of photosynthesis from ‘source’ tissues, e.g. leaves, through the plant body-plan to ‘sink’ tissues, e.g. roots. Despite this central role in plant physiology, the photosynthate delivery interface between the phloem and the surrounding sink tissues is not well...
Beyond Arabidopsis – Pioneering microscopy techniques and Botanic Garden expertise reveal the inner workings of Saxifraga plants
New research reveals the science behind a silver lining – SLCU researchers and CU Botanic Garden staff combine forces to discover the how and why behind the Saxifraga’s silver-white crust.
Can we improve crop photosynthesis to feed the world sustainably? A lecture by Prof Steve Long as well as tours, talks and activities mark SLCU's involvement in the upcoming Festival of Plants on 20 May.
How to become a giant cell? Fluctuations in a key regulator guide cell size in flower organs.
A key regulator has been discovered to determine cell size in flowers through random fluctuations. Counterintuitively, this randomness can lead to patterns. This finding helps us to understand how biological patterns are initiated, how shape and size are determined during growth, and may lead to important discoveries improving crop yields.
