RNA transport and localization represent important post‐transcriptional mechanisms to determine the subcellular localization of protein synthesis. Plants have the capacity to transport mRNA molecules beyond the cell boundaries through plasmodesmata (PD) and over long distances in the phloem. RNA viruses exploit these transport pathways to disseminate their infections and represent important model systems

Plants experience temperature fluctuations during the course of the daily cycle and although stem growth responds rapidly to these changes we largely ignore whether there is a short‐term memory of previous conditions. Here we show that night temperatures affect the growth of the hypocotyl of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings not only during the night but also during the subsequent photoperiod. Active

Starch synthesis is an essential feature of crop filling, but knowledge of the molecular regulatory mechanism of its synthetic genes’ expressions is currently limited to transcription factors (TFs). Here, we obtained transcriptome, small‐RNAome and DNA methylome data from maize endosperms, during multiple developmental stages and established a regulatory network atlas of starch synthesis. Transcriptome

Adverse environmental conditions reduce crop productivity and often increase a load of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This potentially lethal condition, known as ER stress, is buffered by the unfolded protein response (UPR), a set of signaling pathways designed to either recover ER functionality or ignite programmed cell death. Despite the biological significance

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins form a large family of proteins targeted to organelles, where they post‐transcriptionally modulate gene expression through binding to specific RNA sequences. Among them, the mitochondria‐targeted restorer‐of‐fertility (Rf) PPRs inhibit peculiar mitochondrial genes that are detrimental to male gametes and cause cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). Here, we revealed

Single parent expression (SPE) is defined as gene expression in only one of the two parents. SPE can arise from differential expression between parental alleles (non‐presence/absence (PAV) SPE) or the physical absence of a gene in one parent (PAV SPE). We used transcriptome data of diverse maize inbreds and hybrids including 401 samples from five different tissues to test for differences between these

Rapid and widespread evolution of multiple herbicide resistance in global weed species endowed by increased capacity to metabolize (degrade) herbicides (metabolic resistance) is a great threat to herbicide sustainability and global food production. Metabolic resistance in the economically damaging crop weed species Lolium rigidum is well known but a molecular understanding has been lacking. We purified

NF‐Y transcription factor comprises three subunits; NF‐YA, NF‐YB, and NF‐YC. NF‐YB and NF‐YC dimerize through their histone fold domain (HFD), which can bind DNA in a non‐sequence‐specific fashion while serving as a scaffold for NF‐YA trimerization. Upon trimerization, NF‐YA specifically recognizes the CCAAT box sequence on promoters and enhancers. In plants, each NF‐Y subunit is encoded by several

We recently achieved targeted disruptions of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)‐associated genes in the mitochondrial genomes of rice and rapeseed by using mitochondria‐targeted TALENs (mitoTALENs). It was the first report of stable and heritable targeted gene modification of plant mitochondrial genomes. Here, we attempted to use mitoTALENs to disrupt two mitochondrial genes in the model plant Arabidopsis

Fruits are complex organs which are spatially regulated during development. Limited phenotyping capacity at cell and tissue levels is one of the main obstacles to our understanding of the coordinated regulation of the processes involved in fruit growth and quality. In this study, the spatial evolution of biophysical and metabolic traits of peach and apple fruit was investigated during fruit development

In comparison with retrotransposons, DNA transposons make up a smaller proportion of most plant genomes. However, these elements are often proximal to genes to affect gene expression depending on the activity of the transposons, which is largely reflected by the activity of the transposase genes. Here, we show that three AT‐rich introns were retained in the TNP2‐like transposase genes of the Bot1 (Brassica

The first line of plant defense occurs when a plant pattern recognition receptor (PRR) recognizes microbe‐associated molecular patterns. Plant PRRs are either receptor‐like kinases (RLKs), which have an extracellular domain for ligand binding, a single‐pass transmembrane domain, and an intracellular kinase domain for activating downstream signaling, or receptor‐like proteins (RLPs), which share the

Plants cannot fix nitrogen directly; they must absorb it from the soil through their roots, or in rare cases, form associations with nitrogen‐fixing bacteria. The efficiency of nitrogen use in most domesticated crops is low, and more than half of the available nitrogen in the soil can leach into the environment. Understanding the nitrogen signaling pathways is essential for maximizing the efficiency

Neoxanthin (Neo), only bound to the peripheral antenna proteins of photosystem II (PSII), is a conservative carotenoid in all green plants. It has been demonstrated that Neo plays an important role in photoprotection and its deficiency fails to impact LHCII stability in vitro and indoor plant growth in vivo. Whether Neo is involved in maintaining the PSII complex structure or adaptive mechanisms for

