Helicases clear hurdles during plant defense protein translation.

Plants undergo translational reprogramming when they are under attack by pathogens. Xiang et al. recently revealed that plant helicases induced by pathogen recognition unwind RNA hairpins upstream of the main open reading frames (mORFs), thus allowing ribosomes to bypass the upstream ORFs (uORFs) and translate downstream defense proteins, a mechanism that is also found in mammals.

Appropriate reduction of importin-α gene expression enhances yellow dwarf disease resistance in common wheat.

Barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) cause widespread damage to global cereal crops. Here we report a novel strategy for elevating resistance to BYDV infection. The 17K protein, a potent virulence factor conserved in BYDVs, interacted with barley IMP-α1 and -α2 proteins that are nuclear transport receptors.

Molecular basis of locus-specific H3K9 methylation catalyzed by SUVH6 in plants.

Dimethylated histone H3 Lys9 (H3K9me2) is a conserved heterochromatic mark catalyzed by SUPPRESSOR OF VARIEGATION 3-9 HOMOLOG (SUVH) methyltransferases in plants. However, the mechanism underlying the locus specificity of SUVH enzymes has long been elusive. Here, we show that a conserved N-terminal motif is essential for SUVH6-mediated H3K9me2 deposition in planta.

Intragenic heterochromatin-mediated alternative polyadenylation modulates miRNA and pollen development in rice.

Despite a much higher proportion of intragenic heterochromatin-containing genes in crop genomes, the importance of intragenic heterochromatin in crop development remains unclear. Intragenic heterochromatin can be recognised by a protein complex, ASI1-AIPP1-EDM2 (AAE) complex, to regulate alternative polyadenylation. Here, we investigated the impact of rice ASI1 on global poly(A) site usage through poly(A) sequencing and ASI1-dependent regulation on rice development.