Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Cryogenic electron microscopy structures of DDM1–nucleosome complexes in ADP–BeFx-bound, ADP-bound and nucleotide-free conformations reveal insights into the mechanism underlying chromatin remodelling by DDM1, a key chromatin remodeller involved in plant DNA methylation.
This study by Scacchi et al. shows that a mobile small-RNA-based Turing system dynamically organizes plant organ polarity. The afforded developmental flexibility accounts for diversity in organ shapes, from radialized or cup-shaped to the robust planar shape of a typical leaf.
The authors developed a platform for rapid identification of interacting plant immune receptors and pathogen avirulence proteins by library screening in protoplasts, then used it to identify new wheat stem rust Avr genes recognized by known wheat resistance genes.
Effectors secreted by plant pathogens subvert host immunity. Here the authors use a structural approach to design a small molecule that can disrupt the interaction between a fungal effector and its target in rice, and could be used as a novel fungicide.
This study reveals that the thylakoid ultrastructural and supramolecular rearrangements that occur during the dark-to-light transition in plants control the connectivity between the two photosystems that drive oxygenic photosynthesis.
Trait prioritization studies have informed crop breeding programmes for decades. This scoping review identifies broad crop coverage, systematic sex disaggregation and reduced regional bias as priorities for more inclusive, demand-driven initiatives.
Chromosomal patterning of meiotic crossovers is mediated by pro-crossover HEI10 E3 ligase dynamics. This study reveals that a network of HSP40–HSP70 chaperones facilitates HEI10 proteolysis, thereby limiting formation of closely spaced crossovers.
Glandular trichomes (GTs) are biofactories that produce and store specialized compounds beneficial to plants as well as to humans. Using cucumber, we have discovered a new cell wall structure, ‘neck strip’, allowing GTs to function as biofactories.
Castellani, Zhang and colleagues found that centromeres and (epi)genetic features influence local crossover positions during meiotic recombination in a plant with diffused centromeres, whereas chromosome synapsis dynamics seems key to broad-scale crossover patterning.
Histone acetylation is a predominant active chromatin mark. A feedback mechanism by which histone acetyltransferase responds to varying levels of acetyl coenzyme A in plants under adverse conditions maintains histone acetylation homeostasis.
Preferential fertilization of the egg or central cell during double fertilization has long been controversial. The authors demonstrate preferential sperm–egg fusion in Arabidopsis and show that EGG CELL 1, which is secreted by the egg cell, plays a decisive role in this process.
The ArabidopsisO-glycosyltransferases SEC and SPY modify the transcription factor SPT and synergistically promote style elongation. Specific SPT residues modified by O-GlcNAc and O-fucose are essential for style radialization.
Newly sequenced seagrass genomes unveil a hexaploid ancestry for seagrasses. The transition to marine environments involved fine-tuning of many processes that all had to happen in parallel, probably explaining why adaptation to a marine lifestyle has been rare.
PIN-FORMED auxin transporters are activated by D6PK, the localization of which depends on cysteine S-acylation. Phosphorylation by PDKs regulates D6PK transport and residence time, and prevents lateral diffusion, revealing novel mechanisms for membrane interaction and polarity.
Genome synthesis is moving into the multicellular era. This study redesigned and replaced a 155 kb chromosomal region with synthetic sequence in the model moss Physcomitrium patens. The simplified sequence obtains the correct epigenetic landscape.
The near telomere-to-telomere genome of Physcomitrium patens reveals 26 chromosomes and new genome structures, while also identifying new telomeres, an improved chromosomal karyotype model and intriguing differences in 3D genome models between the protonema and gametophore stages, which offer promising prospects for future research.
The mechanisms shaping plant succession are dynamic. Compositional dissimilarity between communities decreases over time, underlined by a predominance of taxa addition in early communities, with replacement becoming more important after 50 yr.
Transposable element proliferation poses considerable threats to genomes. A previously unknown methyl reader, MBD2, represses transposable elements during male gametogenesis. MBD2 acts with a high degree of redundancy with other silencing pathways, together preserving genome stability.