Research articles

The phenotypic expression of SP11 alleles ­— male determinants of self-incompatibility in Brassica rapa ­— is controlled by a five-phased linear hierarchy. A study has found that a polymorphic 24-nt small RNA controls the linear hierarchy of four of the SP11 alleles.

Plants contain small levels of cholesterol. Analysis of transcripts, proteins and individual gene silencing in tomato identifies a biosynthetic pathway involving 12 enzymes that is shown to be functional by expression of the full set in Arabidopsis.

To explore how climate warming may affect rice yield, a study used field experiments and three modelling approaches to examine the sensitivity of rice yield to warming. The study predicts that severe rice yield losses are likely to occur without effective crop improvement.

Pottery remains from archaeological sites in the Libyan Sahara provide the earliest direct evidence for plant processing in pottery, dating to 8200–6400 cal BC. The remains show processing of grasses and aquatic plants gathered from the then green Sahara.

Interrogation of a worldwide database of leaf traits in forest canopies shows that a large proportion of ‘full-sun’ readings were made in the shade. The majority of leaves exist in the shade but research is too focused on conditions in the sun.

Despite improved farming practices, models suggest that droughts like those of the 1930s would still be devastating to the US today. High temperatures are more damaging than rainfall deficit, leading to losses ∼50% larger than the severe drought of 2012.

The genetic model for heterostyly in Primula involves two floral morphs, pin and thrum, with reciprocal anther and stigma heights. This study reveals that the thrum morph is hemizygous and controlled by a cluster of five linked genes absent in the pin morph.

Two genes controlling the transcriptional network involved in stomatal development in Arabidopsis thaliana have a conserved function in the non-vascular moss Physcomitrella patens. Moss mutants without stomata show delayed capsule dehiscence.

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.

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.

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 elusive. Now, a study shows that polymerase θ controls T-DNA integration and generates the error-prone sequences at the sites of integration.

By assembling the genome of Cardamine hirsuta and conducting comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses, a study reveals the prevalent role of transcription factors and gene duplication in morphological evolution.

The legume–Rhizobium symbiosis allows nitrogen fixation. Development of nodules is a finely regulated developmental process that involves a DNA demethylase called DEMETER, linking epigenetic regulation and symbiosis.

Plants can regenerate tissues after injury. The heterodimeric transcription factor complex ERF115–PAT1 is activated by the cell death of neighbouring cells, and is crucial for stem cell replenishment and the high regenerative potential of plants.