Natural variation in arsenate tolerance identifies an arsenate reductase in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The enormous amount of environmental arsenic was a major factor in determining the biochemistry of incipient life forms early in the Earth's history. The most abundant chemical form in the reducing atmosphere was arsenite, which forced organisms to evolve strategies to manage this chemical species. Following the great oxygenation event, arsenite oxidized to arsenate and the action of arsenate reductases became a central survival requirement.

WRKY6 transcription factor restricts arsenate uptake and transposon activation in Arabidopsis.

Stress constantly challenges plant adaptation to the environment. Of all stress types, arsenic was a major threat during the early evolution of plants. The most prevalent chemical form of arsenic is arsenate, whose similarity to phosphate renders it easily incorporated into cells via the phosphate transporters.

Role of actin cytoskeleton in brassinosteroid signaling and in its integration with the auxin response in plants.

In plants, developmental programs and tropisms are modulated by the phytohormone auxin. Auxin reconfigures the actin cytoskeleton, which controls polar localization of auxin transporters such as PIN2 and thus determines cell-type-specific responses. In conjunction with a second growth-promoting phytohormone, brassinosteroid (BR), auxin synergistically enhances growth and gene transcription.