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Bring back the phenotype New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 César Marín, Michael J. Wade
When thinking about evolutionary change, many practicing biologists will focus on changes in allele frequencies over time. This gene-centric view of evolution has strongly impacted how evolution (and biological science in general) is thought, taught, and funded. In this viewpoint, we join recent criticisms of the gene-centric view and call for reinstalling a phenotypic view of evolution. The assumptions
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Predicting plant trait dynamics from genetic markers Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 David Hobby, Hao Tong, Marc Heuermann, Alain J. Mbebi, Roosa A. E. Laitinen, Matteo Dell’Acqua, Thomas Altmann, Zoran Nikoloski
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Enrichment of two important metabolites d-galacturonic acid and d-glucuronic acid inhibits MdHb1-mediated fruit softening in apple Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Yu-Wen Zhao, Ting-Ting Zhao, Quan Sun, Xiao-Long Liu, Xiao-Yu Huang, Lin-Guang Li, Hai-Bo Wang, Wan-Kun Li, Chu-Kun Wang, Wen-Yan Wang, Ying Xiang, Chang-Ning Ma, Xue-Sen Chen, Lailiang Cheng, Da-Gang Hu
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Going bananas: how transgene‐free editing is contributing to a fruitful future New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Lennart Hoengenaert, Chantal Anders, Wout Boerjan
The ability to induce precise genetic modifications through genome editing has greatly enhanced crop improvement efforts. However, the presence of transgenes in the edited crops necessitates regulatory approval for market introduction (Gao, 2021). Typically, transgene-free genome editing is achieved by inserting a nuclease-encoding T-DNA cassette into the plant genome, which is subsequently removed
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A new module for tapetum development: the functional exploration of TIP2‐UDT1‐OsUPEX1/2 module in rice New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Shanshan Zhu, Jianmin Wan
The tapetum plays a pivotal role in the precise development of anther and pollen by supplying nutrients and signaling molecules to the microspores and controlling their release (Jung et al., 2005; Ariizumi & Toriyama, 2011). Numerous transcription factors have been reported to regulate the timely degradation of the tapetum and pollen development in rice (Jung et al., 2005; Li et al., 2006; Niu et al
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Long‐term trends in global flowering phenology New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 David R. Williamson, Tommy Prestø, Kristine B. Westergaard, Beatrice M. Trascau, Vibekke Vange, Kristian Hassel, Wouter Koch, James D. M. Speed
Summary Flowering phenology is an indicator of the impact of climate change on natural systems. Anthropogenic climate change has progressed over more than two centuries, but ecological studies are mostly short in comparison. Here we harness the large‐scale digitization of herbaria specimens to investigate temporal trends in flowering phenology at a global scale. We trained a convolutional neural network
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Gene regulatory network analysis of silver birch reveals the ancestral state of secondary cell wall biosynthesis in core eudicots New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Maja Ilievska, Sun‐Li Chong, Kean‐Jin Lim, Juha Immanen, Kaisa Nieminen, Hannu Maaheimo, Yrjö Helariutta, Joel Wurman‐Rodrich, Paul Dupree, James Ord, Maija Tenkanen, Jarkko Salojärvi
Summary The compact genome and lack of recent whole‐genome multiplication (WGM) events make the boreal pioneer tree silver birch (Betula pendula) a promising model for primary and secondary cell wall (PCW and SCW) regulation in forest trees. Here, we constructed regulatory networks through combined co‐expression and promoter motif analysis and carried out a tissue‐wide analysis of xylan using mass
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A call for reform: implementing genome-based approaches for species classification in Glomeromycotina New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Nicolas Corradi, Pedro Madeira Antunes, Franco Magurno
In arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, only c. 370 species have been formally described despite these fungal organisms having coevolved with plants for hundreds of millions of years. In contrast to this, dozens of thousands of species are known for many fungal lineages with shorter evolutionary timescales. This Viewpoint highlights some plausible reasons for these striking discrepancies in species description
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CPK27 enhances cold tolerance by promoting flavonoid biosynthesis through phosphorylating HY5 in tomato New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Rui Lin, Wenjing Zhang, Rong Tian, Limeng Zhang, Jiachen Hong, Lingyu Wang, Huijia Kang, Jingquan Yu, Yanhong Zhou
