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Two genes controlling the transcriptional network involved in stomatal development in Arabidopsis thaliana have a conserved function in the non-vascular moss Physcomitrella patens. Moss mutants without stomata show delayed capsule dehiscence.
Little is known of the effects of drought on nutrient cycling in forests. Long-term monitoring of nutrient fluxes shows that drought causes loss of potassium from boreal forests, which may contribute to reduced potassium availability in a warming world.
Proanthocyanidins are important phenolic compounds that affect the taste of plant-based food. A combination of genetics and biochemistry solves the role of leucoanthocyanidin reductase in the polymerization of (epi)catechin units in Medicago.
The mechanism for T-DNA integration, a critical step of Agrobacterium-mediated transgenesis, remains elusive. Now, a study shows that polymerase θ controls T-DNA integration and generates the error-prone sequences at the sites of integration.
By assembling the genome of Cardamine hirsuta and conducting comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses, a study reveals the prevalent role of transcription factors and gene duplication in morphological evolution.
Plants can regenerate tissues after injury. The heterodimeric transcription factor complex ERF115–PAT1 is activated by the cell death of neighbouring cells, and is crucial for stem cell replenishment and the high regenerative potential of plants.
Many plants exhibit iridescence but no link has been demonstrated between this phenomenon and photosynthesis. This study shows the epidermal chloroplasts of Begonia to have photonic properties that increase both light capture and quantum yield.
C4 photosynthesis has evolved independently in over 60 plant lineages. This study shows expression of key C4 enzymes being controlled by light and the chloroplast in C3 leaves, potentially facilitating repeated evolution of C4 traits.
A population genomics study reveals a high similarity between a New World landrace of African rice and an Ivory Coast landrace. Together with diaries from captains of slave ships, the evidence presented traces the ancestry of the New World rice to its African origin.
Fungi are the most prevalent class of plant pathogens, causing many diseases in crops. The authors show that in order to fight against them, plants produce and export miRNAs to silence important fungal genes, reducing the pathogen's virulence.
By examining imprinted gene expression and methylomes in Arabidopsis lyrata and A. thaliana, a study found that while imprinted genes are largely conserved between the species, different epigenetic mechanisms were employed to maintain the imprinted gene expression.
Extended growing seasons due to climate warming might counter rises in CO2 by increasing photosynthesis. However, in eastern North America, earlier springs over 30 years have reduced nitrogen availability to forest trees by increasing demand, limiting carbon sequestration.
New approaches to create site-specific gene replacements and insertions in plants have been developed based on intron-targeting CRISPR/Cas9. These approaches efficiently generate replacements and insertions at the OsEPSPS gene in rice, resulting in glyphosate-resistant plants.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii possesses an atypical violaxanthin de-epoxidase, homologous to a bacterial enzyme rather than plant or algal enzymes with the same function. This illustrates an unexpected diversity of photoprotection mechanisms in the green lineage of photosynthetic organisms.
Two novel ROP-GAP proteins (PHGAP1/2) localize to cortical cell division site during cytokinesis in Arabidopsis. They interact with phragmoplast-orienting kinesins (POK), and are necessary for correct orientation of cell plates during division.
A study examining a genetic data set including dozens of genera containing crop species and their wild relatives shows that domesticated species experienced more polyploidy events than their wild relatives, and domestication followed polyploidization.
The brassinolide biosynthesis enzyme CYP85A2 is controlled by farnesylation (post-translational addition of an isoprenoid tail), which impacts Arabidopsis sensitivity to abscisic acid and drought.
More drought episodes are expected due to climate change. The authors test how beech tree metabolism is affected by drought, and show that the recovery is dependent on root carbon storage and increased sink activity in the rhizosphere.
Intensive agricultural activity can degrade ecosystems, and restoration takes decades. This field study shows that soil inocula promote ecosystem restoration, and different inocula (such as grassland/heathland) can steer restoration towards different targets.
The widespread trichomes in plants have been known to bear multiple forms and functions. Now a study reveals a previously unknown function of trichomes in controlling the development of flower bud shape by linking together young petals.