Genomic and phenotypic screening of the A. E. Watkins landrace wheat collection identifies beneficial novel haplotypes demonstrated to improve modern wheat without negative linkage drag or pleiotropy.

The PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin efflux carriers in the plasma membrane are activated by the D6 serine/threonine protein kinase (D6PK). A recent study reveals how D6PK is anchored to membranes and trafficked between the plasma membrane and transport vesicles.

Plants constantly adjust their gene expression and metabolism to thrive in diverse environments. In legume root nodules, the surprising role of zinc as an intracellular messenger links environmental changes to transcriptional control.

This Review aims to define an updated nomenclature for plasma membrane domains in plants. The authors are experts in this field who unite here in an effort to eliminate the ambiguities and confusion that have persisted until now.

A study developed a universal seedless watermelon inducer line using CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out the HAP2 gene, simplifying the breeding process and addressing food safety concerns. This method may also apply to other crops such as cherries or grapes.

There is a continuous arms race between pathogens and their host plants. Li et al. reveal that PR1 prevents entry of a fungal effector into plant cells from the apoplast that otherwise would quench host defence oxidizing agents via phase separation.

This study reports that the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of pyruvate kinase 6 (PK6), PK7 and PK8 mediates phosphorylation of H3 at threonine 11, represses flowering time, and promotes hypocotyl and pedicel elongation in Arabidopsis.

UV exposure modulates H3K9me2 contents at chromocentres via the histone demethylase JMJ27 which interacts with the DNA damage recognition factor, DDB2, and facilitates photodamage repair. The loading or release of DDB2 at nucleosome sites is optimized by the fine-tuning of H3K9me2.

As nature’s most important enzyme, Rubisco fixes carbon dioxide in the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. Its lesser-known side job is supplying pyruvate in the chloroplast, an observation that solves a long-standing paradox of central metabolism.

Cryo-EM structures of cytb₆f with quinone bound in the Q_n site allow the identification of specific proton channels and reveal differences to known inhibitors. Nearby water channels imply a ‘piston-like’ mechanism during catalytic turnover.

The incidence and severity of megafires are increasing as a consequence of global change. While the impacts of fires on tree physiology and ecosystem functioning are well studied, how smoke affects these processes is less clear. Here Orozco et al. report that wildfire smoke significantly reduces tree carbohydrate reserves and yields, revealing an overlooked consequence of wildfires.

Genetic analysis has shown that RNA polymerase V (Pol V) regulates plant defence independently of its known function in RNA-directed DNA methylation. These findings reveal a mechanism whereby Pol V transcripts regulate gene expression upon infection with pathogens.

The insertion of the stress-responsive transposable element (TE) ONSEN into a critical flowering regulator gene confers an adaptive response to herbicide treatment in Arabidopsis thaliana natural accessions.