Andy Tuckey

A few weeks late, but thesis done and defence survived! Huge thanks to everyone who kept me caffeinated and sane. ☕🎓 #PhinisheD

Branching out: Nitrogen-dependent modulation of strigolactone signaling Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived plant compounds that stimulate the germination of root-parasitic weeds. Why a host plant should produce such detrimental signals remained unclear until exuded SLs were shown to also encourage symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Shortly after this discovery, SLs were found to act internally as endogenous phytohormones to regulate numerous traits, most prominently shoot branching, or “tillering” in cereal crops (Gomez-Roldan et al., 2008; Umehara et al., 2008).

Our spotlight paper on nitrogen-dependent regulation of strigolactone signalling is out now! It's a little mini-review on some really cool recent work on the receptor protein D14 in rice. (Featuring a little illustration of rice by yours truly 🌾)
tinyurl.com/4hee277v
#PlantScience #Strigolactones