The authors used a bottom‑up thermodynamic modelling framework to investigate how plants decode calcium signals, starting from Ca2+ binding to EF‑hand proteins and extending to higher‑order decoding modules. They identified six universal Ca2+-decoding modules that can explain variations in calcium sensitivity among kinases and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting calcium signal amplitude and frequency in plant cells.

The study used a Brassica napus diversity panel to phenotype multiple seedling establishment traits in soil and applied associative transcriptomics to uncover genetic factors influencing post‑germinative vigor. Gene expression markers linked to cytokinin signaling and photomorphogenesis, including ARR4/5, SPA1, ASG7, and PRR7 orthologues, were significantly associated with traits such as emergence time and leaf development, highlighting a complex regulatory network controlling seedling vigor.

The authors compiled and standardized published data on Rubisco dark inhibition for 157 flowering plant species, categorizing them into four inhibition levels and analyzing phylogenetic trends. Their meta‑analysis reveals a complex, uneven distribution of inhibition across taxa, suggesting underlying chloroplast microenvironment drivers and providing a new resource for future photosynthesis improvement efforts.