Research articles

The comprehensive and quantitative mapping of pseudouridine (Ψ) sites across four plant species provides critical resources for plant Ψ research, and reveals multilayered translation regulation through rRNA, tRNA and mRNA pseudouridylation in plants.

Hornworts are the only land plants with a pyrenoid-based CO₂-concentrating mechanism. This study presents evidence that some of the key components in algal pyrenoid-based CO₂-concentrating mechanisms are conserved in hornworts and probably serve similar functions.

The study uncovered a novel wax alcohol-forming pathway involving a two-step reduction process and further elucidated the carbon relocation mechanism between the alcohol- and alkane-forming pathway in response to environmental cues.

This study presents 11 new hornwort (Anthocerotophyta) genomes that clarify the structure and evolution of sex and accessory chromosomes in bryophytes and shed new light on the early evolution of land plants.

This work describes protein-coated clay nanoparticles that are actively taken up by roots to deliver synthetic RNA and DNA-encoded genes into plants. The nanoparticles can also deliver functional nucleic acids directly into other plant tissues.

This study identifies a molecular mechanism promoting fruit shape variation. Local meristem identity is maintained through autoregulatory activation of the STM gene to allow post-fertilization changes in fruit morphology.

Deep genome sequencing and comprehensive phenotyping of 294 hexaploid sweet potato accessions reveal the effect of allele dosage on phenotypic variation, offering valuable insights into the breeding history of sweet potato.

The plant general non-self response system is triggered by leaf microbiota members and, in turn, impacts their colonization.

The near-complete genome of hexaploid wild oat, along with 117 global wild and cultivated accessions, reveals genome divergence between wild and cultivated oats and a large fragment duplication event from chromosomes 4A to 4D during oat domestication.

In tomato roots, the exodermis forms a genetically distinct polar lignin cap (PLC) barrier from the Casparian strip. SlSCZ and SlEXO1 repress PLC deposition in inner layers. The PLC cannot fully compensate for the CS as a mineral ion barrier.

Stomata regulate gas exchange and help plants cope with abiotic stress. The authors identify a signalling pathway that coordinates the balance between stomatal opening and closing under high-temperature and/or drought conditions.

This study reports the mechanism of phytotoxicity by the explosive 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) that is being phased in to replace TNT in munitions. Only low levels of DNAN are detoxified by plants, causing chronic toxicity and potential exposure to herbivores.

A cereal-specific transcription factor, ZmICE1a, positively regulates storage in the central part of the endosperm while negatively regulating defence in its peripheral region, revealing the molecular mechanism underlying the antagonism between resistance and yield, which is crucial for cereal crop improvement.

The first land plant faced environmental challenges during terrestrial colonization. This study shows how the co-option of gene regulatory networks contributes to nutrient responses, facilitating the terrestrial adaptation of ancestral land plants.

The haplotype-resolved genome in Amborella trichopoda addresses outstanding questions on the structure and gene content of the recently evolved ZW sex chromosomes.

This study reveals ABA-triggered low-nanomolar Ca²⁺ dynamics in diverse plant organs and cell types using an ultrasensitive Ca²⁺ biosensor. Spatiotemporal Ca²⁺ dynamics modulate the root cap cycle in adaptation to stress through ABA–Ca²⁺–CPK signalling.

Climate warming is accelerating successional dynamics, with late-successional species rapidly outcompeting pioneer species at Himalayan treeline ecotones, offering insight into future forest succession and its influences on ecosystem services.

Two algal proteins, MITH1 and SAGA1, play key roles in formation of membranes that deliver CO₂ to the pyrenoid, a CO₂-concentrating organelle. Their discovery marks a key milestone towards engineering a pyrenoid into land plants for improved yields.

This study generates and phases the complete genome assembly of a model plant Nicotiana benthamiana, revealing insights into the structure, epigenetic landscape and evolutionary dynamics of its centromeres following allotetraploidization.

The efficient induction of embryos without fertilization, which is important for crop breeding and hybrid seed production, can be achieved by combined expression in the egg of BBM1 and WOX9A, two rice transcription factors normally expressed from the male genome.