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Photosystem I (PSI) and PSII are two large pigment–protein complexes that are responsible for converting solar energy into chemical energy. We identify the PSI assembly factor PBF8 and show that it mediates two key consecutive steps in PSI assembly, revealing major aspects of the PSI assembly pathway in land plants.
Research on apoplastic diffusion barriers may help to better understand sensitivity to drought and salinity, two of the most pressing problems in agriculture.
Rhizosphere microbiomes are shaped by both the environment and the host. A recent study of the maize microbiome reveals how plants recruit a specific microbiome to alleviate abiotic stress, and provides clues for precision microbiome engineering in agriculture.
He et al. found that locally adapted maize varieties exert patterns of genetic control on their root and rhizosphere microbiomes that follow variation in their home environments, consistent with a role in tolerance to prevailing stress.
This study collected and analysed 3,517 de novo assemblies from 1,575 plant species sequenced since 2000, including 793 newly sequenced species in the past three years. A database named N3: plants, genomes, technologies was developed to accommodate the metadata associated with the sequenced genomes.
Photosystem I (PSI) is one of two large pigment–protein complexes responsible for converting solar energy into chemical energy. This study reveals the previously unknown major PSI assembly pathway in land plants.
The plant DNA damage response ensures genomic stability by controlling interconnected networks of DNA repair and cell division proteins. Decoding these networks offers potential solutions to the challenges of climate-related stress and food security.
Two studies report the use of paternal haploids to enable one-step transfer of cytoplasmic male sterility in maize and broccoli, which resolves a key technical bottleneck in hybrid crop breeding.
An efficient method of cyto-swapping by haploid induction using a CENH3 mutation is reported in maize, to convert commercial germplasm to cytoplasmic male sterility for hybrid seed production.
Han et al. develop BoCENH3 mutants which trigger paternal haploid induction in Brassica oleracea. On the basis of this haploid inducer line, a workable system is proposed for transferring cytoplasmic male sterility to broccoli inbred lines.
In this Perspective, Finger and Möhring discuss the emergence of pesticide-free crop production systems in Europe in the context of real-world examples and highlight the barriers to adoption of this cropping strategy.
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.
Timber harvest claims can be scrutinized based on a combination of wood chemical composition and species distribution. The location of timber harvest can be determined within 180 to 230 km of true location across Eastern Europe.
This study reports that in European beech masting, the summer solstice serves as a celestial trigger that enables cohesive timekeeping across distant beech populations, allowing seed production to be synchronized at a subcontinental scale.
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.
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.