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This study identifies the CLE peptides involved with the SUNN receptor in the autoregulation of the mycorrhizal symbiosis pathway during colonization of Medicago roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
In Brassicaceae, half of the flowers are formed on secondary inflorescences, independently of the absolute number of flowers. This rule is valid in several species and various Arabidopsis mutants.
Walking ants can slightly bend Venus flytrap sensory hairs and induce an action potential (AP) in vivo. The minimal deflection angle able to fire an AP and other properties of these trigger hairs are described and quantified.
In poplar, a quantitative genetic screen identifies a G-type lectin receptor-like kinase that mediates ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with Laccaria bicolor. Expression of the kinase in non-host Arabidopsis makes mycorrhizal colonization possible.
The mechanism of how trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatases (TPPs) regulate meristem fate remains unknown. Now, genetic and biochemical evidences support that this regulatory role is uncoupled from the enzymatic activity of TPPs.
In rice, a transcription factor named PREMATURE INTERNODE ELONGATION 1 (PINE1) represses internode elongation. During the vegetative phase, PINE1 reduces sensitivity to gibberellin and can uncouple floral transition from stem elongation.
Two sperm-specific DOMAIN OF UNKNOWN FUNCTION 679 membrane proteins are found to facilitate the gamete fusion events during double fertilization in angiosperms, with a greater impact on egg–sperm fusion than on sperm–central cell fusion.
The engineered Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 variant SpCas9-NGv1, known to recognize relaxed NG protospacer adjacent motifs (PAMs) in human cells, can also mediate targeted mutagenesis with NG PAMs in rice and Arabidopsis. When fused with cytidine deaminase, it mediates C-to-T substitutions.
A study developed genomic resources and efficient transformation in the orphan crop groundcherry, and managed to improve productivity traits by editing the orthologues of tomato domestication and improvement genes using CRISPR–Cas9.
A bioinformatic analysis shows that the variance in resistance gene content in recently published Brassicaceae genome annotations is partially caused by repeat masking, providing implications for plant breeding.
The authors report the non-canonical crystal structure of the DNA binding domain from BIL1/BZR1, a transcription factor involved in brassinosteroid signalling, in complex with its target DNA fragment.
Self-incompatibility of potatoes hinders the development of inbred diploid lines and breeding efficiency. Now, a study generated self-compatible diploid potatoes by knocking out a self-incompatibility gene, opening new avenues for potato breeding.
A MATL gene mutation was found to induce haploids in maize. Now, knocking out the MATL orthologue in rice results in haploid induction at a rate of 2–6%, suggesting the functional conservation of MATL, and represents an advance for rice breeding.
Plants are sensitive to temperature changes. Now, researchers have found an alternative splicing factor that is essential for the development of Arabidopsis under low temperature, and bridges between alternative splicing and temperature sensitivity.
A descriptive study of several of the oldest baobab trees in sub-Saharan Africa, which are some of the largest and oldest trees on the planet. The authors report that 9 of the 13 oldest baobabs have died in recent years. After describing the structure of the trees (including their false cavities), they also report the carbon dating of these trees and call for more research into the trees’ mortality.
Plant-compatible adenine base editor systems are now demonstrated to work in protoplasts and individual plants of Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus, yielding plants with predicted nucleotide substitutions and stably inherited phenotypes.
A descriptive study comparing two different methods—freelisting or interviews—of gathering ethnobotanical data from indigenous peoples to determine which method provides the largest and most accurate range of species names for plants in a given area.
Sequencing of nested branches from a 234-year-old oak tree reveals a low number of somatic mutations accumulating during its lifetime, implying that mechanisms are in place to reduce these potentially deleterious mutations during ageing.
PEN3 is polarly localized at the outside of the epidermal layer in roots, and is involved in defence against penetrating pathogens. A forward genetic screen identifies a BTB/POZ protein needed for the correct localization and function of PEN3.
A double mutant in bHLH transcription factors produces pollen without sperm cells. This pollen is able to germinate, grow, orient itself, penetrate the ovule and rupture, indicating that sperm cells are passive and do not participate in pollen tube development.