Rebalancing the seed proteome following deletion of vicilin-related genes in pea (Pisum sativum L.).

Null mutations for genes encoding a major seed storage protein in pea, vicilin, were sought through screening a fast-neutron mutant population. Deletion mutations at four or five vicilin loci, where all vicilin genes within each locus were deleted, were combined to address the question of how removal or reduction of a major storage protein and potential allergen might impact the final concentration of protein per unit mature seed weight, seed yield and viability. While the concentration of seed protein was not reduced in mature seeds of mutant lines, indicative of a re-balancing of the proteome, notable differences were apparent in the metabolite, proteomic and amino acid profiles of the seeds, as well as in some functional properties.

The genetic mechanism of B chromosome drive in rye illuminated by chromosome-scale assembly.

The genomes of many plants, animals, and fungi frequently comprise dispensable B chromosomes that rely upon various chromosomal drive mechanisms to counteract the tendency of non-essential genetic elements to be purged over time. The B chromosome of rye - a model system for nearly a century - undergoes targeted nondisjunction during first pollen mitosis, favouring segregation into the generative nucleus, thus increasing their numbers over generations. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying this process are poorly understood.

Repeat-based holocentromeres of the woodrush Luzula sylvatica reveal insights into the evolutionary transition to holocentricity.

In most studied eukaryotes, chromosomes are monocentric, with centromere activity confined to a single region. However, the rush family (Juncaceae) includes species with both monocentric (Juncus) and holocentric (Luzula) chromosomes, where centromere activity is distributed along the entire chromosome length. Here, we combine chromosome-scale genome assembly, epigenetic analysis, immuno-FISH and super-resolution microscopy to study the transition to holocentricity in Luzula sylvatica.

A chromosome-scale reference genome of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus).

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an underutilised but promising legume crop with tolerance to a wide range of abiotic and biotic stress factors, and potential for climate-resilient agriculture. Despite a long history and wide geographical distribution of cultivation, only limited breeding resources are available.

DANTE and DANTE_LTR: lineage-centric annotation pipelines for long terminal repeat retrotransposons in plant genomes.

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons constitute a predominant class of repetitive DNA elements in most plant genomes. With the increasing number of sequenced plant genomes, there is an ongoing demand for computational tools facilitating efficient annotation and classification of LTR retrotransposons in plant genome assemblies. Herein, we introduce DANTE, a computational pipeline for Domain-based ANnotation of Transposable Elements, designed for sensitive detection of these elements via their conserved protein domain sequences.