Cold stress is a major environmental challenge affecting the production of crops. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs/CPKs) are crucial regulators relaying calcium (Ca2+) signals into cellular stress responses. However, the specific mechanisms of CPKs in regulating cold stress signaling are not well understood. In this study, through genetic, physiological and molecular biology assays, we characterized
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Re-analysis of mobile mRNA datasets raises questions about the extent of long-distance mRNA communication Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Pirita Paajanen, Melissa Tomkins, Franziska Hoerbst, Ruth Veevers, Michelle Heeney, Hannah Rae Thomas, Federico Apelt, Eleftheria Saplaoura, Saurabh Gupta, Margaret Frank, Dirk Walther, Christine Faulkner, Julia Kehr, Friedrich Kragler, Richard J. Morris
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Resolving floral development dynamics using genome and single‐cell temporal transcriptome of Dendrobium devonianum Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Jing Wang, Ying Zhou, Manchang Zhang, Xinping Li, Tingxia Liu, Yinglin Liu, He Xie, Kaiying Wang, Peng Li, Zhichao Xu, Baozhong Duan
SummaryDendrobium devonianum, a species of the Orchidaceae family, is notable for its unique floral characteristics, which include two yellow spots and purple tips on its labellum, as well as fringed edges. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying flower pattern formation in D. devonianum remain poorly understood, hindering advancements in its breeding process. Here, a chromosome‐scale genome of
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SIZ1 SUMOylates and stabilizes WRI1 to safeguard seed filling and fatty acid biosynthesis under high-temperature stress Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Ruihua Huang, Mengrui Wen, Bojin Feng, Pingzhi Wu, Xiaoqing Zhong, Yifeng Yang, Minghui Liu, Hongqing Li, Chengwei Yang, Changlian Peng, Shengchun Zhang
High-temperature stress hinders seed filling, reducing seed quality and crop yield. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Here, we identify SAP AND MIZ1 DOMAIN-CONTAINING LIGASE1 (SIZ1) as a key regulator of seed filling under prolonged high temperatures in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). SIZ1 and WRINKLED1 (WRI1) are co-expressed during seed filling, and overexpressing
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Storming the barricades of rhamnogalacturonan-II synthesis and function Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Quentin Hays, Patrice Lerouge, Marc Ropitaux, Charles T Anderson, Arnaud Lehner
Despite its low abundance, rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) is an essential structural component of the cell wall and is present in a highly conserved molecular configuration across all plants. RG-II is a branched pectin domain that contains 13 different sugars linked by over 20 different bond types, and uniquely among pectins it can be covalently dimerized via borate diesters. RG-II is hypothesized to
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How eriophyid mites shape metal metabolism in leaf galls on Tilia cordata New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Filis Morina, Anđela Kuvelja, Dennis Brückner, Miloš Mojović, Đura Nakarada, Syed Nadeem Hussain Bokhari, Bojan Vujić, Gerald Falkenberg, Hendrik Küpper
Summary Metal metabolism in plant–galler interactions is largely unknown. We hypothesise that the mites manipulate metal distribution by sequestration of excessive levels and differential regulation of metalloproteins to support the main functions of gall‐nutrition, protection and microenvironment. Using the Tilia cordata–eriophyid mites system, we aimed to reveal the role of metals in galls by investigating
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Subcellular plant carbohydrate metabolism under elevated temperature Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Charlotte Seydel, Martin Heß, Laura Schröder, Andreas Klingl, Thomas Nägele
In many plant species, exposure to a changing environmental temperature regime induces an acclimation response that ultimately increases thermotolerance. Under elevated temperature, membrane systems undergo remodeling to counteract destabilizing thermodynamic effects. Elevated temperature also affects photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism due to altered protein functions, enzyme activities, and
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Cistanthe longiscapa exhibits ecophysiological and molecular adaptations to the arid environments of the Atacama Desert Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Paulina Ossa, Adrián A Moreno, Daniela Orellana, Mónica Toro, Tomás Carrasco-Valenzuela, Anibal Riveros, Claudio Meneses, Ricardo Nilo-Poyanco, Ariel Orellana
