Volume 9 Issue 2, February 2023

Using leaf explants and morphological regulator genes (Babyboom and Wuschel 2) driven by new promoter combinations, an efficient transformation and genome editing system is developed in maize and sorghum and successfully applied in seven other Poaceae grass species.

Various clades of legume plants irreversibly modify the development of their symbiotic nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Key transcription factors controlling this process have been identified. They are conserved and functional even in plant species that do not induce such a terminal differentiation.

In Arabidopsis, the final size of the seed is determined early on during its development by the growth of a single multinucleate cell, the coenocytic endosperm. The endosperm arises from a second fertilization event, alongside the embryo, and dominates the onset of seed development while later nourishing and supporting embryo growth.

Plant cells possess a bewildering number of different intracellular transport routes. A comprehensive interactome-based analysis on a set of core players unravels novel common components and surprising connections.

Mutations in two single genes (AtPS1 and AtJAS) in Arabidopsis thaliana are individually sufficient to restore haploid male fertility with no effect on haploid female fertility. Genes restoring haploid male fertility can bypass laborious and resource-intensive chemical methods, thereby markedly increasing the efficiency of doubled haploid (DH) technology to accelerate crop breeding.

During evolution, the acquisition of special types of cells and tissues requires new regulatory genes that control cell division and cell differentiation. Here, we found that stomatal basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors are co-opted for the development of seta in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, which lacks true stomata.

On the basis of 38,994 records of giant trees belonging to 237 species across Japan, this study shows that macroecological processes such as climate may drive spiritual ecosystem services obtained from giant trees.

The lack of haploid male fertility is a bottleneck to improve the efficiency in doubled haploid technology for accelerating crop breeding. This study shows that mutations in the parallel spindle genes are sufficient to restore haploid male fertility in Arabidopsis.

A 5,400-year record of climate and olive tree dynamics from the Mediterranean illuminates the detrimental consequences on olive agriculture that ongoing temperature increases will have during the twenty-first century.

Crops with broad-spectrum resistance to multiple diseases are highly desirable in agricultural production. This study reports a natural gene variant that produces a proteasome maturation factor and improves rice resistance to four notorious pathogens.

This description of the Sphagnum (peat moss) genome includes a newly discovered sex chromosome. Interactions among sex, autosomes and environment show direct effects on Sphagnum growth which influences global carbon sequestration.

Enhanced Wus2/Bbm expression substantially improves leaf transformation, Cas9-mediated gene dropouts and targeted gene insertion in maize, sorghum and other Poaceae species.

This study reported the structures of plant DNA demethylase ROS1 in complexes with substrate DNA, which revealed insights into the molecular basis of the plant-specific ROS1-mediated DNA demethylation.

Expression of Medicago truncatula symbiosis-specific nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) genes in soybean—which lacks NCR—is induced by conserved transcription factors in the symbiotic nodule cells and provokes features of terminal differentiation of endosymbiotic Rhizobium bacteroids.

By improving ribosome footprinting, Zhou et al. show that HEM1 utilizes a plant-specific condensation domain to control immune gene translation, which is essential in preventing immunopathology-associated tissue damage.

In land plants, the Ia and IIIb basic helix–loop–helix (Ia-IIIb bHLH) module regulates stomatal development. This study shows that a Ia-IIIb bHLH heterodimer, MpSETA-MpICE2, regulates seta formation in Marchantia and suggests a common mechanism underlying stomata and setae formation.

LEAFY is a master transcription factor that regulates flower development through interaction with other proteins such as the F-box UFO. This study shows that UFO unexpectedly acts as a transcriptional cofactor that drives LEAFY to new genomic locations.

Ali and Shin et al. have characterized the cellular dynamics of coenocytic endosperm development in Arabidopsis thaliana. They demonstrate the role of actin filaments in controlling the final seed size.

The authors show that photoperiod controls seed size in multiple plant species. CONSTANS, the central regulator of photoperiod, directly represses the transcription of AP2, thereby controlling seed size in both Arabidopsis and soybean.

A comprehensive proteomics-based interactome map of adaptor protein complexes in Arabidopsis identifies P34 as a key regulator of the stability of clathrin-associated adaptors and their related trafficking routes.