Reviews & Analysis

Organisms have developed specialized and intricate mechanisms to cope with environmental threats that depend on their natural habitat and ability to move. Arabidopsis demonstrates an impressive adaptation using cryptochrome 1 to maintain genomic stability through a blue-light-mediated process that involves the recruitment of repair proteins to double-strand breaks.

This Review summarizes recent knowledge and offers new insight about the role of strigolactone signalling in the integration of nutritional and metabolic status, as well as its consequences for plant development and architecture.

The destructive panicle disease rice false smut is caused by the biotrophic fungus Ustilaginoidea virens. Disease-suppressive microorganisms present in rice panicles have now been found to mediate fungal resistance by modulating the metabolism of the host plant.

ABACUS2 FRET biosensors allow an unparalleled live view of the dynamics of the plant hormone abscisic acid in plants. Well-watered roots accumulate abscisic acid in growing cells when shoots become dehydrated — a response that is essential to maintain root growth in low-humidity conditions.

Methods for analysing spatial gene expression in plants have been limited in their throughput. Now the imaging method PHYTOMap allows the spatial expression of dozens of genes to be analysed in three-dimensional whole-mount tissue at single-cell resolution, in a transgene-free manner.

The nucleoskeleton maintains nuclear integrity and chromatin organization at the inner nuclear surface. Here, Wang et al. revealed a disassociation of nuclear skeleton proteins from the nuclear periphery upon heat stress, which affects genome architecture and alters gene expression.

The authors revisit the array of phenotypes linked to FERONIA in an attempt to identify a unifying feature behind its many biological and biochemical functions. They propose that the contribution of FERONIA to monitoring turgor-dependent cell wall tension may explain its pleiotropy.

Transcriptomics of nitrogen-fixing plants and their symbionts reveals the origins of root-nodulating symbiosis and how it has endured more in some groups than others

Quantitative methods to measure gene transcription in plants typically use large populations of cells and do not maintain spatial information. We developed a method that enables simultaneous quantification of single RNA molecules and protein abundance per cell in intact plant tissues.

Crystal structure-guided exchange of mobile elements from red algal Rubisco into a related bacterial Rubisco enabled us to identify amino acid substitutions that enhance carbon dioxide (CO₂) fixation. In tobacco plants, the improved Rubisco supported a two-fold increase in photosynthetic rates compared with plants producing wild-type bacterial Rubisco.

Epidermal trichomes function as mechanosensors, but how trichome-less plants perceive mechanical forces remains unclear. Touching epidermal pavement cells with micro-cantilevers, we discovered distinct cytosolic calcium waves upon application and release of small forces. Thus, not only do plants perceive forces independently of trichomes, they may also distinguish touch from letting go.

The new structure for the H⁺-coupled sucrose uptake transporter AtSUC1 helps us understand the mechanism used by plants for cellular sucrose uptake and phloem loading.

Pollen coat is important in protecting plant male gametes. The authors review genes and proteins involved in its biosynthesis, transport and regulation processes in rice and Arabidopsis, and highlight the usage of pollen coat-deficient mutants in plant breeding.

The biosynthesis of plant specialized metabolites is strictly regulated in time and space. We have identified a robust transcriptional network, composed of transcriptional activators, co-activators and repressors, which steers cell-specific and jasmonate-inducible triterpene biosynthesis in the outer tissues of Arabidopsis root tips.

The regulatory networks that underlie the regeneration capacity of wheat reveal new opportunities for overcoming barriers to highly efficient and genotype-independent transformation.

Short-term heat stress affects the morphology and function of the plant Golgi apparatus in a reversible manner. The autophagy component AUTOPHAGY 8 relocalizes to heat stress-induced vacuolated Golgi cisternae and contributes to their restoration, revealing a role of this protein outside of the canonical autophagy pathway.

The flat structure of a leaf blade enables it to function as a photosynthetic organ for efficient light capture. The leaf rim or the edge-most region of leaf margin directs the planar growth of both leaves and ligules in grasses.

Hormone-dependent suberin deposition is a key process in root development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. A recent study demonstrates that long- and short-distance transport of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) via four members of the nitrate and peptide transporter family (NPFs) is crucial for endodermal suberization in roots.

Only a limited subset of angiosperms produce cannabinoids. Evidence for the independent evolution of cannabinoid biosynthesis was discovered in the South African plant Helichrysum umbraculigerum. This discovery provides an alternative set of enzymes that will expand the synthetic biology toolbox for those interested in manipulating the pathway for drug discovery.

Photorespiration is known to be involved in carbon flux in plants, enabling the carbon lost during RuBisCO oxygenation to be recovered. We show that NPF8.4 is a transporter responsible for sequestering the photorespiratory carbon intermediate glycerate into vacuoles during nitrogen depletion, elucidating a novel function for photorespiration in nitrogen flux.