Plants employ multiple mechanisms to cope with a constantly changing and challenging environment including utilizing the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) to alter their proteome to assist in initiating, modulating and terminating responses to stress. We previously reported that the ubiquitin ligase XBAT35.2 mediates the proteasome‐dependent degradation of Accelerated Cell Death 11 (ACD11) to promote

Plastids and mitochondria are endosymbiotic organelles that store genetic information. The genomes of these organelles generally exhibit contrasting patterns regarding genome architecture and genetic content. However, they have similar genetic features in Selaginellaceae, and little is known about what causes parallel evolution. Here, we document the multipartite plastid genomes (plastomes) and the

Experimental research in guard cell metabolism has revealed the roles of the accumulation of various metabolites in guard cell function, but a comprehensive understanding of their metabolism over the diel cycle is still incomplete, given the limitations of current experimental methods. In this study, we constructed a four‐phase flux balance model of guard cell metabolism to investigate the changes

Lotus (family: Nelumbonaceae) are perennial aquatic plants that represent one of the most ancient basal dicots. In the present study, we resequenced 296 lotus accessions from various geographical locations and germplasms to explore their genomic diversity and population structure. This germplasm set consisted of four accessions of American wild lotus and 292 accessions of Asian lotus, which were divided

Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata), a deciduous close relative of evergreen Citrus, has important traits for citrus production, including tolerance/resistance to citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing, HLB) and other major diseases, and cold tolerance. It has been one of the most important rootstocks, and one of the most valuable sources of resistance and tolerance genes for citrus. Here we present

Organs such as hypocotyls and petioles rapidly elongate in response to shade and temperature cues, contributing to adaptive responses that improve plant fitness. Growth plasticity in these organs is achieved through a complex network of molecular signals. Besides conveying information from the environment, this signaling network also transduces internal signals, such as those associated with the circadian

Chromosome rearrangements and the way they impact genetic differentiation and speciation have long questioned evolutionary biologists. They are also a major concern for breeders because of their bearing on chromosome recombination. Banana is a major crop that derives from inter(sub)specific hybridizations between various once geographically isolated Musa species and subspecies. We sequenced 155 accessions

F‐actin and myosin XI play important roles in plant organelle movement. A few myosin XI genes in the genome of Arabidopsis are mainly expressed in mature pollen, which suggests that they may play a crucial role in pollen germination and pollen tube tip growth. In this study, a genetic complementation assay was conducted in a myosin xi‐c (myo11c1) myosin xi‐e (myo11c2) double mutant, and fluorescence

Two branching strategies are exhibited in crops: enhanced apical dominance, as in maize, or weak apical dominance, as in rice. However, the underlying mechanism of weak apical dominance remains elusive. OsWUS, an ortholog of Arabidopsis WUSCHEL (WUS) in rice, is required for tiller development. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized a low‐tillering mutant decreased culm number

The root cell wall is the first and primary target of aluminum (Al) toxicity. Monocots such as rice (Oryza sativa) can accumulate appreciable levels of hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) to modify and cross‐link hemicellulose and/or lignin of the cell wall. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether this HCA‐mediated modification of the cell wall is important for Al accumulation and resistance. We previously isolated

The seed coat is specialized dead tissue protecting the plant embryo from mechanical and oxidative damage. Tannins, a type of flavonoids, are antioxidants known to accumulate in the Arabidopsis seed coat and transparent testa mutant seeds, deficient in flavonoid synthesis, exhibit low viability. However, their precise contribution to seed coat architecture and biophysics remains evasive. A seed coat

Modern petunia varieties draw your attention with names such as ‘night sky’, ‘suncatcher pink lemonade’ or ‘kandy kane’, names with which their wild counterparts cannot compete. However, wild Petunia species do know how to be noticed as well – that is to say, by pollinators. For example, Petunia axillaris has large white flowers with petals that form a long and narrow corolla tube, which spread a strong

Adaptation to different pollinators is an important driver of speciation in the angiosperms. Genetic approaches such as QTL mapping have been successfully used to identify the underlying speciation genes. However, these methods are often limited by widespread suppression of recombination due to divergence between species. While the mutations that caused the interspecific differences in floral color

In the article “CELLULOSE SYNTHASE INTERACTING 1 is required for wood mechanics and leaf morphology in aspen” by Bünder et al. (2020), the authors have realized that the Figure 2b contains two leaves which are the same in the published version. The corrected figure is reproduced below. Revised Figure 2 Figure 2. Phenotype of the wild‐type (WT) and CSI1RNAi hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × tremuloides)

