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 demonstrates that ELF4 is essential for recruiting ELF3 into hypocotyl nuclei at dusk, a process that enhances ELF3’s ability to repress target gene expression and limit hypocotyl elongation, especially under short‑day conditions. Subnuclear localization patterns of ELF3 differ between hypocotyl and root tissues, indicating tissue‑specific temporal regulation by ELF4.

The study evaluated seed chemistry of eleven Vicia faba cultivars grown across thirteen German field sites, measuring nitrogen and sulfur by Dumas combustion, calculating protein content, and profiling proteins and (semi-)polar metabolites using SDS‑PAGE and metabolic fingerprinting. Results showed cultivar‑specific protein and metabolite patterns, site‑dependent sulfur levels, and suggest that breeding has produced relatively stable cultivars with broad chemical changes beyond protein content.

The study genotyped 1,013 hard red spring wheat lines using SNP arrays and targeted KASP markers to track changes in genetic diversity and the distribution of dwarfing Rht alleles over a century of North American breeding. It found shifts from Rht‑D1b to Rht‑B1b dominance, identified low‑frequency dwarf alleles at Rht24 and Rht25 that have increased recently, and revealed gene interactions that can fine‑tune plant height, along with evidence of recent selection for photoperiod sensitivity.

The study used a high‑throughput phenotyping platform to screen 196 Vicia faba genotypes for leaf temperature as an indicator of stomatal and photosynthetic performance, identifying a three‑fold variation among genotypes. A subset of extreme genotypes was subjected to acute 450 ppb ozone exposure, revealing that genotypes with higher leaf temperatures suffered less ozone‑induced damage, highlighting the role of stomatal regulation in stress tolerance.

A biparental Vicia faba mapping population was screened under glasshouse conditions for resistance to a mixture of Fusarium avenaceum and Fusarium oxysporum, revealing several families with moderate to high resistance. Using the Vfaba_v2 Axiom SNP array, a high-density linkage map of 6,755 SNPs was constructed, enabling the identification of a major QTL on linkage group 4 associated with partial resistance to foot and root rot.