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The Arabidopsis ROS1 is the first characterized DNA demethylase in eukaryotes. Now, an epigenomic study has revealed the features of ROS1-targeted genomic loci and identified a new class of RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) targets.
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.
The authors identify novel NEGATIVE GRAVITROPIC RESPONSE OF ROOTS genes in Medicago and Arabidopsis. Mutants display a spectacular phenotype: gravity is still perceived, but the direction of growth is reversed: roots always grow upwards.
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.
A proof-of-concept study developed and validated a high-accuracy model to predict traits based on genotypes using data from a set of sorghum accessions, demonstrating a global strategy to assess and utilize the valuable germplasms in gene banks.
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.
Small RNAs (sRNAs) expressed in plants that target the Dicer-like (DCLs) genes of a fungal pathogen are shown to effectively silence the fungal DCLs and reduce pathogenicity after being taken up, demonstrating fungus–plant sRNA trafficking and a new approach for fungus control.
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.
Invading plant species have direct and indirect effects on both native and other non-native species. This meta-analysis finds that while non-native plants negatively affect all their neighbours, they affect natives around twice as harshly as other non-natives.
The predicted rise in CO2 levels during this century is expected to stimulate crop yields, offsetting losses from greater drought. But this study, using free-air CO2 enrichment, shows soybean yield gains dropping to zero as drought stress increased.
A quadruple mutant of Arabidopsis lacking all four subunits of light harvesting complex I (LHCI) compensates by binding LHCII complexes to photosystem I instead. This maintained similar excitation energy transfer efficiency but with a much reduced absorption cross-section.
Leaves vary their temperatures to improve their physiological performance. Theoretical considerations predict, and data for diverse taxa show, a moderate level of leaf thermoregulation maximizing net carbon assimilation.
FLS2 is the well-known plasma membrane receptor for flg22, a specific region of bacterial flagellin. But Solanaceae can also detect flagellin through another epitope, flgII-28, thanks to the novel receptor-like kinase FLS3 now identified in tomato.
In Arabidopsis, the Polycomb proteins mediate an epigenetic memory system that is important for gene silencing via histone methylation during development. Two novel deubiquitinases, UBP12 and UBP13, have now been identified and characterized in this regulatory network.
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.
Little is known about how hybrid taxa become established as new species. Studying floral morphology evolution in different Nicotiana allopolyploids shows transgressive shortening and broadening of the corolla accompanies hybrid species formation/hybridization.