Featured
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Article
| Open AccessZymoseptoria tritici white-collar complex integrates light, temperature and plant cues to initiate dimorphism and pathogenesis
Transitioning from spores to hyphae is crucial for host invasion by the plant pathogenic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. Here, the authors show that the spore-to-hypha transition is enhanced by wheat leaf surface compounds and is regulated by the white-collar complex, which integrates light with biotic and abiotic cues to allow host invasion through open stomata.
- Sreedhar Kilaru
- , Elena Fantozzi
- & Gero Steinberg
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Article
| Open AccessGenetic analysis of seed traits in Sorghum bicolor that affect the human gut microbiome
Diet affects the human gut microbiome, but studies linking crop genetics to seed traits that influence the human gut microbiome are lacking. Here, the authors develop an in vitro microbiome screening method and reveal the association between sorghum genes regulating condensed tannin biosynthesis and human gut microbiome.
- Qinnan Yang
- , Mallory Van Haute
- & Andrew K. Benson
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Article
| Open AccessNocturnal plant respiration is under strong non-temperature control
Plant respiration at night is assumed to be temperature-controlled. Here, the authors show that temperature controls less than half of the variation in leaf respiration rate at night, and demonstrate how to account for such nocturnal variation in biosphere models.
- Dan Bruhn
- , Freya Newman
- & Lina M. Mercado
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Article
| Open AccessA fungal tolerance trait and selective inhibitors proffer HMG-CoA reductase as a herbicide mode-of-action
Managing herbicide resistance problem needs the identification of new herbicidal modes of action. Here, the authors solve the crystal structures of Arabidopsis HMGR and show HMGR as a potential new herbicide target by identifying plant-specific HMGR inhibitors and engineering tolerant trait in Arabidopsis.
- Joel Haywood
- , Karen J. Breese
- & Joshua S. Mylne
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Article
| Open AccessLeaf water content contributes to global leaf trait relationships
Leaf functional traits are increasingly used as proxies for plant functions. Here, the authors show that leaf water affects other leaf traits and is a better predictor of whole-leaf photosynthesis and leaf area than leaf nitrogen or phosphorus content.
- Zhiqiang Wang
- , Heng Huang
- & Ian J. Wright
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Article
| Open AccessVAL1 acts as an assembly platform co-ordinating co-transcriptional repression and chromatin regulation at Arabidopsis FLC
Cold-induced silencing of Arabidopsis FLC requires the binding of VAL1 to an intronic motif. Here, the authors show that ASAP and PRC1, two interacting partner complexes of VAL1, mediate co-transcriptional repression and chromatin modulation to effectively co-ordinate different steps in FLC silencing.
- Pawel Mikulski
- , Philip Wolff
- & Caroline Dean
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Article
| Open AccessPaternal imprinting of dosage-effect defective1 contributes to seed weight xenia in maize
Xenia effects describe the genetic contribution of pollen to seed phenotypes. Here the authors show that paternal imprinting of Ded1 contributes to the xenia effect in maize by setting the pace of endosperm development.
- Dawei Dai
- , Janaki S. Mudunkothge
- & A. Mark Settles
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Article
| Open AccessGenomic insights into rapid speciation within the world’s largest tree genus Syzygium
The relative importance of the mechanisms underlying species radiation remains unclear. Here, the authors combine reference genome assembly and population genetics analyses to show that neutral forces have contributed to the radiation of the most species-rich tree genus Syzygium.
- Yee Wen Low
- , Sitaram Rajaraman
- & Victor A. Albert
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Article
| Open AccessEnzymes and cellular interplay required for flux of fixed nitrogen to ureides in bean nodules
Tropical legumes export fixed nitrogen from nodules as ureides. Here, the authors describe how ureides are produced by several biosynthetic enzymes in different nodule cell types and provide explanations for metabolic compartmentation.
- Luisa Voß
- , Katharina J. Heinemann
- & Claus-Peter Witte
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Article
| Open AccessAllophycocyanin A is a carbon dioxide receptor in the cyanobacterial phycobilisome
The transfer of electronic energy through a photosystem can harm the photosynthetic apparatus when not balanced with CO2 fixation. Here, the authors show that CO2 modulates electronic energy transfer in cyanobacteria by binding to and enhancing the activity of the light-harvesting complex.
