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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.
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.
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.
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.
In response to abscisic acid, the m6A reader ECT8 undergoes phase separation to form cytoplasmic condensates and sequesters m6A-modified abscisic acid receptor PYL7 mRNA in stress granules, which suppresses PYL7 translation for feedback regulation of abscisic acid perception.
This study explores the evolution of two traits, branching density and spine presence, in the globally distributed plant family Combretaceae. These traits were found to have appeared in a two-step process in response to mammalian herbivory pressure, revealing the importance of large mammals in the evolution of plant architecture diversity.
Cryogenic electron microscopy structures of DDM1–nucleosome complexes in ADP–BeFx-bound, ADP-bound and nucleotide-free conformations reveal insights into the mechanism underlying chromatin remodelling by DDM1, a key chromatin remodeller involved in plant DNA methylation.
This study by Scacchi et al. shows that a mobile small-RNA-based Turing system dynamically organizes plant organ polarity. The afforded developmental flexibility accounts for diversity in organ shapes, from radialized or cup-shaped to the robust planar shape of a typical leaf.
The authors developed a platform for rapid identification of interacting plant immune receptors and pathogen avirulence proteins by library screening in protoplasts, then used it to identify new wheat stem rust Avr genes recognized by known wheat resistance genes.
Effectors secreted by plant pathogens subvert host immunity. Here the authors use a structural approach to design a small molecule that can disrupt the interaction between a fungal effector and its target in rice, and could be used as a novel fungicide.
This study reveals that the thylakoid ultrastructural and supramolecular rearrangements that occur during the dark-to-light transition in plants control the connectivity between the two photosystems that drive oxygenic photosynthesis.
Trait prioritization studies have informed crop breeding programmes for decades. This scoping review identifies broad crop coverage, systematic sex disaggregation and reduced regional bias as priorities for more inclusive, demand-driven initiatives.
Chromosomal patterning of meiotic crossovers is mediated by pro-crossover HEI10 E3 ligase dynamics. This study reveals that a network of HSP40–HSP70 chaperones facilitates HEI10 proteolysis, thereby limiting formation of closely spaced crossovers.
Glandular trichomes (GTs) are biofactories that produce and store specialized compounds beneficial to plants as well as to humans. Using cucumber, we have discovered a new cell wall structure, ‘neck strip’, allowing GTs to function as biofactories.
Castellani, Zhang and colleagues found that centromeres and (epi)genetic features influence local crossover positions during meiotic recombination in a plant with diffused centromeres, whereas chromosome synapsis dynamics seems key to broad-scale crossover patterning.
Histone acetylation is a predominant active chromatin mark. A feedback mechanism by which histone acetyltransferase responds to varying levels of acetyl coenzyme A in plants under adverse conditions maintains histone acetylation homeostasis.
Preferential fertilization of the egg or central cell during double fertilization has long been controversial. The authors demonstrate preferential sperm–egg fusion in Arabidopsis and show that EGG CELL 1, which is secreted by the egg cell, plays a decisive role in this process.