Understanding how plants survive extreme conditions is essential to breeding resilient crops. Cistanthe longiscapa, which flourishes in the Atacama Desert, provides a rare glimpse into plant resilience. To uncover the genetic basis of its stress tolerance, we investigated the ecophysiological and transcriptomic responses of C. longiscapa from 3 sites with low but different precipitation levels. Ecophysiological
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PHOTOPERIOD 1 enhances stress resistance and energy metabolism to promote spike fertility in barley under high ambient temperatures Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-16 Tianyu Lan, Agatha Walla, Kumsal Ecem Çolpan Karışan, Gabriele Buchmann, Vera Wewer, Sabine Metzger, Isaia Vardanega, Einar Baldvin Haraldsson, Gesa Helmsorig, Venkatasubbu Thirulogachandar, Rüdiger Simon, Maria von Korff
High ambient temperature (HT) impairs reproductive development and grain yield in temperate crops. To ensure reproductive success under HT, plants must maintain developmental stability. However, the mechanisms integrating plant development and temperature resistance are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that PHOTOPERIOD 1 (PPD-H1), homologous to PSEUDO RESPONSE REGULATOR genes of the Arabidopsis
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Identification and overexpression of RNA‐decapping protein GhLSM1BS: Enhancing cotton somatic embryogenesis through up‐regulating brassinosteroid biosynthesis Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-15 Zheng Yang, Jie He, Shuqian Yao, Xuxin Li, Chang Du, Juwu Gong, Haoliang Yan, Yanpeng Zhao, Yang Li, Youlu Yuan, Haihong Shang
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The transcription factor FveMYB117a controls leaf morphology by coordinating auxin and cytokinin signals in woodland strawberry Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-15 Yafan Han, Rui Lu, Danni Yan, Zhongchi Liu, Xi Luo, Chunying Kang
Leaf morphology affects physiological activities and contributes to environment adaptation. The phytohormones auxin and cytokinin both regulate leaf shape, but how they act together to specify leaf complexity is not fully understood. In woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), the wild type develops trifoliate leaves, whereas myb117a mutants produce one to five leaflets with fewer serrations. Transcriptome
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Habitat affinities of European temperate forest plants Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Alessandro Chiarucci
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Temperate forest plants are associated with heterogeneous semi-open canopy conditions shaped by large herbivores Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Szymon Czyżewski, Jens-Christian Svenning
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Modification of TAWAWA1‐mediated panicle architecture by genome editing of a downstream conserved noncoding sequence in rice Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Takeshi Kuroha, Fabien Lombardo, Watal M. Iwasaki, Svetlana Chechetka, Yoshihiro Kawahara, Akiko Yoshida, Takashi Makino, Hitoshi Yoshida
Genome editing has significantly advanced in recent years, with numerous attempts to integrate it into crop breeding (Gao, 2021). Many useful agronomic traits result from subtle changes in gene expression patterns conferred by natural variations (Olsen and Wendel, 2013). Therefore, the modification of regulatory sequences through genome editing presents a potential strategy to develop practical breeding
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Guard cell‐specific glycine decarboxylase manipulation affects Arabidopsis photosynthesis, growth and stomatal behavior New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-12 Hu Sun, Nils Schmidt, Tracy Lawson, Martin Hagemann, Stefan Timm
Summary Photorespiration is a mandatory metabolic repair shunt of carbon fixation by the Calvin–Benson cycle in oxygenic phototrophs. Its extent depends mainly on the CO2 : O2 ratio in chloroplasts, which is regulated via stomatal movements. Despite a comprehensive understanding of the role of photorespiration in mesophyll cells, its role in guard cells (GC) is unknown. Therefore, a key enzyme of photorespiration
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Water stress enhances triacylglycerol accumulation via different mechanisms in wild-type and transgenic high-leaf oil tobacco Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-12 Jing Zhang, Ingrid Venables, Damien L Callahan, Alexander B Zwart, John Passioura, Qing Liu, Xue-Rong Zhou, Thomas Vanhercke, Gonzalo M Estavillo
Metabolically engineered high-leaf oil plants have been developed to meet the increasing demand for plant oils. Oil production of these plants under controlled conditions is promising; however, their performance under field-like conditions with abiotic stresses remains uncertain. In this study, wild-type (WT) and high-leaf oil (HLO) transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants were exposed to moderate
