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Crystal structure-guided exchange of mobile elements from red algal Rubisco into a related bacterial Rubisco enabled us to identify amino acid substitutions that enhance carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation. In tobacco plants, the improved Rubisco supported a two-fold increase in photosynthetic rates compared with plants producing wild-type bacterial Rubisco.
Epidermal trichomes function as mechanosensors, but how trichome-less plants perceive mechanical forces remains unclear. Touching epidermal pavement cells with micro-cantilevers, we discovered distinct cytosolic calcium waves upon application and release of small forces. Thus, not only do plants perceive forces independently of trichomes, they may also distinguish touch from letting go.
The biosynthesis of plant specialized metabolites is strictly regulated in time and space. We have identified a robust transcriptional network, composed of transcriptional activators, co-activators and repressors, which steers cell-specific and jasmonate-inducible triterpene biosynthesis in the outer tissues of Arabidopsis root tips.
Photorespiration is known to be involved in carbon flux in plants, enabling the carbon lost during RuBisCO oxygenation to be recovered. We show that NPF8.4 is a transporter responsible for sequestering the photorespiratory carbon intermediate glycerate into vacuoles during nitrogen depletion, elucidating a novel function for photorespiration in nitrogen flux.
Maximization of reproductive success is critical for plant fitness. To this end, the flowering process must be finely tuned. We show that the rice florigen-like protein FT-L1 contributes to plant entrance into the reproductive phase and enables a balanced progression of inflorescence development.
A genetic approach that combines forward genetics with dynamically targeted genome-scale CRISPR–Cas9 tools has been developed to unmask phenotypic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana that is otherwise hidden by functional redundancy. This approach, called Multi-Knock, should be readily deployable by scientists and breeders for basic research and to expedite breeding efforts.
Gossypol is a defense compound in cotton; both axially chiral gossypol enantiomers confer pest resistance, but (−)-gossypol is toxic for humans. We identified a gene (GhDIR5) that selectively promotes (−)-gossypol synthesis. GhDIR5 knockout enabled the production of (−)-gossypol-depleted cottonseeds without affecting pest resistance.
Kiwifruit are a dioecious species with genetic sex determination that involves genes in a male-specific region of the Y chromosome. One Y-encoded sex determining gene, Shy Girl, also controls sexually dimorphic traits. This property can explain our observation of recurrent recent changes in these genes’ location in related species.
Plant gene silencing is usually achieved through chromatin modifications and repressive transcription factors. We used a gain-of-function approach in Arabidopsis that identified 14 proteins that can repress gene expression via diverse epigenetic pathways, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and interference with RNA polymerase II transcription.
During evolution, the acquisition of special types of cells and tissues requires new regulatory genes that control cell division and cell differentiation. Here, we found that stomatal basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors are co-opted for the development of seta in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, which lacks true stomata.
The maternal inheritance of organelles (such as chloroplasts and mitochondria) is the rule in most eukaryotes. In tobacco, chilling stress during pollen development and deactivation of an exonuclease that degrades organellar DNA facilitate paternal plastid transmission, thereby revealing that both genetic and environmental factors determine organelle inheritance.
Mutations in two single genes (AtPS1 and AtJAS) in Arabidopsis thaliana are individually sufficient to restore haploid male fertility with no effect on haploid female fertility. Genes restoring haploid male fertility can bypass laborious and resource-intensive chemical methods, thereby markedly increasing the efficiency of doubled haploid (DH) technology to accelerate crop breeding.
