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The stigma has tightly regulated recognition mechanisms at several levels to prevent unwanted pollen from achieving fertilization. Knowledge about barriers controlling interspecific incompatibility is scarce. New evidence reveals a novel gene involved in regulating interspecies incompatibility in self-compatible Arabidopsis thaliana.
Atmospheric nitrogen deposits are overloading the ability of plant species to live and thrive. Bringing the complex and underestimated link between nitrogen and biodiversity to light is necessary to start restoration projects.
Receptor-mediated regulation of SPEECHLESS by a MAP kinase cascade coordinates cell fate specification during stomatal development. SCREAM functions as a scaffold to bring SPEECHLESS in proximity with MPK3/MPK6, thereby allowing its down-regulation to inhibit stomatal cell fate.
A comprehensive analysis of genetic gains in winter wheat, spanning 50 years of breeding and conducted under a wide range of cropping systems, validates the inherent efficiency of breeding for optimal environments.
Root growth depends on the shoot-to-root transport of assimilates through the phloem, which is connected to the meristems by plasmodesmata pores. A PHLOEM UNLOADING MODULATOR is now identified to regulate plasmodesmata internal organisation, leading to pores that appear tighter but are more efficient for transport.
Ion channels and transporters can integrate environmental cues in the cell. In addition to governing calcium homeostasis, a chloroplast envelope-localized calcium channel is now characterized to implicate chloroplast calcium signalling in drought tolerance.
This Review uses Golden Rice and omega-3 fish oil crops as examples to evaluate the progresses, problems and challenges associated with the development of nutritionally enhanced crops by genetic modification.
Comprehensive phylogenomics and molecular dating support a Triassic origin for flowering plants that is substantially earlier than their appearance in the fossil record, leaving a puzzling gap spanning the entire Jurassic period.
A new strategy based on a sophisticated and efficient system of modified pentatricopeptide repeat 10 proteins boost plastid transgene expression and the accumulation of foreign proteins by up to 40-fold.
A previously unknown biologically active gibberellin present in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana is formed by hydration of the gibberellin precursor GA12 through the action of GAS2, a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that decreases sensitivity to abscisic acid and promotes seed germination and seedling establishment.
Pathogen perception triggers a monomeric nucleotide-binding leucine-rich plant immune receptor to form a pentameric wheel-like complex termed a resistosome, with the N-terminal α helices forming a funnel-shaped structure that may perturb plasma membrane integrity to cause hypersensitive cell death.
Adenine base editors (ABEs) and cytosine base editors (CBEs) are powerful tools for targeted base conversions, but their editing specificities are largely unknown. Now, two reports demonstrate that ABEs are highly specific, but BE3-type CBEs tend to generate genome-wide off-target single nucleotide variations.
The severe threat of weeds to agriculture and ecosystems necessitates management practices on the scale of landscapes. This Perspective uses four case studies to examine the best practices for this collective dilemma.
Optimal plant growth requires an appropriate balance of mineral nutrients. A novel mechanism involving the physical interaction between nitrate and phosphate sensors in rice provides a regulatory framework for balanced acquisition and utilization of these nutrients.
Fusion of lipid bilayers to deliver genetic information is a process common to both viral infection and fertilization, and the two share common molecular mechanisms. Now, identification of fusion-facilitators shows that plants have their own unique slant on the fusion process.
An efficient route to the transformation of Arabidopsis plastids will allow the full power of molecular genetics to be brought to bear on the study of this key compartment.
The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase regulates crucial cellular processes. Characterization of its signalling pathway in plants has lagged behind animals and yeast. A large-scale phosphoproteome and interactome analysis in Arabidopsis has now uncovered plant-specific and conserved TOR targets and interactors.
Detailed electron microscopy and tomography analyses reveal a previously unappreciated complexity of extracellular membranes at the host–microbe interface during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Curcumin, an aromatic diarylheptanoid, is a principal component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), commonly used in Asian cooking, giving curry its orange colour. Introducing two enzymes into Arabidopsis thaliana caused incorporation of curcumin into its lignin polymer, enhancing sugar release from the cell wall and turning it yellow.
