Plant sciences articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    In this study, fossils from the Late Cretaceous period in India are described and are assigned to the rice tribe based on phylogenetic comparison of morphological traits with modern grasses; these findings suggest that the evolutionary origins of the grass family, Poaceae, occurred earlier than previously thought.

    • V. Prasad
    • , C.A.E. Strömberg
    •  & A. Sahni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the genetics and physiology of domesticated species is important for crop improvement. By studying natural variation and the phenotypic traits of 413 diverse accessions of rice, Zhao et al. identify many common genetic variants that influence quantitative traits such as seed size and flowering time.

    • Keyan Zhao
    • , Chih-Wei Tung
    •  & Susan R. McCouch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How microtubules are organized correctly in plant cells is not well understood. Ambroseet al. use 4D imaging and computer modelling to show that sharp cell edges induce microtubule depolymerization and that the microtubule-associated protein CLASP mitigates this process to modulate array organization.

    • Chris Ambrose
    • , Jun F. Allard
    •  & Geoffrey O. Wasteneys

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Posttranslational modification of proteins by small ubiquitin-related modifier is a response to stress signalling in plants. Here, theArabdiposisprotein SIZ1 is shown to cause SUMOylation of nitrate reductases 1 and 2 and to increase their activity, suggesting that SIZ1 controls nitrate uptake via SUMOylation.

    • Bong Soo Park
    • , Jong Tae Song
    •  & Hak Soo Seo

  • Article |

    Through fine-root nutrient chemistry, it is possible to study ecosystem-scale biogeochemical cycling. Compiling data from 211 studies measuring nitrogen and phosphorus in plant roots, Yuanet al. find that tropical ecosystems are more phosphorous-limited than higher latitudes.

    • Z.Y. Yuan
    • , Han Y.H. Chen
    •  & Peter B. Reich

  • Article |

    Hydro-responsive plant movements have provided inspiration for the design of adaptive materials. Harringtonet al. investigate the hydration-dependent unfolding of ice plant seed capsules and find an origami-like folding pattern, which could aid the development of biomimetic folding structures.

    • Matthew J. Harrington
    • , Khashayar Razghandi
    •  & Ingo Burgert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Increasing the nutritional content of plant crops and the identification of iron transporters in rice would facilitate the improvement of rice varieties. In this study, the authors identify a mitochondrial iron transporter in rice — MIT — and suggest that this gene is important for rice growth and development.

    • Khurram Bashir
    • , Yasuhiro Ishimaru
    •  & Naoko K. Nishizawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Secondary metabolites are widely used in human health and nutrition, but extraction yields from plants are often low. Nakagawaet al. have engineered the metabolism of Escherichia colito develop a fermentation system that produces plant alkaloids from simple carbon sources.

    • Akira Nakagawa
    • , Hiromichi Minami
    •  & Hidehiko Kumagai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global darkness from an asteroid impact 65.5 million years ago led to massive extinction of oceanic phytoplankton, but coastal groups survived. Ribeiroet al.revive coastal dinoflagellates after a century of dormancy, suggesting phytoplankton survived the extinction and helped restore photosynthesis in the ocean.

    • Sofia Ribeiro
    • , Terje Berge
    •  & Marianne Ellegaard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Q-cycle is thought to be an essential energetic component of the photosynthetic electron-transfer chain. Here, Chlamydomonas mutants with an inactive Q-cycle but normal levels ofb6fcomplexes are shown to display photosynthetic growth, demonstrating the dispensability of the Q-cycle in the oxygenic photosynthetic chain.

    • Alizée Malnoë
    • , Francis-André Wollman
    •  & Fabrice Rappaport

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cyanide-releasing defence systems in plants and animals are important to the evolution of plant–herbivore interactions. The authors identify the enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of cyanogenic glucosides by Six-spot Burnet moth caterpillars, which have evolved independently from the known plant pathway.

    • Niels Bjerg Jensen
    • , Mika Zagrobelny
    •  & Søren Bak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The presence of earthworms is known to enhance the quality and moisture of soil in cool and wet climates. Evanset al. show that termites and ants can improve soil quality in warmer and drier climates—their presence results in elevated water infiltration and nitrogen content, leading to increased wheat yields.

    • Theodore A. Evans
    • , Tracy Z. Dawes
    •  & Nathan Lo

  • Article |

    Trees of the genusEucalyptusdominate the flora in Australia and can undergo resprouting after fire. Here, fossils and DNA of eucalypts reveal that the resprouting feature of the trees can be linked to the evolution of fire biomes, and that this likely began 60 million years ago.

    • Michael D. Crisp
    • , Geoffrey E. Burrows
    •  & David M. J. S. Bowman

  • Article |

    Hydrogen production using photosynthetic bacteria is an appealing energy source, but typically the bacteria require anaerobic conditions. Here, the authors report a wild-type cyanobacterium strain that shows very high rates of hydrogen production under aerobic environmental conditions.

    • Anindita Bandyopadhyay
    • , Jana Stöckel
    •  & Himadri B. Pakrasi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Much effort has been devoted to the generation of rice plants with short stature to improve grain yield and increased resistance to lodging. Through quantitative trait analysis, these authors identify a gene—STRONG CULM2—that confers increased grain yield, culm strength and spikelet number in rice.

    • Taiichiro Ookawa
    • , Tokunori Hobo
    •  & Makoto Matsuoka

  • Article |

    Fusion proteins containing blue-light-activated domains have been used as molecular switches to investigate cell signalling, but molecular understanding of the transduction pathway is lacking. Here, MD simulations are used to elucidate the transduction mechanism in a light oxygen voltage2-Ja photosensor.

    • Emanuel Peter
    • , Bernhard Dick
    •  & Stephan A. Baeurle

  • Article |

    Symbiotic fungi are thought to have assisted plants in their colonization of the land. In this study, it is shown that mycorrhizal fungi symbiosis with liverwort, a member of an ancient clade of land plants, promotes photosynthetic carbon uptake and growth, supporting the role of fungi in 'the greening of the Earth'.

    • Claire P. Humphreys
    • , Peter J. Franks
    •  & David J. Beerling

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