In the article, “Arabidopsis plants expressing only the redox‐regulated Rca‐α isoform have constrained photosynthesis and plant growth” by Kim et al. (2020), the authors noticed that the affiliations are incorrect for the authors Dan J. Stessman and Donald R. Ort in the published version. The correct affiliations for the authors are Dan J. Stessman1,†, Donald R. Ort2,3,4,* 1Department of Genetics,

Panicle number is one of the three yield components in rice. As one of the most unstable traits, the dynamic change in tiller number (DCTN) may determine the final panicle number. However, the genetic basis of DCTN and its relationship with panicle number remain unclear. Here, 377 deeply re‐sequenced rice accessions were used to perform genome‐wide association study for tiller/panicle number. It was

The highly conserved ESCRT pathway plays critical roles in endosomal sorting of ubiquitinated plasma membrane proteins for degradation. However, the functions of many components of the ESCRT machinery in plants remain unsolved. Here we show that the ESCRT‐I subunits VPS28A and VPS28B are functionally redundant and required for embryo development in Arabidopsis. We conducted a screen for genetic enhancers

Plant Elicitor Peptides (Peps) are conserved regulators of defense responses and models for the study of Damage‐Associated Molecular Pattern (DAMP)‐induced immunity. Although present as multigene families in most species, the functional relevance of these multigene families remains largely undefined. While Arabidopsis Peps appear largely redundant in function, previous work examining Pep‐induced responses

Brassica napus is an important oilseed crop in the world and the mechanism of seed oil biosynthesis in B. napus remains unclear. In order to study the mechanism of oil biosynthesis and generate germplasms for breeding, an EMS mutant population with ~100,000 M2 lines was generated using Zhongshuang 11 as the parent line. The EMS‐induced genome‐wide mutations in M2‐M4 plants were assessed. The average

Self‐incompatibility in Petunia is controlled by the polymorphic S‐locus, which contains S‐RNase encoding the pistil determinant and 16 to 20 S‐locus F‐box (SLF) genes collectively encoding the pollen determinant. Here we determined ~3.1 Mb sequence of the S2‐haplotype of the S‐locus in P. inflata using BAC (Bacterial Artificial Chromosome) clones collectively containing all 17 SLF genes, SLFLike1

Heat stress occurring at reproductive stages can result in significant and permanent damage to crop yields. However, previous genetic studies in understanding heat stress response and signaling were performed mostly on seedling and plants at early vegetative stages. Here we identify, using a developmentally defined, gain‐of‐function genetic screen with ~18,000 Arabidopsis thaliana activation‐tagged

Domestication and population differentiation in crops involve considerable phenotypic changes. The logs of these evolutionary paths, including natural/artificial selection, can be found in the genomes of the current populations. However, these profiles have been little studied in tree crops, which have specific characters, such as long generation time and clonal propagation, maintaining high levels

Ethylene is a key plant hormone controlling the ripening of climacteric fruits, and a few transcription factors acting as important regulators of fruit ripening have been identified in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), a model for climacteric fruits. However, the vast majority of them are transcriptional activators, and the associated transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of most regulators are unclear

In dense canopy, a reduction in red to far‐red (R:FR) light ratio triggers shade avoidance responses (SARs) in Arabidopsis thaliana, a shade avoiding plant. Two red/far‐red (R/FR) light photoreceptors, PHYB and PHYA, were reported to be key negative regulators of the SARs. PHYB represses the SARs under normal light conditions, however, the role of PHYA in the SARs remain elusive.

Eutrophication leads to epiphyte blooms on seagrass leafs, which strongly affect plant health, yet the actual mechanisms of such epiphyte‐induced plant stress remain poorly understood. We used magnetic optical sensor nanoparticles in combination with luminescence lifetime imaging to map the O2 concentration and dynamics in the heterogeneous seagrass phyllosphere under changing light conditions. By

Stigma characteristics are important factors affecting hybrid rice seed yield per unit area. Natural variation of stigma characteristics have been reported in rice, but the genetic basis for this variation is largely unknown. We performed a genome‐wide association study on three stigma characteristics in six environments using 1.3 million single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) characterized in 353 diverse

Benzoic acid‐derived compounds, such as polyprenylated benzophenones and xanthones, attract the interest of scientists due to challenging chemical structures and diverse biological activities. The genus Hypericum is of high medicinal value, as exemplified by H. perforatum. It is rich in benzophenone and xanthone derivatives, the biosynthesis of which requires the catalytic activity of benzoate‐CoA

