Volume 9 Issue 3, March 2023

Sequences of almost 800 wheat genomes have retraced the history of wheat: when and where it was domesticated, how cultivation spread from its Middle Eastern centre of origin and how the genome adapted to selective pressures in new agricultural habitats, not least thanks to its ability to take up genes from wild cousins.

A tethering approach based on a LexA–CENH3 fusion protein in maize activates functional centromeres at synthetic LexO repeat arrays. The synthetic centromeres cause fragmentation of the resulting dicentric chromosomes, resulting in stably inherited and self-sustaining neochromosomes.

Kiwifruit are a dioecious species with genetic sex determination that involves genes in a male-specific region of the Y chromosome. One Y-encoded sex determining gene, Shy Girl, also controls sexually dimorphic traits. This property can explain our observation of recurrent recent changes in these genes’ location in related species.

Plant gene silencing is usually achieved through chromatin modifications and repressive transcription factors. We used a gain-of-function approach in Arabidopsis that identified 14 proteins that can repress gene expression via diverse epigenetic pathways, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and interference with RNA polymerase II transcription.

This study identifies two genes that are important for protecting wheat against blast fungus, a pathogen that also infects related grasses. This work helps identify potential strategies for breeding wheat with improved resistance to this damaging fungus.

This study documents recurrent sex chromosome turnovers in kiwifruit lineages and shows that sexual dimorphism is caused by a pleiotropic effect of a single sex-determining gene, transforming our understanding of the evolution of sex chromosomes and sexual dimorphisms.

A recent study using genomic modelling has uncovered the complex population history of wheat in the Holocene, identified convergent adaptation during bread wheat’s spread across Eurasia and predicted future population decline of its key relatives.

A chitinase gene is responsible for the hybrid necrosis between two young Petunia species. This gene is tightly linked with genes in pollinator-mediated reproductive isolation, suggesting cooperation of pre- and post-zygotic barriers.

Dawe et al. report a protein tethering method for recruiting Centromeric Histone H3 to synthetic repeat arrays. Newly recruited Centromeric Histone H3 organized functional centromeres that supported independent chromosome segregation for several generations.

A plant-specific GCN5-containing histone acetyltransferase complex, which was termed PAGA, cooperates with the conserved GCN5-containing SAGA complex to regulate histone acetylation, transcription and development.

Using a gain-of-function method, this work identified 14 plant proteins that can repress gene expression via diverse epigenetic pathways, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and interference of RNA polymerase II transcription.

Multiple omics approaches suggest that FUL binding complexes are tissue specific, and the difference in composition of the binding complexes leads to different DNA binding specificity, thus contributing to the dual biological functions.

The authors present a multidisciplinary approach investigating the mechanistic underpinnings of galactan synthase 1 and use their data to propose a new model for complex pectin biosynthesis.