Plant morphogenesis articles from across Nature Portfolio

BZR/BES transcription factors are widely recognized as mediators of brassinosteroid (BR)-responsive gene expression in seed plants, but details of how they act in species that lack BR perception are unclear. A study now uncovers an ancient mission of a BZR/BES transcription factor in sexual organ development in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.

The ‘non-canonical’ type-B BZR/BES transcription factor, MpBZR3, has been shown to be a regulator of the development of female and male reproductive organs in the model bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha.

The coordination of cellular behaviors is essential for proper organogenesis. Here the authors show that fruit development in Arabidopsis is governed by time-shifted differentiation gradients that act locally along two perpendicular organ axes.

The authors show that RALF22 has a dual role in cell wall assembly in root hairs: as a structural component organizing cell wall architecture and as a feedback signalling molecule that regulates this process depending on its interaction partners.

How do multicellular organisms integrate cell- and tissue-scale mechanical information to coordinate growth? Elliott et al. show that plant cells establish a self-regulating cell-wall-sensing module at their one-dimensional cell edges to control three-dimensional growth.

The Arabidopsis O-glycosyltransferases SEC and SPY modify the transcription factor SPT and synergistically promote style elongation. Specific SPT residues modified by O-GlcNAc and O-fucose are essential for style radialization.

BZR/BES transcription factors are widely recognized as mediators of brassinosteroid (BR)-responsive gene expression in seed plants, but details of how they act in species that lack BR perception are unclear. A study now uncovers an ancient mission of a BZR/BES transcription factor in sexual organ development in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.

Cell edges are part of a coordinate system used by the cell to direct three-dimensional growth in an organized manner. They emerge as signalling hubs with unique composition, capable of sensing mechanical stresses derived from neighbouring cells, to negotiate and harmonize individual cellular growth rates, therefore avoiding mechanical conflict.

Grain yield in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is largely determined by spike architecture. Mutations in DUO-B1, encoding an AP2/ERF protein, result in a spike architecture with extra spikelets that increases both grain number per spike and yield under field conditions. Genetically modifying DUO-B1 has the potential to increase cereal production.

In plants, impairing transgenerational resetting of juvenility leads to premature flowering in the offspring. This robust reset process is mediated by de novo activation of MIR156/7-family genes at different developmental stages through distinct reprogramming routes.