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The SAGA histone acetyltransferase complex functions in concert with RNA processing machinery to regulate wheat wax biosynthesis Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-12 Xiaoyu Wang, Yixian Fu, Pengfei Zhi, Xiaofeng Liu, Pengkun Ge, Wenhui Zhang, Wanzhen Chen, Cheng Chang
Wax mixtures comprising very long-chain fatty acids and their derivatives represent the major cuticular components and protect plant tissues from environmental stresses. Uncovering the regulatory mechanisms underlying wax biosynthesis is essential for the genetic improvement of the agronomically important crop bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Herein, partially redundant ECERIFERUM 3 (TaCER3) proteins
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Message hidden in α-helices – towards a better understanding of plant ABCG transporters’ multispecificity Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-12 Wanda Biała-Leonhard, Aleksandra Bigos, Jan Brezovsky, Michał Jasiński
ABC transporters are ubiquitous in all organisms and constitute one of the largest protein families. The substantial expansion of this family in plants coincided with the emergence of fundamental novelties that facilitated successful adaptation to a sessile lifestyle on land. It also resulted in selectivity and multispecificity toward endogenous molecules observed for certain ABC transporters. Understanding
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Re-domestication of sweet orange Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Jun Lyu
The researchers sequenced a panel of 226 citrus accessions including sour oranges, landraces and cultivated citrus, and integrated published genomes of sweet orange, pummelo and mandarin in their analyses. Unlike sweet oranges, sour oranges exhibited high genetic and metabolic diversity and high variation in susceptibility to citrus canker. Shared heterozygous genomic segments between sour and sweet
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ARF degradation defines a deeply conserved step in auxin response Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Martijn de Roij, Jorge Hernández García, Shubhajit Das, Jan Willem Borst, Dolf Weijers
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Comparative mutant analyses reveal a novel mechanism of ARF regulation in land plants Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Michael J. Prigge, Nicholas Morffy, Amber de Neve, Whitnie Szutu, María Jazmín Abraham-Juárez, Trisha McAllister, Heather Jones, Kjel Johnson, Nicole Do, Meirav Lavy, Sarah Hake, Lucia C. Strader, Mark Estelle, Annis E. Richardson
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The PP2CH- and PBL27-mediated phosphorylation switch of aluminium ion receptor PSKR1/ALR1 controls plant aluminum sensing ability Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Chen Xu, Ke Ke Gao, Meng Qi Cui, Yu Xuan Wang, Ze Yu Cen, Ji Ming Xu, Yun Rong Wu, Wo Na Ding, Jing Ying Yan, Gui Xin Li, Moussa Benhamed, Chong Wei Jin, Shao Jian Zheng, Zhong Jie Ding
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The IQ67‐domain protein IQD1 regulates fruit shape through complex multiprotein interactions in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Lianzhen Mao, Yiyu Shen, Qingzhi Cui, Yu Huang, Xiang Zhang, Junheng Lv, Wujun Xing, Dan Zhang, Naying Fang, Daqing Chen, Zhuoxuan Wu, Peiru Li, Minghua Deng, Lijun Ou, Xuexiao Zou, Zhoubin Liu
SummaryNatural genetic variation can be used to improve important crop agronomic traits, and understanding the genetic basis of natural variation in fruit shape can help breeders develop pepper varieties that meet market demand. In this study, we identified a QTL controlling fruit length–width ratio by conventional genetic mapping, encoding a previously uncharacterized gene CaIQD1. Reduced CaIQD1 expression
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Editing of an antiviral host factor boosts plant growth and yield of plant viral vector‐mediated heterologous protein expression Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Zhu Fang, Xinru Zhao, Min Du, Xinyi Xu, Hui Zhou, Wei Guo, Xueping Zhou, Xiuling Yang
Plants have emerged as powerful biofactories for producing proteins of interest. Compared to mammalian-based expression system, plant biofactories offer unique advantages in terms of higher scalability, lower production costs, reduced risk of contamination by human pathogens and faster expression rate (Chung et al., 2022; Eidenberger et al., 2023). Over the past three decades, plant-based expression
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DinoSource: A comprehensive database of dinoflagellate genomic resources Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Fuming Lai, Chongping Li, Yidong Zhang, Ying Li, Yuci Wang, Qiangwei Zhou, Yaping Fang, Hao Chen, Guoliang Li
