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TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) is key factor that controls flowering time and inflorescence meristem identity. Here, the researchers assign a new role to TFL1 of seed size determination by regulating the timing of endosperm cellularization.
Two high-quality nanopore genome assemblies of Brassica nigra are reported, one of which has particularly high contiguity with a contig N50 of 17.1 Mb, allowing localization of active centromeres and reconstruction of the ancestral Brassica genome.
The introduction of combinations of enzymes of cyanobacterial, red algal and plant origin into Nicotiana tabacum increases photosynthetic carbon assimilation, biomass accumulation and water-use efficiency, under both glasshouse and field conditions.
When root stem cells are destroyed, the remaining neighbour cells accumulate auxin to prepare for regeneration. Where does this auxin come from? Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, the authors show that auxin is synthesized locally and not transported from elsewhere.
The Arabidopsis SWI/SNF complexes regulate chromatin structure and gene expression, and contain many subunits, including BRAHMA. Two homologous BRAHMA-interacting proteins, namely BRIP1 and BRIP2, are identified as new core subunits of the SWI/SNF complex.
The green alga, Chlorella ohadii, can survive under desert conditions of extreme irradiance. Redox proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and lipidomics uncover how C. ohadii can absorb and use the sudden excesses of reducing power and carbon.
A newly identified RNA-binding protein is dephosphorylated after immunity-induced Pep1 perception in Arabidopsis and maize. This modification induces alternative splicing-mediated production of a truncated CPK28 kinase with reduced activity, which increases PEPR signalling capacity.
SERRATE (SE) is an RNA processing factor that regulates plant growth and development starting from the embryo stage. Here, interacting partners of SE that are also the key components of the ubiquitin-independent 20S proteasome are identified and characterized to play important roles in regulating SE degradation and RNA metabolism in Arabidopsis.
This study shows that the Arabidopsis TREX-2 complex coordinates the transcription, processing and export steps in miRNA biogenesis, and that it acts with the nucleoporin NUP1 in miRNA export.
A study using a reverse genetic screen reveals that the Arabidopsis DREAM complex, including its components TCX5/6, functions as a whole in repressing DNA methylation maintenance genes and, consequently, precluding DNA hypermethylation.
Some cyanobacterial species can harness far-red photons by using chlorophyll f pigments in their photosystems. Time-resolved fluorescence shows that this slows down the overall energy trapping but remains beneficial for extending the photosynthetic active spectrum.
In Arabidopsis and tomato, exudation of myo-inositol by roots is epigenetically controlled by DNA demethylases and is involved in the beneficial recruitment of growth-promoting rhizobacteria.
The cucumber TCP transcription factor TEN regulates tendril identity by acting as both an intragenic enhancer-binding protein and a non-canonical histone acetyltransferase that modifies histones, loosens chromatin and thus activates target genes.
High-resolution atomic force microscopy is used to visualize photosynthetic supercomplexes within the thylakoid membranes of a cyanobacterium. The organizational variability of these supercomplexes permits efficient linear and cyclic electron transport as well as bioenergetic regulation.
The nuclear envelope (NE) separates the nucleoplasm from the cytoplasm in all eukaryotic cells. The plant NE displays a similar structure but different protein compositions compared with the animal NE. Here the researchers identify ~200 protein candidates that reside in the NE of Arabidopsis cells. Among the candidates, they characterize a critical protein that is associated with the nuclear pore complex.
Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy shows that Photosystem I (PSI) in vivo does not consist only of a core complex and four external antennae, but also binds light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). The number of LHCII subunits per PSI is species-dependent, varying between one and three.
The meiocyte-specific histone reader MMD1 competes with the C-terminal domain of the histone demethylase JMJ16 for binding to its catalytic domain, expanding the substrate specificity of JMJ16 from H3K4 alone in somatic cells to both H3K4 and H3K9 in meiocytes.
Photosynthesis in plants responds to light fluctuations and displays circadian rhythms in various aspects. Here a new regulator of photosynthetic rhythms is identified in rice and shown to control diurnal magnesium fluctuations in the chloroplast. Further engineering attempts yield enhanced rice growth and photosynthesis.
A study shows that RNA-directed DNA methylation target loci in Arabidopsis can be classified into two groups—remethylable and non-remethylable loci—characterized by different histone and DNA methylation marks that determine the ability of these loci to form stable epialleles.
Intercropping can provide for agricultural intensification within a sustainable footprint. This study of Chinese methods finds yields four times greater than intercropping outside China with less land and fertilizer use.