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Arabidopsis MPK3 and MPK6 are involved in many biological processes. How do they achieve their signalling specificity? Structural, biochemical and genetic approaches show that the bHLH protein SCREAM acts as a scaffold to recruit downstream substrates during stomatal development.
In C4 grasses, malate is decarboxylated by NADP-malic enzyme in bundle sheath cells. The structures of maize and sorghum varieties identify amino acids important for catalytic efficiency, tetrameric structure and pH-dependent inhibition malate
Using large-scale data describing five decades of wheat breeding progress in western Europe, a study shows that breeding for high performance enhances wheat productivity under not only optimal conditions but also conditions with reduced agrochemical inputs.
MYC2 is a master component of jasmonate signalling, working in concert with MED25, a subunit of the Mediator transcriptional co-activator complex. Here it is shown that MYC2 and MED25 have largely overlapping targets and mediate DNA looping between these enhancer and promoter sequences.
Thousands of varieties of wine grapes have been recorded and described in historical accounts, some going back as far as the Middle Ages, but genetic relationships between ancient and modern varieties were unknown. Genomic sequencing of 28 seeds, dating back as far as the Iron Age, finds close relationships to today’s cultivars, including a genetic match to Savagnin Blanc from 1100 ce.
This cryo-electron microscopy structure of a photosystem I–light-harvesting complex I supercomplex from Chlamydomonas reveals eight Lhca proteins forming two tetrameric light-harvesting complex I belts on one side, and a Lhca heterodimer on the other.
Plasmodesmata channel substance transportation between neighbouring cells, including the sieve tube elements and the phloem companion cells. Now, the plasmodesmal ultrastructure is shown to be regulated by a newly identified phloem unloading modulator that participates in sphingolipid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.
A study uses a forward genetic screen to identify three new regulators (URT1, CPL3 and RST1) for post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). These regulators may suppress PTGS by protecting the 3’ end of transgene transcripts.
A study reconstructed angiosperm phylogeny on the basis of plastome data representing 2,351 angiosperm and 187 gymnosperm species, and dated the origin of crown angiosperms to be significantly earlier than the estimates based on fossil data.
Retrograde signalling ensures message communication between organelles and the nucleus. A pivotal regulator of plant retrograde signalling, GENOMES UNCOUPLED1, is now found to regulate protein import into chloroplast during chloroplast biogenesis or under stress conditions.
A study used engineered, nuclear-expressed pentatricopeptide repeat proteins with programmable RNA sequence specificity to boost the expression of chloroplast transgenes harbouring cognate cis-elements, providing a method for regulating plastid transgene expression.
Two B3 domain transcription factors are important for the resetting of the vernalized state in the embryos of Arabidopsis by competing against repressive Polycomb partners and recruiting the scaffold protein FRIGIDA to establish an activate chromatin state at FLC.
Cross-scale models connecting leaf photosynthesis to crop yield—with feedback between plant growth and the environment—can predict yield following enhancement of photosynthesis. Impacts range markedly depending on factors such as water limitation.
FREE1/FYVE1, a component of the ESCRT complex, is essential for the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies. A novel function of this protein is shown here—ABA promotes FREE1 nuclear import to downregulate ABA transcriptional downstream responses.
The three-dimensional architecture of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis was determined by in situ cryo-electron tomography. The tips of multiple thylakoids merge and contact the plasma membrane, performing a specialized biogenic function.
This study uses ancient DNA sequencing to track Sorghum genome evolution over the past 1,800 years at a single archaeological site. The data unexpectedly reveal no evidence for domestication bottleneck, and instead reveal a steady drop in genetic diversity over time.
Mitogen-associated protein kinases are central in the signalling pathway that allows secondary roots to cross through the outer tissue layers before emerging.
In rice, nitrate perception by NRT1.1B activates genetic responses that increase the utilization of not only nitrate but also phosphate. A novel molecular mechanism centred on the presumed Pi sensor SPX4 underlies this nutritional signalling crosstalk.
Breeding crops with both high yield and disease resistance remains challenging. A study has now identified microRNA-156–Ideal Plant Architecture1 (IPA1) as a regulator of the crosstalk between growth and defence in rice and overcame the trade-off by pathogen-induced expression of IPA1.
In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, multiple units of light-harvesting complex I bind to the photosystem-I core, forming larger antennae than in plants. The structure, solved by cryo-electron microscopy, reveals details of antenna organization and functioning.