Dinoflagellates are a taxonomically diverse and ecologically significant group of phytoplankton. They are also infamous for their involvement in harmful algal blooms, which have significant ecological and economic impacts. In recent years, substantial advances have been made in the analysis of dinoflagellate genomes, including sequencing, assembly and gene annotation, alongside the accumulation of
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Pollination by sexual deception via pro‐pheromone mimicry? New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Ryan D. Phillips, Seeger van Kints, Ben Ong, Alyssa M. Weinstein, Rod Peakall, Gavin R. Flematti, Björn Bohman
Introduction Most plant species worldwide depend on insects for pollination (Ollerton et al., 2011), with volatile organic compounds being pivotal for mediating pollinator attraction in many of these plants (Raguso, 2008; Dötterl & Gershenzon, 2023). Among plants, orchids are exceptional in their extraordinary range of pollinators, pollination strategies, and floral volatiles (Ackerman et al., 2023;
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Across 33 broad‐leaved deciduous woody species, silicon enhances leaf lamina stiffness but not tensile strength whereas cellulose enhances both New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Hirofumi Kajino, Yusuke Onoda, Kaoru Kitajima
Summary Silicon (Si) has been hypothesized to be a metabolically cheaper substitute for carbon‐based cell wall components to support leaves. However, how the biomechanical function of Si, deposited as amorphous silica, differs from cell wall components remains untested. Here, we tested the hypothesis that species with higher leaf Si concentrations have stiffer but more brittle leaf lamina. We measured
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The transcription factors MYB80 and TEK coordinate callose wall degradation and pollen exine formation in Arabidopsis Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-11 Xiaofeng Xu, Kaiqi Wang, Yahui Yu, Xin Zhao, Yuyi Guo, Yaqi Liu, Xuexue Qian, Naiying Yang, Ping Xu, Zhong-Nan Yang
Pollen development involves cell wall alteration of the male gametophyte, which is critical for plant fertility and requires MYB80 and TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT SILENCING VIA AT-HOOK (TEK) transcription factors in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). In this study, we found that the myb80 tek double mutant exhibits a compromised degradation of the tetrad callose wall and downregulation of 5 ANTHER-SPECIFIC
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ERF100 regulated by ERF28 and NOR controls pectate lyase 7, modulating fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit softening Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Zhiyi Fan, Yuan Wang, Yanlei Zhai, Xiaojiao Gu, Kairong Sun, Dan Zhao, Jinying Wang, Pinqi Sun, Hantang Huang, Jiajun He, Yining Wang, Moshe A. Flaishman, Huiqin Ma
SummaryThe mechanism regulating fruit textural changes has not been fully elucidated. Transcription factor FcERF100 showed rapid transcription repression during drastic texture loss in fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit ripening. Transient overexpression of FcERF100 delayed fig fruit softening and significantly decreased the transcript abundance of a key cell wall‐modifying pectate lyase gene, FcPL7. Yeast
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A plant cell‐based platform for the expression of complex proteins with fucose‐reduced sialylated N‐glycans Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Saeideh Dianatkhah, Benjamin Kogelmann, Stanislav Melnik, Florian Eminger, Somanath Kallolimath, Lin Sun, Delia Sumesgutner, Michael W. Traxlmayr, Markus Sack, Eva Stoger, Herta Steinkellner
Sialylated N-glycans are widely distributed in vertebrates and represent the dominant glycoform of many human plasma proteins (Miura et al., 2015). Although knowledge of the diverse effects of this glycan formation is rapidly increasing, full understanding of its biological significance remains elusive (Lewis et al., 2022). A major reason for this is the difficulty in controlling sialylation in production
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Targeted insertion of large DNA fragments through template‐jumping prime editing in rice Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Fei Li, Haonan Hou, Minglei Song, Zhen Chen, Ting Peng, Yanxiu Du, Yafan Zhao, Junzhou Li, Chunbo Miao
Targeted insertion of large DNA fragments holds great promise in crop breeding but is extremely challenging in plants. Prime editing (PE) can efficiently install small genomic insertion through replacement but faces challenges in mediating insertion of >100 bp. To enable larger insertion, a paired PE strategy termed GRAND editing was developed in human cells. In plants, genomic insertions of up to
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Natural allelic variation of basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor 25 regulates carotenoid biosynthesis in sweet potato Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Zihao Wei, Meiqi Shang, Zhicheng Jiang, Hong Zhai, Shihan Xing, Zhen Wang, Shaozhen He, Shaopei Gao, Ning Zhao, Huan Zhang, Qingchang Liu
