The persistent triploid endosperms of cereal crops are the most important source of human
food and animal feed. The development of cereal endosperms progresses through …

Defining how organ size is regulated, a process controlled not only by the number of cells
but also by the size of the cells, is a frontier in developmental biology. Large cells are …

Drought is the most important crop yield-limiting factor, and detailed knowledge of its impact
on plant growth regulation is crucial. The maize (Zea mays) leaf growth zone offers unique …

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a collective term for diverse processes causing an actively
induced, tightly controlled cellular suicide. PCD has a multitude of functions in the …

Endoreduplication is the major source of somatic endopolyploidy in higher plants, and leads
to variation in cell ploidy levels due to iterative rounds of DNA synthesis in the absence of …

To battle adverse internal and external conditions and maintain homeostasis, diploid
organisms employ various cellular processes, such as proliferation and apoptosis. In some …

The human retinoblastoma (RB 1) protein is a tumor suppressor that negatively regulates
cell cycle progression through its interaction with members of the E2F/DP family of …

The life cycle of cereal seeds can be divided into two phases, development and germination,
separated by a quiescent period. Seed development and germination require the growth …

Seed development is a complex process that requires coordinated integration of many
genetic, metabolic, and physiological pathways and environmental cues. Different cell cycle …

Maize (Zea mays) endosperm filling is coordinated with cell expansion to enlarge the grain
size, but the mechanism coupling the two processes is poorly understood. Starchy …