Research Highlight |
Featured
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Book Review |
It takes a wood to raise a tree: a memoir
An ecologist traces forests’ support networks — and finds parallels in her own life.
- Emma Marris
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Article |
A phase-separated nuclear GBPL circuit controls immunity in plants
A family of plant guanylate-binding protein-like GTPases controls phase separation and assembly of condensates, thereby forming a circuit that regulates transcriptional responses to biotic stress.
- Shuai Huang
- , Shiwei Zhu
- & John D. MacMicking
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News & Views |
Ancient seeds spill secrets about the evolution of flowering plants
The origin and rapid diversification of flowering plants is a long-standing “abominable mystery”, as Charles Darwin put it. Part of the puzzle – the origin of the protective covering of flowering-plant seeds – is nearing resolution.
- Douglas E. Soltis
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Article |
Mesozoic cupules and the origin of the angiosperm second integument
Analysis of recurved cupules from a newly discovered Early Cretaceous silicified peat in Inner Mongolia, China and comparison with other potentially related Mesozoic plant fossils provides insight into the origins of angiosperms.
- Gongle Shi
- , Fabiany Herrera
- & Peter R. Crane
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Article |
Discovery, characterization and engineering of ligases for amide synthesis
A family of enzymes—coronafacic acid ligases, involved in the synthesis of bacterial phytotoxins—are found to catalyse amide bond formation with a wide range of substrates.
- Michael Winn
- , Michael Rowlinson
- & Jason Micklefield
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Research Highlight |
Flashy plants draw outsize share of scientists’ attention
Blue-flowered plants get the most scientific love; those with green or brown flowers, not so much.
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Where I Work |
A deep-rooted appreciation for the health benefits of plants
Kehinde Apara draws on artificial intelligence and her own family background to source flora for her work at a California bioprospecting company.
- James Mitchell Crow
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Article
| Open AccessA biosensor for the direct visualization of auxin
A genetically encoded sensor for the quantitative visualization of auxin distribution in plants enables real-time monitoring of its uptake and clearance by individual cells and within cellular compartments.
- Ole Herud-Sikimić
- , Andre C. Stiel
- & Gerd Jürgens
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News Round-Up |
Plant–insect gene transfer, NASA chief and COVID reinfections
The latest science news, in brief.
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Article |
Fertilized egg cells secrete endopeptidases to avoid polytubey
Fertilized Arabidopsis egg cells secrete endopeptidases into the extracellular space that cleave the pollen tube attractor LURE1, preventing polytubey.
- Xiaobo Yu
- , Xuecheng Zhang
- & Meng-xiang Sun
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Where I Work |
A fine soft day for surveying moss and liverworts
A rainforest in southwest Ireland offers Rory Hodd the chance to discover unusual specimens of ferns and other flora.
- Chris Woolston
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News |
First known gene transfer from plant to insect identified
Discovery that a whitefly uses a stolen plant gene to elude its host’s defences may offer a route to new pest-control strategies.
- Heidi Ledford
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Article |
Developmental and biophysical determinants of grass leaf size worldwide
Relationships between leaf size and vein architecture in more than 1,700 grass species worldwide show that grasses native to colder and drier climates have shorter and narrower leaves that provide them with physiological advantages.
- Alec S. Baird
- , Samuel H. Taylor
- & Lawren Sack
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Editorial |
Revamp of UK CRISPR regulation will require public trust
The United Kingdom is considering innovative ways of regulating gene editing in food and farming. Robust processes and public confidence will be vital for success.
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Article |
Mutual potentiation of plant immunity by cell-surface and intracellular receptors
In Arabidopsis, two distinct types of immunity—that mediated by cell-surface receptors and that mediated by intracellular receptors—interact with and mutually enhance each other to provide effective defence against pathogens.
- Bruno Pok Man Ngou
- , Hee-Kyung Ahn
- & Jonathan D. G. Jones
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Article |
Pattern-recognition receptors are required for NLR-mediated plant immunity
Bacteria elicit two distinct immune responses in Arabidopsis thaliana, mediated by diverse signalling receptors but working in a synergistic manner.
- Minhang Yuan
- , Zeyu Jiang
- & Xiu-Fang Xin
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News & Views |
Road map for domesticating multi-genome rice using gene editing
Having more than two sets of chromosomes can help plants to adapt and evolve, but generating new crops with this type of genome is challenging. A road map for doing just that has now been developed using wild rice.
- Diane R. Wang
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Article |
The TOR–EIN2 axis mediates nuclear signalling to modulate plant growth
In Arabidopsis, phosphorylation of EIN2 by TOR kinase in the presence of glucose prevents the nuclear localization of EIN2, showing that the glucose–TOR–EIN2 axis regulates the transcriptome independently of ethylene signalling pathways.
