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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.
The CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco from Paniceae grasses shows extensive variation in kinetic responses. Amino acid substitutions in the large subunit could be a route to tailoring the properties of crop Rubiscos to suit future climates.
Different cucurbits produce cucurbitacins with varied structures and activities. A comparative genomic study illustrates the genetic basis of cucurbitacin differentiation and tissue-specific cucurbitacin synthesis.
Plants sense bacterial invaders through the binding of non-self molecular patterns and membrane receptors. Natural variation in tomato is used to identify a new receptor for cold-shock protein that can be used to enhance immunity in other species.
The specialized photosynthesis adopted by drought-resilient crassulacean acid metabolism plants has inverted the diel stomatal opening behaviour of their ancestral C3 plants. This was achieved via large-scale reprogramming of expression of the signal transduction machinery and a coordinate shift in the cellular redox poise.
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.
Mutualisms are common in nature. In Fiji, a species of ant selects, disperses and fertilizes an epiphytic plant in an exclusive symbiosis. This represents a novel example of plant farming by ants.
Crassulacean plants have high water-use efficiency and are resilient to drought. A system-wide comparative analysis of protein, transcript and metabolite variations in Agave is presented and may help to transfer this efficiency to other crops.
A recent survey of transcript abundance in wheat grains found accumulation of mRNAs encoding key enzymes of C4 photosynthesis. However, this is not the same as showing that the C4 pathway operates in these tissues.
A new study uncovers thousands of RNA-directed DNA methylation target sites masked by the active removal of methylated cytosines by a demethylating enzyme.
Whether by accident or design, plants have accompanied people on many historical migrations. It is of little wonder then, that the history of humanity is recorded in the plants whose polysaccharides, proteins and oils keep us alive.
A Review discusses the currently known non-canonical RNA-directed DNA methylation mechanisms, their diversity and interconnections, and puts forward the key unanswered questions in this field.
The evolution of sex-biased gene expression in plants is elusive. By comparing the transcriptomes of two closely related species of different mating systems, a study has found that the change in expression preferentially occurred in females and in sex-linked genes.
The mechanism for T-DNA integration, a critical step of Agrobacterium-mediated transgenesis, remains poorly understood. Now, a study based on mutant analysis shows that Pol θ controls T-DNA integration and generates error-prone footprints at integration sites.