Brassica napus is currently cultivated as an important ornamental crop in China. Flower color has attracted much attention in rapeseed genetics and breeding. Here, we characterize an orange‐flowered mutant of B. napus that exhibits an altered carotenoid profile in its petals. As revealed by map‐based cloning, the change in color from yellow to orange is attributed to the loss of BnaC09.ZEP (zeaxanthin

In plants, race‐specific defence against microbial pathogens is facilitated by resistance (R) genes which correspond to specific pathogen avirulence genes. This study reports the cloning of a blackleg R gene from Brassica napus (canola), Rlm9, which encodes a wall‐associated kinase‐like (WAKL) protein, a newly discovered class of race‐specific plant RLK resistance genes. Rlm9 provides race‐specific

Ancestral adaptations in crop wild relatives can provide a genetic reservoir for crop improvement. Here we document physiological changes to mild and severe drought stress, and the associated transcriptome dynamics in both wild and cultivated chickpea. Over 60% of transcriptional changes were related to metabolism, indicating that metabolic plasticity is a core and conserved drought response. In addition

The plasticity of growth and development in response to environmental changes is one of the essential aspects of plant behavior. Cytokinins play an important role as signaling molecules in the long‐distance communication between organs in systemic growth regulation in response to nitrogen. The spatial distribution of the expression sites of cytokinin biosynthesis genes leads to structural differences

Each year, abiotic stress conditions such as drought, heat, salinity, cold, and especially their different combinations, inflict a heavy toll on crop productivity worldwide. The effects of these adverse conditions on plant productivity are becoming ever more alarming in recent years in light of the increased rate and intensity of global climatic changes. Improving crop tolerance to abiotic stress conditions

The acceleration of stomatal closure upon high to low light transition could improve plant water use efficiency (WUE) and drought tolerance. Herein, using genome wide association study (GWAS), we showed that the genetic variation in OsNHX2 was strongly associated with the changes in tcl, the time constant of stomatal closure, in 206 rice accessions. OsNHX2 overexpression in rice resulted in a decrease

Sex differences and evolutionary differences are critical biological issues. Ginkgo is an ancient lineage of dioecious gymnosperms with special value for studying the mechanism of sex determination in plants. However, the major genetic basic underlying sex chromosomes remains to be uncovered. In this study, we identify the sex‐determining region of Ginkgo and locate it to the area from megabases 48

To unravel the function of a protein of interest, it is crucial to asses to what extent it associates via direct interactions or by overlapping expression with other proteins. ROXY1, a land plant‐specific glutaredoxin, exerts a function in Arabidopsis flower development and interacts with TGA transcription factors in the nucleus. We detected a novel ROXY1 function in the root meristem. Root cells that

Acer truncatum (purpleblow maple) is a woody tree species that produces seeds with high levels of valuable fatty acids (especially nervonic acid). However, the lack of a complete genome sequence has limited both basic and applied research on A. truncatum. We describe a high‐quality draft genome assembly comprising 633.28 Mb (contig N50 = 773.17 kb; scaffold N50 = 46.36 Mb) with at least 28 438 predicted

When it suddenly gets extremely hot in summer – or when a growth chamber accidentally overheats – plants get stressed. As heat can cause permanent damage and is sometimes even lethal, plants have several mechanisms to protect themselves. They have a certain basal ability to survive temperatures above the optimum for growth, and when extreme directly preceded by a period of mild heat, they can survive

Although squamosa promoter binding‐like (SPL) transcription factors are important regulators of development in rice, prior assessments of the SPL family have been limited to single genes. A functional comparison across the full gene family in standardized genetic backgrounds has not been reported previously. Here, we demonstrate that the SPL gene family in rice is enriched from the most recent whole

Allene oxide synthase (AOS) and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) are two important members of P450 enzymes metabolizing hydroperoxy fatty acid to produce jasmonates and aldehydes respectively, which function in response to diverse environmental and developmental stimuli. However, their exact roles in soybean have not been clarified. In present study, we identified a lesion‐mimic mutant in soybean named NT302

Plant acclimatory responses to phosphate (Pi) starvation stress include the accumulation of carbohydrates, namely sugar and starch. However, whether altered endogenous carbohydrate profile could in turn affect plant Pi starvation responses remains widely unexplored. Here, two genes encoding the large and small subunits of an ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP) in rice (Oryza sativa), AGP Large Subunit