SummaryCarotenoid‐rich orange‐fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is an important staple diet and source of nutrition in developing countries, including Africa and Asia. However, the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis remains to be better understood. A natural allelic variation closely linked to carotenoid biosynthesis was identified in the promoter region of the IbbHLH25 gene that encodes a basic helix–loop–helix
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Root expansion microscopy: A robust method for super resolution imaging in Arabidopsis Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Magali S Grison, Guillaume Maucort, Amandine Dumazel, Dorian Champelovier, Yutaro Shimizu, Yohann Boutté, Mónica Fernández-Monreal, Emmanuelle M Bayer
Expansion microscopy (ExM) has revolutionized biological imaging by physically enlarging samples, surpassing the light diffraction limit, and enabling nanoscale visualization using standard microscopes. While extensively employed across a wide range of biological samples, its application to plant tissues is sparse. In this work, we present ROOT-ExM, an expansion method suited for stiff and intricate
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Seed‐dispersing vertebrates and the abiotic environment shape functional diversity of the pantropical Annonaceae New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Andressa Cabral, Irene M. A. Bender, Thomas L. P. Couvreur, Søren Faurby, Oskar Hagen, Isabell Hensen, Ingolf Kühn, Carlos Rodrigues‐Vaz, Hervé Sauquet, Joseph A. Tobias, Renske E. Onstein
Summary Mutualistic interactions between fruiting plants and frugivorous animals are shaped by interaction‐relevant functional traits. However, it is unclear whether ‘trait matching’ underlies broad‐scale relationships in plant and frugivore species and their functional diversity. We integrated novel trait data and global occurrences for c. 1900 species in a major tropical plant family (Annonaceae)
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New strategy to enhance soybean pod shattering resistance with quadruple GmMYB26 mutations New Phytol. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Ryoma Takeshima, Yu Takahashi, Akito Kaga, Ryu Nakata, Ken Naito, Masao Ishimoto
Introduction Reducing harvest loss in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is critical for tackling the growing issue of food insufficiency and for conserving natural resources used in fertilizer production. Although global soybean production has doubled in the last two decades, reaching 396.95 million metric tons by 2023/2024 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2024), an annual increase of 2.4%
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OsHDAC1 deacetylates the aldehyde dehydrogenase OsALDH2B1, repressing OsGR3 and decreasing salt tolerance in rice Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Yequn Wu, Jiaqi Hou, Huangzhuo Xiao, Shiqi Ye, Daoyi Tu, Ronghua Qiu, Xiaoci Ma, Yating Zhao, Tingyu Chen, Lijia Li
Salt stress poses a significant challenge to the growth and productivity of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a vital role in modulating responses to various abiotic stresses. However, how OsHDAC1 responds to salt stress remains largely unknown. Here, we report that OsHDAC1 decreases salt tolerance in rice through post-translational modification of metabolic enzymes. Specifically
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The transcription factors PIF4 and PIF5 interact with WRINKLED1 to modulate fatty acid biosynthesis during seed maturation Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Huimei Liao, Bojing Feng, Mengrui Wen, Chang Du, Xiaoqing Zhong, Qiuchan Lu, Guanping Gong, Jianhai Mo, Huizi Huang, Shengchun Zhang, Ruihua Huang
PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs), members of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF) family, regulate various developmental processes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, their involvement in fatty acid biosynthesis and seed maturation is largely unknown. WRINKLED1 (WRI1) is a pivotal TF regulating plant fatty acid biosynthesis. In this study, we identified WRI1
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MYB80 and TEK: Dynamic duo regulating callose wall degradation and pollen exine development. Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Nilesh D Gawande
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Conducting environmental impact assessment in agricultural system to comprehensively understand the field Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Jianling Fan, Ling Li, Cuiying Liu, Chao Pan, Yingping Mo, Hongyan Zhang
Agricultural environmental impact assessment provides potential measures to mitigate negative impacts, would help plant scientists broaden their view of the agricultural system.