- Alejandra Guillén-García
- , Savannah E. R. Gibson
- & Martin J. Cann
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Article
| Open AccessNeolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs
Despite archaeobotanical evidence for domesticated cereals, organic residue evidence is scarce. Here, the authors identify cereal-specific markers in pottery from Scottish ‘crannogs’, revealing the presence of cereals in Neolithic pottery which might have been mixed with dairy products as a milk-based gruel.
- Simon Hammann
- , Rosie R. Bishop
- & Lucy J. E. Cramp
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Article
| Open AccessDistinct ankyrin repeat subdomains control VAPYRIN locations and intracellular accommodation functions during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis
VAPYRIN is a plant protein required for symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Here the authors identify VAPYRIN domains that control subcellular targeting and protein-protein interactions and propose that VAPYRIN acts in the nucleus and cytoplasm to coordinate signaling and intracellular arbuscule accommodation.
- Penelope L. Lindsay
- , Sergey Ivanov
- & Maria J. Harrison
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Article
| Open AccessWAVY GROWTH Arabidopsis E3 ubiquitin ligases affect apical PIN sorting decisions
Directionality of auxin transport is determined by polar localization of PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins. Here the authors show that Arabidopsis WAV3 E3 ubiquitin ligases contribute to PIN polarity by selectively antagonizing ectopic deposition of de novo synthesized PIN proteins following cell division.
- Nataliia Konstantinova
- , Lukas Hoermayer
- & Christian Luschnig
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal patterns of vascular plant alpha diversity
Global patterns of regional plant diversity are relatively well known, but whether they hold for local communities is debated. This study created multi-grain global maps of alpha diversity for vascular plants to provide a nuanced understanding of plant diversity hotspots and improve predictions of global change effects on biodiversity.
- Francesco Maria Sabatini
- , Borja Jiménez-Alfaro
- & Helge Bruelheide
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Article
| Open AccessA gene cluster in Ginkgo biloba encodes unique multifunctional cytochrome P450s that initiate ginkgolide biosynthesis
Although ginkgo terpenoids have been studied extensively for their pharmaceutical properties, knowledge on their biosynthesis remains limited. Here, the authors identify five multifunctional cytochrome P450s that catalyze the generation of the tert-butyl group and one of the lactone rings towards the biosynthesis of ginkgolides.
- Victor Forman
- , Dan Luo
- & Irini Pateraki
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Article
| Open AccessPIF7 is a master regulator of thermomorphogenesis in shade
Plant hypocotyl elongation response to light and temperature. Here the authors show that shade combined with warm temperature synergistically enhances the hypocotyl growth response via the PIF7 transcription factor, auxin, and as yet unknown factor.
- Yogev Burko
- , Björn Christopher Willige
- & Joanne Chory
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Article
| Open AccessNODULIN HOMEOBOX is required for heterochromatin homeostasis in Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis NDX was previously reported as a regulator of euchromatic gene expression. Here the authors show that NDX functions at pericentromeric regions and regulates heterochromatin homeostasis by controlling siRNA production and non-CG methylation.
- Zsolt Karányi
- , Ágnes Mosolygó-L
- & Lóránt Székvölgyi
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Article
| Open AccessSpatially patterned hydrogen peroxide orchestrates stomatal development in Arabidopsis
Stomatal development is regulated by multiple intrinsic developmental and environmental signals. Here, the authors show that spatially patterned hydrogen peroxide activates the energy sensor SnRK1 to stabilize the SPCH transcription factor and optimize stomatal development in Arabidopsis.
- Wen Shi
- , Lingyan Wang
- & Ming-Yi Bai
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Article
| Open AccessTripterygium wilfordii cytochrome P450s catalyze the methyl shift and epoxidations in the biosynthesis of triptonide
How triptonide is made in the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii is largely unknown. Here, the authors report the identification and characterization of a suite of cytochrome P450s and show their function in catalyzing the formation of triptonide from miltriadiene in tobacco and baker’s yeast.
- Nikolaj Lervad Hansen
- , Louise Kjaerulff
- & Johan Andersen-Ranberg
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Article
| Open AccessCatalytic innovation underlies independent recruitment of polyketide synthases in cocaine and hyoscyamine biosynthesis
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid produced by Erythroxylum novogranatense. Here the authors identify two polyketide synthases involved in cocaine biosynthesis and provide insight into the parallel evolution of these enzymes in tropane alkaloids-producing plants.
