Reviews & Analysis

Comprehensive phylogenomics and molecular dating support a Triassic origin for flowering plants that is substantially earlier than their appearance in the fossil record, leaving a puzzling gap spanning the entire Jurassic period.

A new strategy based on a sophisticated and efficient system of modified pentatricopeptide repeat 10 proteins boost plastid transgene expression and the accumulation of foreign proteins by up to 40-fold.

A previously unknown biologically active gibberellin present in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana is formed by hydration of the gibberellin precursor GA₁₂ through the action of GAS2, a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that decreases sensitivity to abscisic acid and promotes seed germination and seedling establishment.

Pathogen perception triggers a monomeric nucleotide-binding leucine-rich plant immune receptor to form a pentameric wheel-like complex termed a resistosome, with the N-terminal α helices forming a funnel-shaped structure that may perturb plasma membrane integrity to cause hypersensitive cell death.

Adenine base editors (ABEs) and cytosine base editors (CBEs) are powerful tools for targeted base conversions, but their editing specificities are largely unknown. Now, two reports demonstrate that ABEs are highly specific, but BE3-type CBEs tend to generate genome-wide off-target single nucleotide variations.

Genome sequences from archaeological sorghum plants raise questions about our understanding of plant domestication.

Optimal plant growth requires an appropriate balance of mineral nutrients. A novel mechanism involving the physical interaction between nitrate and phosphate sensors in rice provides a regulatory framework for balanced acquisition and utilization of these nutrients.

Fusion of lipid bilayers to deliver genetic information is a process common to both viral infection and fertilization, and the two share common molecular mechanisms. Now, identification of fusion-facilitators shows that plants have their own unique slant on the fusion process.

An efficient route to the transformation of Arabidopsis plastids will allow the full power of molecular genetics to be brought to bear on the study of this key compartment.

The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase regulates crucial cellular processes. Characterization of its signalling pathway in plants has lagged behind animals and yeast. A large-scale phosphoproteome and interactome analysis in Arabidopsis has now uncovered plant-specific and conserved TOR targets and interactors.

Detailed electron microscopy and tomography analyses reveal a previously unappreciated complexity of extracellular membranes at the host–microbe interface during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Curcumin, an aromatic diarylheptanoid, is a principal component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), commonly used in Asian cooking, giving curry its orange colour. Introducing two enzymes into Arabidopsis thaliana caused incorporation of curcumin into its lignin polymer, enhancing sugar release from the cell wall and turning it yellow.

A new protein degradation pathway driven by late-endosome-localized MULTIDRUG AND TOXIC COMPOUND EXTRUSION (MATE) efflux transporters opposes autophagy at the onset of senescence. Paradoxically, the new pathway requires a central component of autophagy.

The vacuole is a plant’s major phosphate (Pi) pool. Cellular Pi homeostasis highly depends on shuttling Pi between vacuoles and the cytosol. Glycerol 3-phosphate transporter types have now been identified as tonoplast-localized vacuolar Pi efflux transporters, integrating vacuolar Pi transport systems in plants.

Magnoliid genomes provide novel insight into early angiosperm evolution, showing how whole-genome duplication and proliferation of transposable elements have shaped these genomes. Now, two papers giving differing views of early angiosperm phylogeny, raise questions about the relationships among eudicots, monocots and magnoliids.