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Jasmonic acid signaling and glutathione coordinate plant recovery from high light stress Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Mehmet Kılıç, Peter J Gollan, Eva-Mari Aro, Eevi Rintamäki
High light (HL)-induced chloroplast retrograde signaling originates from the photosynthetic apparatus and regulates nuclear gene expression to enhance photoprotection and coordination of cell metabolism. Here, we analyzed the transcript profiles and accumulation of ROS, stress hormones, and small molecule antioxidants to investigate the signaling mechanisms operating under HL stress, particularly during
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The transcription factor DAL1 links age to reproductive development via regulation of LEAFY homologs in conifers Plant Physiol. (IF 6.5) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Yi-Tong Song, Shuang-Wei Liu, Jing-Jing Ma, Xi Chen, Feng-Yi Li, Pei-Yi Wang, Fang-Xu Han, Shi-Hui Niu
Age-dependent reproductive development is pivotal for plant adaptability and for species perpetuation. While substantial progress has been made in elucidating age-related regulatory mechanisms in angiosperms, the molecular basis of how aging pathway interacts with reproductive development in gymnosperms, particularly conifers, remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that DEFICIENS-AGAMOUS-LIKE 1 (DAL1)
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Like TIRs in rain Nat. Plants (IF 15.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Guillaume Tena
The canonical auxin pathway in the Arabidopsis nucleus was characterized two decades ago: auxin acts as a molecular glue to bind the TIR1 F-box auxin receptor (and five AFB homologues) to small auxin and indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) proteins. These Aux/IAA proteins are then marked for degradation by ubiquitination. As they are degraded, they stop repressing ARF transcription factors, which are then
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Rhizobium rhizogenesA4‐derived strains mediate hyper‐efficient transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and other solanaceous plants Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Juan Carlos Lopez‐Agudelo, Foong‐Jing Goh, Sopio Tchabashvili, Yu‐Seng Huang, Ching‐Yi Huang, Kim‐Teng Lee, Yi‐Chieh Wang, Yu Wu, Hao‐Xun Chang, Chih‐Horng Kuo, Erh‐Min Lai, Chih‐Hang Wu
SummaryAgroinfiltration, a method utilizing agrobacteria to transfer DNA into plant cells, is widely used for transient gene expression in plants. Besides the commonly used Agrobacterium strains, Rhizobium rhizogenes can also introduce foreign DNA into host plants for gene expression. While many R. rhizogenes strains have been known for inducing hairy root symptoms, their use for transient expression
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Localising enzymes to biomolecular condensates increase their accumulation and benefits engineered metabolic pathway performance in Nicotiana benthamiana Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Anya L. Lindström Battle, Angus W. Barrett, Mark D. Fricker, Lee J. Sweetlove
SummaryThe establishment of Nicotiana benthamiana as a robust biofactory is complicated by issues such as product toxicity and proteolytic degradation of target proteins/introduced enzymes. Here we investigate whether biomolecular condensates can be used to address these problems. We engineered biomolecular condensates in N. benthamiana leaves using transient expression of synthetic modular scaffolds
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Maternal haploid induction in maize via mutation of Gamete Expression protein 1 Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Yuhui Sun, Lulu Hou, Chengcheng Li, Zijian Zhou, Jianyu Wu, Haidong Yu
SummaryDoubled haploid (DH) technology, based on haploid induction (HI), is a crucial tool in enhancing crop‐breeding efficiency and has been successfully applied in various plant species. While many HI‐related genes have been identified using diverse strategies, the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms underlying HI remain incompletely understood. In this study, we present a novel system for inducing
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Cellular heterogeneity and immune responses to smut pathogen in sugarcane Plant Biotech. J. (IF 10.1) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Shoujian Zang, Qibin Wu, Dongjiao Wang, Zhenxiang Li, Tingting Sun, Xinlu Sun, Tianzhen Cui, Yachun Su, Haifeng Wang, Youxiong Que