- Liwen Fu
- , Yanlin Liu
- & Yan Xiong
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Research Highlight |
Insta-crop: CRISPR enables high-speed plant domestication
A lanky species of wild rice turns compact and docile in a jiffy.
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News & Views |
Multiple genomes give switchgrass an advantage
The genome sequence of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) sheds light on genetic mechanisms that have enabled the ancestors of this valuable biomass crop to adapt to cycles of climate warming and cooling.
- Erik J. Sacks
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Article
| Open AccessGenomic mechanisms of climate adaptation in polyploid bioenergy switchgrass
The genome of the biofuel crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) reveals climate–gene–biomass associations that underlie adaptation in nature and will facilitate improvements of the yield of this crop for bioenergy production.
- John T. Lovell
- , Alice H. MacQueen
- & Jeremy Schmutz
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Research Highlight |
The chemical flare that warns plants of rough going ahead
Elevated levels of a plant hormone tip off roots about compacted soil.
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Article |
Genomic basis of geographical adaptation to soil nitrogen in rice
OsTCP19 is a modulator of the tillering response to nitrogen in rice, and introgression of an allele of OsTCP19 associated with a high tillering response into modern rice cultivars markedly improves their nitrogen-use efficiency.
- Yongqiang Liu
- , Hongru Wang
- & Chengcai Chu
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Article |
An SHR–SCR module specifies legume cortical cell fate to enable nodulation
Repurposing of an SHR–SCR stem cell program in the legume root cortex enables rhizobial symbiosis.
- Wentao Dong
- , Yayun Zhu
- & Ertao Wang
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Article
| Open AccessThe barley pan-genome reveals the hidden legacy of mutation breeding
Chromosome-scale sequence assemblies of 20 diverse varieties of barley are used to construct a first-generation pan-genome, revealing previously hidden genetic variation that can be used by studies aimed at crop improvement
- Murukarthick Jayakodi
- , Sudharsan Padmarasu
- & Nils Stein
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Article
| Open AccessMultiple wheat genomes reveal global variation in modern breeding
Comparison of multiple genome assemblies from wheat reveals extensive diversity that results from the complex breeding history of wheat and provides a basis for further potential improvements to this important food crop.
- Sean Walkowiak
- , Liangliang Gao
- & Curtis J. Pozniak
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Article |
A network of transcriptional repressors modulates auxin responses
Genes encoding the class A auxin-response factor group of plant transcriptional activators reside in constitutively open chromatin, enabling their continual regulation by transcriptional repressors to modulate auxin signalling throughout development.
- Jekaterina Truskina
- , Jingyi Han
- & Teva Vernoux
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Where I Work |
Top banana: developing varieties that resist disease
Leena Tripathi uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to protect bananas and other staple crops across Africa against killer pathogens.
- Abdullahi Tsanni
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News |
Astronauts have conducted nearly 3,000 science experiments aboard the ISS
A graphical guide to the research carried out on the International Space Station — and who did it.
- Alexandra Witze
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Where I Work |
The scientist-gardener who is harnessing tobacco’s power to heal
Molecular immunologist Audrey Teh is passionate about converting plants into pharmaceutical producers.
- Virginia Gewin
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Article |
A single bacterial genus maintains root growth in a complex microbiome
Experiments using an ecologically realistic 185-member bacterial synthetic community in the root system of Arabidopsis reveal that Variovorax bacteria can influence plant hormone levels to reverse the inhibitory effect of the community on root growth.
- Omri M. Finkel
- , Isai Salas-González
- & Jeffery L. Dangl
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Research Highlight |
Etched for success: the ‘tattoos’ that could help crops to survive polluted air
Polymer electrodes deposited onto the leaves of crop plants provide an early warning of ozone damage.
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News & Views |
Calcium channel in plants helps shut the door on intruders
Disease-causing microorganisms can invade plants through leaf pores called stomata, which close rapidly in a calcium-dependent manner on detecting such danger. The calcium channels involved have now finally been identified.
- Keiko Yoshioka
- & Wolfgang Moeder
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Article |
Quinone perception in plants via leucine-rich-repeat receptor-like kinases
Dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone signalling occurs in Arabidopsis and in the root parasite Phtheirospermum japonicum via increases in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration mediated by the leucine-rich-repeat receptor-like kinase CARD1 in Arabidopsis, or by its homologues in P. japonicum.
- Anuphon Laohavisit
- , Takanori Wakatake
- & Ken Shirasu
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Article |
The calcium-permeable channel OSCA1.3 regulates plant stomatal immunity
A study in Arabidopsis thaliana shows that the immune receptor-associated cytosolic kinase BIK1 phosphorylates OSCA1.3 and identifies OSCA1.3 as the pathogen-responsive Ca2+-permeable channel that regulates stomatal closure.
