The study examined short‑term and transannual drought memory in cambium tissues of two Populus genotypes and four epitypes with modified DNA‑methylation machinery, revealing persistent hormone, transcript, and methylation changes one week after stress relief. Trees previously stressed in Year 1 displayed distinct physiological and molecular responses to a second drought in Year 2, indicating long‑term memory linked to stable CG‑context DNA methylation, with genotype‑dependent differences in plasticity and stability. These findings position the cambium as a reservoir for epigenetic stress memory and suggest exploitable epigenetic variation for tree breeding under drought.

The study identifies and functionally characterizes an acetyl‑CoA:monolignol transferase gene in Populus, showing that its overexpression elevates acetate incorporation into lignin without harming plant growth. Elevated lignin acetylation correlates with gene expression levels and markedly improves biomass pretreatability for biofuel production.

The study compared physiological and transcriptomic responses of poplar trees colonized by the ectomycorrhizal fungi Paxillus involutus or Cenococcum geophilum under normal, drought, and recovery conditions. Cenococcum-colonized plants showed constitutive up‑regulation of heat‑shock proteins, galactinol synthase, and aquaporins and maintained water status and photosynthesis during severe drought, whereas Paxillus colonization promoted growth and nitrogen‑use efficiency and enabled rapid recovery through drought‑induced leaf shedding. These contrasting strategies illustrate species‑specific positions on the growth‑defense trade‑off in ectomycorrhizal symbiosis.

The study used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the downstream region of the Arabidopsis thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene, identifying a 2.3‑kb segment containing the Block E enhancer as crucial for normal FT expression and flowering. Fine‑scale deletions pinpointed a 63‑bp core module with CCAAT‑ and G‑boxes, and revealed a cryptic CCAAT‑box that becomes active when repositioned, highlighting the importance of local chromatin context and motif arrangement for enhancer function.

The study optimized three wheat transformation methods—immature embryo, callus, and in planta injection—by systematically adjusting Agrobacterium strain, bacterial density, acetosyringone concentration, and incubation conditions, achieving transformation efficiencies up to 66.84%. Using these protocols, CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of the negative regulator TaARE1-D produced mutants with increased grain number, spike length, grain size, and a stay‑green phenotype, demonstrating the platform’s potential to accelerate yield and stress‑tolerance improvements in wheat.

The study examined electrophysiological responses of young poplar trees to controlled stem bending and root pressurization, identifying a distinct gradual potential (GP) whose amplitude and propagation are modulated by stimulus speed and intensity. Results indicate that mechanical stress generates a transient hydraulic pressure wave that triggers the GP, suggesting a hydraulic‑electrical coupling mechanism that encodes detailed mechanical information for adaptive responses to wind.

The authors introduced a polycistronic tRNA‑gRNA array for CRISPR/Cas9 editing in Physcomitrium patens that doubled the frequency of large, targeted deletions compared with conventional single‑gRNA constructs. Using dual‑gRNA targeting, they achieved simultaneous deletion of two to four genes (katanin and TPX2 families) in a single transformation, reaching up to 42% efficiency per gene, though efficiency depended on gRNA pair design.

The study integrates genome, transcriptome, and chromatin accessibility data from 380 soybean accessions to dissect the genetic and regulatory basis of symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF). Using GWAS, TWAS, eQTL mapping, and ATAC-seq, the authors identify key loci, co‑expression modules, and regulatory elements, and validate the circadian clock gene GmLHY1b as a negative regulator of nodulation via CRISPR and CUT&Tag. These resources illuminate SNF networks and provide a foundation for soybean improvement.

The study used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate rice snrk1 mutants and performed integrated phenotypic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic analyses under normal and starvation conditions, revealing SnRK1’s dual role in promoting growth and mediating stress responses. Findings indicate sub-functionalization of SnRK1 subunits and identify novel phosphorylation targets linked to membrane trafficking, ethylene signaling, and ion transport.

The study introduces a CRISPR/Cas9‑based restoration system (CiRBS) that reactivates a disabled luciferase reporter (LUC40Ins26bp) in transgenic Arabidopsis, enabling long‑term single‑cell bioluminescence monitoring. Restoration occurs within 24 h after particle‑bombardment‑mediated CRISPR delivery, with ~7 % of cells regaining luminescence and most restored cells carrying a single correctly edited chromosome, facilitating reliable analysis of cellular gene‑expression heterogeneity.