The YABBY gene SHATTERING1 controls activation rather than patterning of the abscission zone in Setaria viridis

Plants have highly evolved mechanisms to shed or drop organs (abscission) in response to environmental or developmental cues. It’s why you have to rake leaves in the Fall! But in agriculture, the natural shedding of flowers or seeds is detrimental, and cereal crops with abscission-inhibiting mutations in certain genes, like SHATTERING1, have been bred to dramatically increase yield. Using Crispr gene editing and detailed analyses, Yu et al. show for the first time some mechanistic features of abscission in the grasses, including the role of the plant hormone auxin. Learn more here: 

• Yu, Y., Hu, H., Voytas, D.F., Doust, A.N., and Kellogg, E.A. (2023). The YABBY gene SHATTERING1 controls activation rather than patterning of the abscission zone in Setaria viridis. New Phytologist 240, 846-862. DOI: 10.1111/nph.19157.