- Tian Tian
- , Yong-Jiang Wang
- & Sheng-Xiong Huang
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Article
| Open AccessStrigolactones are chemoattractants for host tropism in Orobanchaceae parasitic plants
Parasitic plants are able to grow towards potential hosts. Here the authors show that strigolactones produced by the host plants can act as chemoattractants for the root parasites Phtheirospermum japonicum and Striga hermonthica.
- Satoshi Ogawa
- , Songkui Cui
- & Ken Shirasu
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Article
| Open AccessBiocatalytic routes to stereo-divergent iridoids
Iridoid compounds are an important class of natural products. Here, the authors report on the discovery and engineering of nepetalactol-related short chain reductases and their application for the biosynthesis of nepetalactol or nepetalactone stereoisomers, as a versatile system for the production of the iridoid natural product scaffold.
- Néstor J. Hernández Lozada
- , Benke Hong
- & Sarah E. O’Connor
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Article
| Open AccessTranscription-coupled and epigenome-encoded mechanisms direct H3K4 methylation
Methylation of histone H3 lysine 4 is associated with transcription. Here the authors describe three Arabidopsis methyltransferases that direct H3K4me1 and propose that one methyltransferase works co-transcriptionally while the others are recruited to genomic and epigenomic features.
- Satoyo Oya
- , Mayumi Takahashi
- & Soichi Inagaki
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Article
| Open AccessMet1-specific motifs conserved in OTUB subfamily of green plants enable rice OTUB1 to hydrolyse Met1 ubiquitin chains
Deubiquitinases (DUBs) targeting Met1-linked ubiquitin chains have important functions in mammals but are barely studied in plants. Here, the authors identify rice OTUB1 as a Met1-targeting DUB, characterize the structural determinants of this activity, and show that these features are conserved in green plants.
- Lining Lu
- , Xiaoguo Zhai
- & Feng Wang
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Article
| Open AccessClimate windows of opportunity for plant expansion during the Phanerozoic
Climatic variables have played a significant role in plant evolution across the Phanerozoic. Here, the authors link climate with a new dynamic vegetation model to identify two windows of opportunity for plant biomass expansion, corresponding with the expansion of land plants and the angiosperm radiation.
- Khushboo Gurung
- , Katie J. Field
- & Benjamin J. W. Mills
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Article
| Open AccessThree types of genes underlying the Gametophyte factor1 locus cause unilateral cross incompatibility in maize
Unilateral cross incompatibility (UCI) is a type of prezygotic reproductive isolation, which is associated with multiple loci in maize. Here, the authors use genetic analysis to separate the Ga1 locus into two functional components and identify seven linked genes encoding three types of proteins.
- Yuebin Wang
- , Wenqiang Li
- & Jianbing Yan
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Article
| Open AccessThe receptor kinase SRF3 coordinates iron-level and flagellin dependent defense and growth responses in plants
Iron homeostasis is known to influence plant immune signaling. Here the authors characterize SRF3, a receptor kinase that acts as a negative regulator of callose synthesis, that is required for root responses to iron deficiency and pathogen signals.
- Matthieu Pierre Platre
- , Santosh B. Satbhai
- & Wolfgang Busch
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Article
| Open AccessCloning southern corn rust resistant gene RppK and its cognate gene AvrRppK from Puccinia polysora
Southern corn rust (SCR) caused by Puccinia polysora is a major maize disease that can result in major yield loss. Here, the authors report the expression of a CC-NB-LRR type of R gene RppK results in SCR resistance in susceptible maize lines and it can recognize the effector AvrRppK produced by P. polysora.
- Gengshen Chen
- , Bao Zhang
- & Zhibing Lai
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Article
| Open AccessPhosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate controls autophagosome formation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Autophagosomes are specialized vesicles that target and deliver cargo to the lytic vacuole. Here the authors show that plasma-membrane derived lipid phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate supports the assembly and expansion of autophagosomes in Arabidopsis
- Rodrigo Enrique Gomez
- , Clément Chambaud
- & Amélie Bernard
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Article
| Open AccessStructure and assembly of cargo Rubisco in two native α-carboxysomes
Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments encapsulating Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase for carbon fixation. Here, authors determine the organization of Rubisco and its interaction with the linker protein CsoS2 within two distant α-carboxysomes.
