Chromosome Numbers and Reproductive Life Cycles in Green Plants: A Phylotranscriptomic Perspective.

The strong correlation between reproductive life cycle type and chromosome numbers in green plants has been a long-standing mystery in evolutionary biology. Within green plants, the derived condition of heterosporous reproduction has emerged from the ancestral condition of homospory in disparate locations on the phylogenetic tree at least 11 times, of which three lineages are extant. In all green plant lineages where heterospory has emerged, there has been a significant downsizing in chromosome numbers.

High-Throughput Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Unveils Complex Viral Population in Kansas Wheat: Implications for Sustainable Virus Management.

Wheat viruses are major yield-reducing factors, with mixed infections causing substantial economic losses. Determining field virus populations is crucial for effective management and developing virus-resistant cultivars. This study utilized the high-throughput Oxford Nanopore sequencing technique (ONT) to characterize wheat viral populations in major wheat-growing counties of Kansas from 2019 to 2021.

Leveraging a phased pangenome for haplotype design of hybrid potato.

The tetraploid genome and clonal propagation of the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) dictate a slow, non-accumulative breeding mode of the most important tuber crop. Transitioning potato breeding to a seed-propagated hybrid system based on diploid inbred lines has the potential to greatly accelerate its improvement.

Pupylation-based proximity labeling reveals regulatory factors in cellulose biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Knowledge about how and where proteins interact provides a pillar for cell biology. Protein proximity-labeling has emerged as an important tool to detect protein interactions. Biotin-related proximity labeling approaches are by far the most commonly used but may have labeling-related drawbacks.

Non-targeted LC-MS metabolomics reveal shifts from wound-induced enzymatic browning to lignification during extended storage of fresh-cut lettuce in modified atmosphere packaging.

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is a conventional method used to prolong the shelf-life of fresh-cut vegetables, including lettuce. However, MAP-stored lettuce remains perishable, and its deterioration mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we utilized non-targeted LC-MS metabolomics to evaluate the effects of cutting and extended storage time on metabolite profiles of lettuce stored in MAP.

BBX22 enhances the accumulation of antioxidants to inhibit DNA damage and promotes DNA repair under high UV-B.

Under changing climatic conditions, plant exposure to high-intensity UV-B can be a potential threat to plant health and all plant-derived human requirements, including food. It's crucial to understand how plants respond to high UV-B radiation so that proper measures can be taken to enhance tolerance towards high UV-B stress. We found that BBX22, a B-box protein-coding gene, is strongly induced within one hour of exposure to high-intensity UV-B.

Getting it right: suppression and leveraging of noise in robust decision-making.

Noise is a ubiquitous feature for all organisms growing in nature. Noise (defined here as stochastic variation) in the availability of nutrients, water and light profoundly impacts their growth and development. Not only is noise present as an external factor but cellular processes themselves are noisy.

Importance of an N-terminal structural switch in the distinction between small RNA-bound and free ARGONAUTE.

ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins bind to small non-coding RNAs to form RNA-induced silencing complexes. In the RNA-bound state, AGO is stable while RNA-free AGO turns over rapidly. Molecular features unique to RNA-free AGO that allow its specific recognition and degradation remain unknown.

Deciphering the Vulnerability of Pollen to Heat Stress for Securing Crop Yields in a Warming Climate.

Climate change is leading to more frequent and severe extreme temperature events, negatively impacting agricultural productivity and threatening global food security. Plant reproduction, the process fundamental to crop yield, is highly susceptible to heatwaves, which disrupt pollen development and ultimately affect seed-set and crop yields. Recent research has increasingly focused on understanding how pollen grains from various crops react to heat stress at the molecular and cellular levels.

Histidine limitation alters plant development and influences the TOR network.

Plant growth depends on growth regulators, nutrient availability, and amino acids levels, all of which influence cell wall formation and cell expansion. Cell wall integrity and structures are surveyed and modified by a complex array of cell wall integrity sensors, including LRR-extensins (LRXs) that bind RALF (rapid alkalinization factor) peptides with high affinity and help to compact cell walls. Expressing the Arabidopsis root-hair specific LRX1 without the extensin domain, which anchors the protein to the cell wall, has a negative effect on root hair development.

Elemental profiling and genome-wide association studies reveal genomic variants modulating ionomic composition in leaves.

