The study reveals that the thermosensor and circadian regulator ELF3 interacts with the PLT3 transcription factor in Arabidopsis root stem cell niches, forming subcellular condensates that sustain quiescent centre and columella stem cell fate. ELF3’s intrinsically disordered prion‑like domains drive condensate formation with PLT3, and PIF3/4 act as nuclear shuttles recruiting ELF3 to nuclear condensates, linking environmental cues to stem cell maintenance.
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 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.
The study examines how ectopic accumulation of methionine in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves, driven by a deregulated AtCGS transgene under a seed‑specific promoter, reshapes metabolism, gene expression, and DNA methylation. High‑methionine lines exhibit increased amino acids and sugars, activation of stress‑hormone pathways, and reduced expression of DNA methyltransferases, while low‑methionine lines show heightened non‑CG methylation without major transcriptional changes. Integrated transcriptomic and methylomic analyses reveal a feedback loop linking sulfur‑carbon metabolism, stress adaptation, and epigenetic regulation.
Arabidopsis lines with modified ascorbate concentrations reveal a link between ascorbate and auxin biosynthesis
Authors: Fenech, M., Zulian, V., Moya-Cuevas, J., Arnaud, D., Morilla, I., Smirnoff, N., Botella, M. A., Stepanova, A. N., Alonso, J. M., Martin-Pizarro, C., Amorim-Silva, V.
The study used Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with low (vtc2, vtc4) and high (vtc2/OE-VTC2) ascorbate levels to examine how ascorbate concentration affects gene expression and cellular homeostasis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that altered ascorbate levels modulate defense and stress pathways, and that TAA1/TAR2‑mediated auxin biosynthesis is required for coping with elevated ascorbate in a light‑dependent manner.
The study shows that the SnRK1 catalytic subunit KIN10 directs tissue-specific growth‑defense programs in Arabidopsis thaliana by reshaping transcriptomes. kin10 knockout mutants exhibit altered root transcription, reduced root growth, and weakened defense against Pseudomonas syringae, whereas KIN10 overexpression activates shoot defense pathways, increasing ROS and salicylic acid signaling at the cost of growth.