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A rice diterpenoid gene cluster is reported that controls the biosynthesis of 5,10-diketo-casbene, a phytoalexin that confers resistance to rice bacterial blight and blast fungus. It recently evolved in the japonica subspecies under artificial selection.
A chromatin-based, RNAi-independent mechanism is uncovered that reestablishes DNA methylation on heterochromatin transposable elements and is impacted by multiple factors, including CG methylation, H3K9 demethylation and replacement of H2A variants.
The insertion of magnesium into protoporphyrin starts the biosynthesis of chlorophyll. X-ray crystallography, computational modelling, mutagenesis and enzymology combined probe the magnesium chelatase complex’s structure and catalytic function.
The structural basis of the interactions between Rubisco and its intrinsically disordered linker protein provides insight into phase separation within the algal pyrenoid, an organelle responsible for around a third of global CO2 fixation.
In most C4 lineages, photosynthesis is compartmented between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells. Using the C3 model Arabidopsis, this study identifies cis-elements and transcription factors driving gene expression restricted to bundle sheath strands.
A study reveals that HOS1 activates the components of DNA repair systems to enhance the repair of heat-induced DNA damages and thermotolerance, establishing a direct link between DNA repair and thermotolerance.
The authors obtain a cryogenic electron microscopy structure of the cryptochrome blue-light receptor CRY2 in a light-induced tetramer complex. The key residues involved in oligomerization are characterized and validated by mutational analysis.
A secreted protein effector from the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae has bactericidal properties. It allows the pathogen to modify the root microbiome in tomato and cotton, specifically eliminating plant-protective bacteria, to increase its own virulence.
The zygote’s genome is a combination of both the maternal and paternal genomes. Researchers previously found that the maternal and paternal genomes contribute equally to the transcriptome of early plant embryos. However, now Zhao et al. show a strong single parental effect on the development of the basal cell lineage of early proembryos in Arabidopsis.
Marchantia polymorpha lacks the enzyme that converts ACC into ethylene in higher plants. Genetic characterization of ethylene mutants and treatments with exogenous molecules suggest that, in this species, ACC and ethylene have independent functions.
In maize, a comprehensive set of approaches enabled the authors to analyse the biosynthetic pathway of the zealexin group of terpenoids and characterize the role of these antibiotic compounds in disease resistance.
The authors characterize a cross-talk between ABA and energy pathways. Essential ABA signalling components SnRK2s sequester SnRK1 in a protein complex, decreasing its interaction with the TOR kinase central for energy signalling.
Genomic analyses of 101 plant species reveals a fundamental shift in the proportion of repetitive sequences in genomes above around 10 Gbp—species with the largest genomes are only about 55% repetitive, and this proportion does not increase further with genome size.
Climate-resilient crops are essential for farmers to adapt to climate change. This scoping review identifies extension services and outreach as the most important factors for their adoption by small-scale producers in low- and middle-income countries.
Livestock support the livelihoods of a billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and improved feeding could increase productivity. However, this scoping review highlights serious gaps in evidence around the adoption of new feeding practices.