Reviews & Analysis

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Leaf ecophysiological traits of crops are primarily inherited from their wild progenitors, challenging the conventional assumption that the origins of fast physiology lie only in early domestication and modern breeding.

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.

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).

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.

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.

This Perspective discusses six regulatory options following the proposition of the European Commission to amend European Union’s legislation for plants obtained with new genomic techniques.

A full pot of diversity is discovered in the tea pangenome.

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.

We report the discovery and characterization of two small coiled-coil proteins that belong to the central element of the plant synaptonemal complex.

We report the high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structures of SOS1, a major determinant of salt tolerance in plants. From our structural and functional analyses, we propose a model for how the unique large cytoplasmic domain regulates the Na⁺/H⁺ exchange activity of SOS1, enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the regulation of SOS1 activity.

The plasma membrane Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter SOS1 has a pivotal role in determining salinity tolerance in plants. This study investigates the structure and function of SOS1 from Oryza sativa (rice), elucidating its architecture and activation mechanism, with notable implications for improving crop salt tolerance.

CRISPR-derived base editors can induce guide RNA (gRNA)-independent DNA and RNA off-target edits in eukaryotic cells due to “spurious deamination” by enclosed deaminases. Splitting base editors at a site in a Cas9 nickase-embedded deaminase allows gRNA-mediated base editor reassembly and activation at the target site to suppress unguided off-target edits.

Microscopic visualization of the ARP2/3 complex showed that it colocalizes with peroxisomes in Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco cells in vivo. Colocalization with an autophagy marker and analysis of peroxisomes in autophagy-mutant or ARP2/3-mutant lines demonstrated that ARP2/3 facilitates peroxisome degradation by the autophagic pathway, that is, pexophagy.

We assessed climatic and productivity trends across the world’s five Mediterranean forest ecosystems and detected large-scale, abrupt forest browning in Chile. Extreme dry and warm conditions in Chile, unprecedented in the recent history of all Mediterranean-type ecosystems, are projected to arise in the second half of this century.

In angiosperms, the proliferation and differentiation of egg and central cells need to be repressed before fertilization. Autonomous endosperm development has been observed and well-studied in Arabidopsis mutants of FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS)-class POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX 2 (PRC2), but how defects of PRC2 components affect embryo development remains unclear. Wu et al. now describe an essential clue for understanding parthenogenetic embryogenesis from the rice double mutant osfie1 osfie2.