- Tao Ni
- , Yaqi Sun
- & Peijun Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessNatural variation of DROT1 confers drought adaptation in upland rice
Genetic basis of the drought tolerance of upland rice is unclear. Here, the authors report the cloning of a COBRA-like protein encoding gene DROT1 and reveal that it is repressed by ERF3 and activated by ERF71 to help control the balance between growth and drought tolerance in upland rice.
- Xingming Sun
- , Haiyan Xiong
- & Zichao Li
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Article
| Open AccessPost-translational amino acid conversion in photosystem II as a possible origin of photosynthetic oxygen evolution
How photosynthetic oxygen evolution is originated on ancient Earth is unknown. Here, the authors find that some amino acid residues at the ligand sites of the Mn cluster can be posttranslationally converted to the original carboxylate residues, which could have contributed to the evolutionary process of photosynthetic oxygen evolution.
- Yuichiro Shimada
- , Takehiro Suzuki
- & Takumi Noguchi
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Article
| Open AccessDe-etiolation-induced protein 1 (DEIP1) mediates assembly of the cytochrome b6f complex in Arabidopsis
The Cytb6f complex is a multi-subunit enzyme that couples the two photosystems during the light reactions of photosynthesis. Here the authors show that the thylakoid-localized DEIP1 protein interacts with the PetA and PetB subunits, and is essential for Cytb6f complex assembly in Arabidopsis.
- Omar Sandoval-Ibáñez
- , David Rolo
- & Ralph Bock
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Article
| Open AccessTranslational fidelity and growth of Arabidopsis require stress-sensitive diphthamide biosynthesis
Diphthamide is a post-translationally modified histidine residue present in animal and yeast TRANSLATION ELONGATION FACTOR2. Here the authors show that diphthamide modification of eEF2 is conserved in Arabidopsis thaliana and contributes to translational fidelity and growth via cell proliferation.
- Hongliang Zhang
- , Julia Quintana
- & Ute Krämer
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Article
| Open AccessRegulation of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR condensation and nucleo-cytoplasmic partitioning
Auxin-driven transcriptional responses are mediated by ARF transcription factors. Here the authors characterize an F-box protein, AFF1, that regulates the accumulation, condensation, and nucleo-cytoplasmic partitioning of ARF19 and ARF7.
- Hongwei Jing
- , David A. Korasick
- & Lucia C. Strader
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Article
| Open AccessMechanism of fertilization-induced auxin synthesis in the endosperm for seed and fruit development
In flowering plants, fertilization triggers auxin synthesis in the endosperm to promote seed and fruit development. Here the authors show that an MADS-box transcription factor AGL62 is required to activate auxin synthesis in the endosperms of Fragaria vesca, a diploid strawberry, and Arabidopsis.
- Lei Guo
- , Xi Luo
- & Zhongchi Liu
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Article
| Open AccessProbing strigolactone perception mechanisms with rationally designed small-molecule agonists stimulating germination of root parasitic weeds
Strigolactone agonists could potentially help control noxious weeds by promoting suicidal germination. Here the authors describe a series of small molecule agonists that stimulate germination via the Striga ShHTL7 receptor and show that stereochemistry and hydrolysis-independent signalling mediate potency.
- Dawei Wang
- , Zhili Pang
- & Zhen Xi
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Article
| Open AccessAn ancestral function of strigolactones as symbiotic rhizosphere signals
Strigolactones (SLs) regulate angiosperm development and promote symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizae. Here the authors show that bryosymbiol, an SL present in bryophytes and angiosperms, promotes AM symbiosis in Marchantia paleacea suggesting an ancestral function of SLs as rhizosphere signals.
- Kyoichi Kodama
- , Mélanie K. Rich
- & Junko Kyozuka
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Article
| Open AccessMutations in DNA polymerase δ subunit 1 co-segregate with CMD2-type resistance to Cassava Mosaic Geminiviruses
Cassava mosaic disease is caused by geminiviruses and suppresses cassava yields throughout the tropics. Here, the authors show that mutations in MePOLD1, encoding DNA polymerase δ subunit 1, co-segregate with CMD2, the major source of genetic resistance for this disease.
- Yi-Wen Lim
- , Ben N. Mansfeld
- & Rebecca S. Bart
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Article
| Open AccessNucleotide mismatches prevent intrinsic self-silencing of hpRNA transgenes to enhance RNAi stability in plants
Long hairpin RNA (hpRNA) transgenes are the most widely used RNAi technology in plants, but are potentially subject to self-induced transcriptional silencing. Here, the authors show nucleotide mismatches prevent intrinsic self-silencing of hpRNA transgenes in Arabidopsis and tobacco.