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a globally significant crop, valued for its contribution to the production of sugar and bioenergy. Despite its economic and industrial importance, sugarcane is highly vulnerable to smut disease caused by Sporisorium scitamineum, a major fungal pathogen that substantially reduces yield and quality (Wu et al., 2024). The complexity of the sugarcane genome, characterized
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The circular RNA circANK suppresses rice resistance to bacterial blight by inhibiting microRNA398b-mediated defense Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Xiaohui Liu, Peihong Wang, Sai Wang, Weixue Liao, Mingyan Ouyang, Sisi Lin, Rongpeng Lin, Panagiotis F Sarris, Vasiliki Michalopoulou, Xurui Feng, Zinan Zhang, Zhengyin Xu, Gongyou Chen, Bo Zhu
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are prevalent in eukaryotic cells and have been linked to disease progressions. Their unique circular structure and stability make them potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Compared to animal models, plant circRNA research is still in its infancy. The lack of effective tools to specifically knock down circRNAs without affecting host gene expression has slowed the progress
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A comprehensive all-in-one CRISPR toolbox for large-scale screens in plants Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Yanhao Cheng, Gen Li, Aileen Qi, Rushil Mandlik, Changtian Pan, Doris Wang, Sophia Ge, Yiping Qi
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated nuclease (Cas) technologies facilitate routine genome engineering of one or a few genes at a time. However, large-scale CRISPR screens with guide RNA libraries remain challenging in plants. Here, we have developed a comprehensive all-in-one CRISPR toolbox for Cas9-based genome editing, cytosine base editing (CBE),
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LTD coordinates chlorophyll biosynthesis and LIGHT-HARVESTING CHLOROPHYLL A/B-BINDING PROTEIN transport Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Liwei Rong, Junhang An, Xinyue Chen, Chao Wang, Jianghao Wu, Peng Wang, Yongxing Zheng, Xin Wang, Xin Chai, Wei Li, Zhubing Hu, Dandan Lu, Guangyu E Chen, Min Ouyang, Bernhard Grimm, Lixin Zhang, Xiumei Xu
Chlorophyll biosynthesis must be tightly coupled to light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (LHCP) biogenesis, as free chlorophyll and its precursors are phototoxic. However, precisely how these 2 processes are coordinated in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) remains elusive. Our previous studies demonstrated the role of LHCP TRANSLOCATION DEFECT (LTD) in delivering LHCPs to the chloroplast
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Genetic and transcriptome analyses of the effect of genotype-by-environment interactions on Brassica napus seed oil content Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Xu Han, Xiaowei Wu, Yawen Zhang, Qingqing Tang, Lingju Zeng, Yunhao Liu, Yuyan Xiang, Keqin Hou, Shuai Fang, Weixia Lei, Haojie Li, Shan Tang, Hu Zhao, Yan Peng, Xuan Yao, Tingting Guo, Yuan-Ming Zhang, Liang Guo
The molecular basis underlying crop traits is complex, with gene-by-environment interactions (GEIs) affecting phenotypes. However, quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN)-by-environment interactions (QEIs) and GEIs for seed oil content (SOC) in oil crops are rare. Here, we detected 11 environmentally specific and 10 stable additive QTNs and 11 QEIs for SOC in rapeseed (Brassica napus) using genome-wide
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The kinase ATM delays Arabidopsis leaf senescence by stabilizing the phosphatase MKP2 in a phosphorylation-dependent manner Plant Cell (IF 10.0) Pub Date : 2025-04-09 Yi Zhang, Shuya Tan, Jin Hee Kim, Jie Cao, Yaning Zhao, Zhenpei Pang, Junjie Liu, Yonglun Lv, Feng Ding, Jeongsik Kim, Hye Ryun Woo, Xinli Xia, Hongwei Guo, Zhonghai Li
Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) kinase plays a vital role in orchestrating leaf senescence; however, the precise mechanisms remain elusive. Here, our study demonstrates that ATM kinase activity is essential for mitigating age- and reactive oxygen species-induced senescence, as restoration of wild-type ATM reverses premature senescence in the atm mutant, while