Transposable elements play a pivotal role in genome evolution and phenotypic variation in numerous eukaryotic species1. Helitrons, a recently identified category of transposons, remain poorly understood in terms of epigenetic regulation and real-time mobilization in plants2,3. Here our study reveals that reduced DNA methylation combined with heat stress promotes the mobilization...
Protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) is a conserved serine/threonine phosphatase regulating growth, stress responses, programmed cell death and immunity across eukaryotes. However, the mechanisms underlying its activation remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that the disruption of the plant MEKK1–MKK1/2–MPK4 cascade activates LET7, a plant homologue of PP5, triggering nucleotide...
Gene drives offer revolutionary potential for the management of problematic plant populations, such as invasive weeds and herbicide-resistant species, by rapidly spreading desired genetic alterations. Two recent studies have provided experimental demonstrations of engineered CRISPR gene drive systems in plants (CAIN and ClvR). However, the successful application of such systems...
As the main nutrient reservoir in cereal grains, the endosperm largely determines grain yield, performance and nutrition. However, knowledge of genes that coordinate endosperm filling and nutrient deposition, which could offer potential for genetic improvement of grain traits, remain limited. Here we identified ZmMYB127, a filling-endosperm-specific MYB transcription factor. Its...
Cross-kingdom RNA interference is an emerging concept in plant–pathogen interactions. Here we provide evidence that cross-kingdom RNA interference also occurs in a beneficial plant symbiosis called arbuscular mycorrhiza. The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis transfers small RNAs into plant cells, promoting the colonization of host roots. This finding...
Mitochondria are inherited maternally in the vast majority of eukaryotes. Occasional transmission of paternal mitochondria (paternal leakage) can lead to heterochondriomy and recombination between maternal and paternal mitochondrial genomes. Despite its potential physiological and evolutionary consequences, the extent of paternal leakage and the cellular processes governing...
Photorespiration is a costly cellular process that reduces photosynthetic efficiency. While mitigating photorespiratory losses could boost crop yields, the interconnection of photorespiration with other processes is increasingly recognized. Its high carbon turnover generates mitochondrial one-carbon (C1) metabolites, including formate, but their contribution to cellular C1...
Cyanobacteria have evolved a CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM) in the form of a microcompartment with a proteinaceous shell called carboxysome, harbouring the photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase (CA). β-Carboxysome assembly proceeds by an inside-out process, in which Rubisco, CA and the shell adaptor protein ApN (also known as CcmN) first form the pro-carboxysome...
Plant cell surface pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) perceive non- or altered-self elicitors to induce immune responses. PRRs relay information across the plasma membrane and trigger downstream signalling via receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases such as BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE 1 (BIK1). BIK1 associates with several PRRs and acts as a key executor of immune responses through the...
The rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in determining plant performance and fitness. Nevertheless, regulatory mechanisms linking host genetic variation, root gene regulation and microbiome assembly—and their collective influence on plant nutritional traits—remain poorly understood. Here we generated and integrated 1,341 paired datasets, including root transcriptomes...
Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) play a crucial role in plant reproduction, yet their mobility and function remain incompletely understood. We report that a large proportion of siRNAs found in pollen of Capsella rubella relies on mobile siRNAs from maternal sporophytic tissues, highlighting the importance of non-cell-autonomous siRNAs in male gametophyte development. Unlike...
The wheat resistance gene Pm4 encodes a kinase fusion protein and has gained particular attention as it confers race-specific resistance against two major wheat pathogens: powdery mildew and blast. Here we describe the identification of AvrPm4, the mildew avirulence effector recognized by Pm4, using UV mutagenesis, and its functional validation in wheat protoplasts. We show that...
Grass inflorescences are composite structures, featuring complex sets of meristems as stem cell niches that are initiated in a repetitive manner. Meristems differ in identity and longevity, generate branches or split to form flower meristems that finally produce seeds. Within meristems, distinct cell types are determined by positional information and the regional activity of gene...
Successful recognition of pathogen effectors by plant disease resistance proteins, or effector-triggered immunity (ETI), contains the invading pathogen through localized hypersensitive cell death. ETI also activates long-range signalling to establish broad-spectrum systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Here we describe a sensitive luciferase (LUC) reporter that captures the spatial...
Rice roots develop aerenchyma, which transports oxygen from shoots to roots, facilitating adaptation to waterlogged conditions. This oxygen oxidizes ferrous ions into ferric compounds, forming iron plaque that mitigates iron toxicity. However, the molecular mechanisms linking aerenchyma and iron plaque formation remain poorly understood. Here we identified a rice mutant (AZ1302...