Volume 5 Issue 4, April 2019

Genome sequences from archaeological sorghum plants raise questions about our understanding of plant domestication.

Optimal plant growth requires an appropriate balance of mineral nutrients. A novel mechanism involving the physical interaction between nitrate and phosphate sensors in rice provides a regulatory framework for balanced acquisition and utilization of these nutrients.

Adenine base editors (ABEs) and cytosine base editors (CBEs) are powerful tools for targeted base conversions, but their editing specificities are largely unknown. Now, two reports demonstrate that ABEs are highly specific, but BE3-type CBEs tend to generate genome-wide off-target single nucleotide variations.

The severe threat of weeds to agriculture and ecosystems necessitates management practices on the scale of landscapes. This Perspective uses four case studies to examine the best practices for this collective dilemma.

The mechanism of how trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatases (TPPs) regulate meristem fate remains unknown. Now, genetic and biochemical evidences support that this regulatory role is uncoupled from the enzymatic activity of TPPs.

In rice, a transcription factor named PREMATURE INTERNODE ELONGATION 1 (PINE1) represses internode elongation. During the vegetative phase, PINE1 reduces sensitivity to gibberellin and can uncouple floral transition from stem elongation.

Efficient genome editing using DNA-free systems remains challenging in most plant species. Now, a new genome-editing system achieves efficient DNA- and selectable-marker-free gene editing by direct delivery of Cas9–guide RNA ribonucleoproteins into rice zygotes.

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.

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.

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 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.

Mitogen-associated protein kinases are central in the signalling pathway that allows secondary roots to cross through the outer tissue layers before emerging.

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.

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.