The ionome represents elemental composition in plant tissues and can be an indicator of nutrient status as well as overall plant performance. Thus, identifying genetic determinants governing elemental uptake and storage is an important goal for breeding and engineering biomass feedstocks with improved performance. In this study, we coupled high-throughput ionome characterization of leaf tissues with high-resolution genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to uncover genetic loci that modulate ionomic composition in leaves of poplar ().

Arabidopsis WALL-ASSOCIATED KINASES are not required for oligogalacturonide-induced signaling and immunity.

Carbohydrate-based cell wall signaling impacts plant growth, development, and stress responses; however, how cell wall signals are perceived and transduced remains poorly understood. Several cell wall breakdown products have been described as typical damage-associated molecular patterns that activate plant immunity, including pectin-derived oligogalacturonides (OGs). Receptor kinases of the WALL-ASSOCIATED KINASE (WAK) family bind pectin and OGs and were previously proposed as OG receptors.

Field integration of shoot gas-exchange and leaf chlorophyll fluorescence measurements to study the long-term regulation of photosynthesis in situ.

Understanding the diurnal and seasonal regulation of photosynthesis is an essential step to quantify and model the impact of the environment on plant function. Although the dynamics of photosynthesis have been widely investigated in terms of CO2 exchange measurements, a more comprehensive view can be obtained when combining gas-exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF). Until now, integrated measurements of gas-exchange and ChlF have been restricted to short-term analysis using portable IRGA systems that include a fluorometer module.

Assessment of field performance and bruchid resistance during seed storage of a genetically modified cowpea expressing the alpha-amylase inhibitor 1 protein from common bean.

Introduction: The cowpea weevil, Fab., is the most economically important storage pest of cowpeas, causing up to 100 percent grain losses within six months of storage. To sustainably resist weevil damage, the cowpea cultivar IT86D-1010 was genetically modified via -mediated transformation to produce event CSI-32, which expresses the kidney bean alpha-amylase inhibitor 1 (αAI-1) protein exclusively in the seed, providing suppression of weevil development.

Plant microbiota feedbacks through dose-responsive expression of general non-self response genes.

The ability of plants to perceive and react to biotic and abiotic stresses is critical for their health. We recently identified a core set of genes consistently induced by members of the leaf microbiota, termed general non-self response (GNSR) genes. Here we show that GNSR components conversely impact leaf microbiota composition.

ALBA proteins facilitate cytoplasmic YTHDF-mediated reading of m6A in Arabidopsis.

N6-methyladenosine (mA) exerts many of its regulatory effects on eukaryotic mRNAs by recruiting cytoplasmic YT521-B homology-domain family (YTHDF) proteins. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, the interaction between mA and the major YTHDF protein ECT2 also involves the mRNA-binding ALBA protein family. ALBA and YTHDF proteins physically associate via a deeply conserved short linear motif in the intrinsically disordered region of YTHDF proteins and their mRNA target sets overlap, with ALBA4 binding sites being juxtaposed to mA sites.

FERONIA adjusts CC1 phosphorylation to control microtubule array behavior in response to salt stress.

Cell wall remodeling is important for plants to adapt to environmental stress. Under salt stress, cortical microtubules undergo a depolymerization-reassembly process to promote the biosynthesis of stress-adaptive cellulose, but the regulatory mechanisms underlying this process are still largely unknown. In this study, we reveal that FERONIA (FER), a potential cell wall sensor, interacts with COMPANION OF CELLULOSE SYNTHASE1 (CC1) and its closest homolog, CC2, two proteins that are required for cortical microtubule reassembly under salt stress.

ZmICE1a regulates the defence-storage trade-off in maize endosperm.

The endosperm of cereal grains feeds the entire world as a major food supply; however, little is known about its defence response during endosperm development. The Inducer of CBF Expression 1 (ICE1) is a well-known regulator of cold tolerance in plants. ICE1 has a monocot-specific homologue that is preferentially expressed in cereal endosperms but with an unclear regulatory function.

Maize unstable factor for orange1 encodes a nuclear protein that affects redox accumulation during kernel development.

The basal endosperm transfer layer (BETL) of the maize (Zea mays L.) kernel is composed of transfer cells for nutrient transport to nourish the developing kernel. To understand the spatiotemporal processes required for BETL development, we characterized 2 unstable factor for orange1 (Zmufo1) mutant alleles.