Extreme restructuring of cis-regulatory regions controlling a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator.

A striking paradox is that genes with conserved protein sequence, function and expression pattern over deep time often exhibit extremely divergent cis-regulatory sequences. It remains unclear how such drastic cis-regulatory evolution across species allows preservation of gene function, and to what extent these differences influence how cis-regulatory variation arising within species impacts phenotypic change. Here, we investigated these questions using a plant stem cell regulator conserved in expression pattern and function over ~125 million years.

Extreme restructuring of -regulatory regions controlling a deeply conserved plant stem cell regulator.

Unlabelled: A striking paradox is that genes with conserved protein sequence, function and expression pattern over deep time often exhibit extremely divergent -regulatory sequences. It remains unclear how such drastic -regulatory evolution across species allows preservation of gene function, and to what extent these differences influence how regulatory variation arising within species impacts phenotypic change. Here, we investigated these questions using a plant stem cell regulator conserved in expression pattern and function over ∼125 million years.

Phosphorylation-dependent subfunctionalization of the calcium-dependent protein kinase CPK28.

Calcium (Ca)-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs or CPKs) are a unique family of Ca sensor/kinase-effector proteins with diverse functions in plants. In , CPK28 contributes to immune homeostasis by promoting degradation of the key immune signaling receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE 1 (BIK1) and additionally functions in vegetative-to-reproductive stage transition. How CPK28 controls these seemingly disparate pathways is unknown.

Major Impacts of Widespread Structural Variation on Gene Expression and Crop Improvement in Tomato.

Structural variants (SVs) underlie important crop improvement and domestication traits. However, resolving the extent, diversity, and quantitative impact of SVs has been challenging. We used long-read nanopore sequencing to capture 238,490 SVs in 100 diverse tomato lines.