Reviews & Analysis

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  • 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.

    • Ravi Maruthachalam
    News & Views
  • 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.

    • Robert Finger
    • Niklas Möhring
    Perspective
  • 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.

    • Choy Kriechbaum
    • Sabine Müller
    News & Views
  • The ATP-dependent chromatin remodeller DDM1 has a vital role in plant DNA methylation, influencing gene silencing and suppression of transposable elements. The structure of DDM1 in complex with nucleosome in different states of the ATP hydrolysis process reveals the molecular mechanism underlying chromatin remodelling by DDM1.

    Research Briefing
  • Glandular trichomes on plant leaves and stems synthesize and store specialized compounds. We identified a novel lignin-based structure (which we named the neck strip) required for storage of compounds in cucumber glandular trichomes and demonstrated the mechanism of specialized compound accumulation in glandular trichomes.

    Research Briefing
  • Plants regulate their microbiota to cope with diverse stresses. A recent study shows that rice maintains homeostasis of its phyllosphere microbiome through a secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene, which offers potential for harnessing microbiome-shaping genes in disease-resistance breeding.

    • Chengfang Zhan
    • Mengcen Wang
    News & Views
  • Beaksedges harbour multiple centromeres in each chromosome, yet crossover distribution is distally biased, like in monocentric species, but with no correlation with (epi)genomic features. This study suggests that synapsis dynamics starting from chromosomal ends is key to the recombination pattern.

    Research Briefing
  • We reveal that the transcription factor SPATULA (SPT) directly interacts with, and is modified by, the O-glycosyl transferases SECRET AGENT (SEC) and SPINDLY (SPY) in Arabidopsis thaliana. O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) and O-fucose post-translational modifications (PTMs) promoted elongation of the gynoecium apex (style) and its radial symmetry by promoting SPT function.

    Research Briefing
  • The mechanisms shaping plant succession after glacier retreat are dynamic. Compositional dissimilarity between communities decreases over time, accompanied by a shift in the relative contribution of taxa addition versus replacement. Taxa addition prevailed in early communities, whereas replacement became more important after 50 years of succession.

    Research Briefing
  • The effect of DNA methylation on gene expression has been known for decades. However, the mechanism by which DNA methylation functions to repress transcription has remained a major question in the field. Wang et al. now narrow this gap through their examination of the methylation binding protein MBD2 and expose how DNA methylation is read upstream of transcriptional repression.

    • Marianne C. Kramer
    • Ryan Swanson
    • R. Keith Slotkin
    News & Views
  • Splicing is important for regulation of gene expression programmes, including those involved in plant development or plant environmental responses. In our study, we report that GRP20 regulates Arabidopsis gene expression by ensuring the proper splicing of thousands of floral and leaf RNAs, including the retention of micro exons in conserved floral homeotic genes. GRP20 binds to RNAs and interacts with the spliceosome, and both events are required for normal splicing and flower development.

    Research Briefing
  • Here we show that photoexcited blue light receptor cryptochrome 2 (CRY2) mediates blue light-induced liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of CRY2–SPA1–FIO1 trimolecular complexes. This activates the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) writer FIONA1 (FIO1) to methylate mRNAs that encode chloroplast proteins, which are required for maintaining chlorophyll homeostasis and photosynthesis in response to light.

    Research Briefing
  • We reveal that a family of plant stress-induced signalling peptides, SERINE-RICH ENDOGENOUS PEPTIDES (SCOOPs), is much larger than originally thought, and identify key proteases required for their biogenesis. We find that impairing SCOOP biogenesis phenocopies a mutant of the SCOOP receptor MALE DISCOVERER 1-INTERACTING RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE 2 (MIK2).

    Research Briefing
  • Following a catastrophic wildfire, iconic coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees rebuilt their canopies by leveraging massive, stored carbon reserves, some of which were photosynthesized from the atmosphere 50–100 years ago. New leaves grew from buried buds, which had been dormant for 500–1,000 plus years in the oldest trees.

    Research Briefing
  • The Lycopodium alkaloids represent a valuable source of neuroactive compounds. The biosynthesis of these specialized metabolites is now shown to involve three α-carbonic anhydrase-like enzymes that are responsible for constructing the key carbon–carbon bonds within their distinctive polycyclic alkaloid structures.

    • Richiro Ushimaru
    • Ikuro Abe
    News & Views
  • A full pot of diversity is discovered in the tea pangenome.

    • David Edwards
    • Jacqueline Batley
    News & Views
  • Genomic polyploidy is prevalent in the plant kingdom, giving rise to dominant and recessive subgenomes. We show that the recessive subgenomes of the pitcher plant Nepenthes gracilis had a crucial role in the acquisition of novel genes with species-specific function such as dioecy and carnivory.

    Research Briefing