- Kathrin Thor
- , Shushu Jiang
- & Cyril Zipfel
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News & Views |
The plant response to heat requires phase separation
Temperature determines the geographical distribution of plants and their rate of growth and development, but how they sense high temperatures to mount a response was unclear. Now a process underlying this responsiveness is known.
- Simon Alberti
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Article |
A prion-like domain in ELF3 functions as a thermosensor in Arabidopsis
The adaptability of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to different temperatures is regulated by the ability of its ELF3 protein to undergo liquid–liquid phase separation, in a manner that is dependent on the protein’s prion-like domain.
- Jae-Hoon Jung
- , Antonio D. Barbosa
- & Philip A. Wigge
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Where I Work |
Mighty mites: arachnid soldiers deploy to protect a national treasure
Giuditta Beretta uses predatory mites to wage biowar on thrips, common pests that plague the beloved tulips of the Netherlands.
- Chris Woolston
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Article |
Structural basis of salicylic acid perception by Arabidopsis NPR proteins
Structural determination of the salicylic-acid-binding core of Arabidopsis NPR4 sheds light on the mechanisms through which this plant hormone interacts with its receptors, providing insights that are of potential use in engineering enhanced immunity.
- Wei Wang
- , John Withers
- & Ning Zheng
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News & Views |
An inventory of plants for the land of the unexpected
New Guinea has the world’s richest island flora, according to the area’s first plant list catalogued by experts. Completing this list poses a formidable challenge that New Guineans are best placed to take up.
- Vojtech Novotny
- & Kenneth Molem
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News & Views |
How the flame lily synthesizes a therapeutic natural product
The discovery of the biosynthetic pathway for colchicine, a medicine produced by plants, holds promise for the use of metabolic-engineering approaches in producing reliably high yields of this compound.
- Jing-Ke Weng
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Article |
Discovery and engineering of colchicine alkaloid biosynthesis
Discovery of a near-complete colchicine biosynthetic pathway enables the engineered production of the tropolone-containing alkaloid N-formyldemecolcine from amino acid precursors in Nicotiana benthamiana.
- Ryan S. Nett
- , Warren Lau
- & Elizabeth S. Sattely
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Article |
Temperature-dependent growth contributes to long-term cold sensing
The authors find that slow plant growth at low temperatures during winter reduces dilution of the transcription factor NTL8, which allows slow accumulation of NTL8 and thus the gradual increase in transcription of VIN3—a gene involved in memory of cold exposure.
- Yusheng Zhao
- , Rea L. Antoniou-Kourounioti
- & Martin Howard
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News & Views |
Growth-mediated sensing of long-term cold in plants
The prolonged cold of winter is required for the flowering of many plants. Now the identification of a previously unknown long-term cold-sensing mechanism helps to reveal how plants are able to time their flowering correctly.
- Hiroyuki Iida
- & Ari Pekka Mähönen
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News & Views |
Genetic drivers of high-rise rice that survives deep floods
Rice in deepwater paddy fields can survive a slow-rising flood by a remarkably rapid elongation of submerged stem sections. Two genes discovered to affect this process could aid targeted improvements in crop height and flood tolerance.
- Julia Bailey-Serres
- & Laurentius A. C. J. Voesenek
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Article |
Antagonistic regulation of the gibberellic acid response during stem growth in rice
Stem growth in rice is regulated by an accelerator gene and a decelerator gene in parallel with gibberellic acid, and the opposite selection of these genes has led to adaptations to different environments.
- Keisuke Nagai
- , Yoshinao Mori
- & Motoyuki Ashikari
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Article |
Extensive signal integration by the phytohormone protein network
A systems-level map of the Arabidopsis hormone signalling network, comprising more than 2,000 binary protein–protein interactions, reveals hundreds of interpathway contact points, many of which mediate crosstalk between different hormone pathways.
- Melina Altmann
- , Stefan Altmann
- & Pascal Falter-Braun
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Outlook |
Plant vesicles inspire methods to protect crops
Some studies have suggested that plants and fungi exchange RNA through extracellular vesicles. This has led some scientists to develop crop sprays that contain RNA.
- Roxanne Khamsi
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Article |
Transcriptional regulation of strigolactone signalling in Arabidopsis
Many of the molecular targets of strigolactones—plant hormones involved in development and in interactions with symbiotic and parasitic organisms—are uncovered, revealing how strigolactones function and an intriguing role for self-regulation of a downstream transcription factor.
- Lei Wang
- , Bing Wang
- & Jiayang Li
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