- Daai Zhang
- , Chengcheng Zhong
- & Ming-Bo Wang
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Article
| Open AccessDispersed emergence and protracted domestication of polyploid wheat uncovered by mosaic ancestral haploblock inference
The contribution of ancient haplotypes to domestication is largely unknown. Here, the authors develop an ancestral genomic haploblock dissection method to generate a mosaic pan-ancestry genomic map and reveal that the domesticated polyploidy wheat emerged from the admixture of six founder wild emmer linages.
- Zihao Wang
- , Wenxi Wang
- & Weilong Guo
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Article
| Open AccessMechanistic basis for maintenance of CHG DNA methylation in plants
In plants, DNA methylation in the CHG context is maintained by the CMT3 chromomethylases. Here the authors provide a structure-function characterization of a maize CMT3 ortholog to show how recognition of histone modifications stimulate DNA methylation.
- Jian Fang
- , Jianjun Jiang
- & Jikui Song
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Article
| Open AccessMetabolomics-guided discovery of cytochrome P450s involved in pseudotropine-dependent biosynthesis of modified tropane alkaloids
Cytochrome P450s drive the structural diversity of plant alkaloids, many of which have biotechnological uses. Here the authors use reverse genetics and metabolomics to identify two Atropa belladonna cytochrome P450s that synthesize pseudotropine-derived alkaloids.
- Radin Sadre
- , Thilani M. Anthony
- & Cornelius S. Barry
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Article
| Open AccessThe megabase-scale crossover landscape is largely independent of sequence divergence
The frequency of recombination varies along chromosomes and highly correlates with sequence divergence. Here, the authors show that polymorphisms are not a major determinant of the megabase-scale recombination landscape in Arabidopsis, which is rather determined by chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation.
- Qichao Lian
- , Victor Solier
- & Raphael Mercier
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Article
| Open AccessA natural uORF variant confers phosphorus acquisition diversity in soybean
Improving phosphorus (P) acquisition efficiency is important for sustainable agriculture. Here, the authors report a natural variation in an upstream open reading frame of a SEC12-like gene GmPHF1 is crucial for protein abundance and spatial distribution of GmPHF1, which contribute to P acquisition diversity in soybean.
- Zilong Guo
- , Hongrui Cao
- & Hong Liao
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Article
| Open AccessThe genomic basis of the plant island syndrome in Darwin’s giant daisies
Many island plant species share a syndrome of characteristic phenotype and life history. Cerca et al. find the genomic basis of the plant island syndrome in one of Darwin’s giant daisies, while separating ancestral genomes in a chromosome-resolved polyploid assembly.
- José Cerca
- , Bent Petersen
- & Michael D. Martin
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Article
| Open AccessFANCM promotes class I interfering crossovers and suppresses class II non-interfering crossovers in wheat meiosis
The FANCM helicase functions in limiting crossovers (COs) by unwinding inter-homolog repair intermediates. Here, the authors generate null mutants of fancm in tetraploid and hexaploid wheat and show that FANCM promotes class I interfering COs and suppresses class II noninterfering COs in wheat meiosis.
- Stuart D. Desjardins
- , James Simmonds
- & James D. Higgins
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Article
| Open AccessThe antenna of far-red absorbing cyanobacteria increases both absorption and quantum efficiency of Photosystem II
Some cyanobacteria acclimate to far-red light by integrating chlorophyll f into their photosystems. Additional chlorophylls typically slow down charge separation but here the authors show that charge separation in chlorophyll-f-containing Photosystem II is faster in the presence of red-shifted allophycocyanin antennas.
- Vincenzo Mascoli
- , Ahmad Farhan Bhatti
- & Roberta Croce
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Article
| Open AccessChromosome-level and haplotype-resolved genome provides insight into the tetraploid hybrid origin of patchouli
The ploidy level of patchouli, an aromatic plant in the Lamiaceae family, remain unclear. Here, the authors assemble a chromosome-level and haplotype-resolved genome for patchouli and reveal that it is tetraploid hybrid as well as compensated aneuploidy.
- Yanting Shen
- , Wanying Li
- & Hong-bin Wang
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