Research in molecular ecology and evolution is increasingly utilizing the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, placing a spotlight on its natural history.
Genetic and biochemical analyses demonstrate that cell-surface lectin receptors can potentially function as extracellular NAD+-binding receptors and provide direct evidence for extracellular NAD+ being a bona fide endogenous signaling molecule in plants.
Population genomics in Arabidopsis thaliana uncovers an extensive repertoire of active transposable element families at the species level and reveals their importance as a source of rare alleles with large effects.
Hybridization barriers in Arabidopsis thaliana can be established by paternally expressed imprinted genes (PEGs) that affect cellularization of the endosperm during seed development.
A comprehensive and genome-wide description of the genomic make-up and frequency of meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals regional preferences, including nucleosome-free regions, and two associated recombination motifs.
The use of stone tools by macaques in Thailand has reduced the size and population density of coastal shellfish; previously it was thought that tool-assisted overharvesting effects resulted uniquely from human activity.
A genomic imprinting program in the endosperm of Arabidopsis mature seeds is dynamically adjusted according to seed dormancy levels and regulates germination.
An atypical subtilase protein, resulting from an alternative splicing event, mediates retention of the defence related-transcription factor MYB30 at endosomal vesicles, thus repressing Arabidopsis antibacterial immunity.
Pairwise combinations of growth-promoting genes regulating distinct cellular mechanisms lead to synergistic effects on leaf growth, and hence greatly increased leaf size.
