The study created a system that blocks root‑mediated signaling between wheat varieties in a varietal mixture and used transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling to reveal that root chemical interactions drive reduced susceptibility to Septoria tritici blotch, with phenolic compounds emerging as key mediators. Disruption of these root signals eliminates both the disease resistance phenotype and the associated molecular reprogramming.

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 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 presents an optimized Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol for bread wheat that incorporates a GRF4‑GIF1 fusion to enhance regeneration and achieve genotype‑independent transformation across multiple cultivars. The approach consistently improves transformation efficiency while limiting pleiotropic effects, offering a versatile platform for functional genomics and gene editing in wheat.

The study examined how soil phosphorus and nitrogen availability influence wheat root-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities and the expression of mycorrhizal nutrient transporters. Field sampling across two years combined with controlled pot experiments showed that P and N jointly affect AMF colonisation, community composition (with Funneliformis dominance under high P), and regulation of phosphate, ammonium, and nitrate transporters. Integrating metabarcoding and RT‑qPCR provides a framework to assess AMF contributions to crop nutrition.

Foliar application of Trichoderma harzianum cell‑free culture filtrates (CF) increased fruit yield, root growth, and photosynthesis in a commercial tomato cultivar under prolonged water deficit in a Mediterranean greenhouse. Integrated physiological, metabolite, and transcriptomic analyses revealed that CF mitigated drought‑induced changes, suppressing about half of water‑stress responsive genes, thereby reducing the plant’s transcriptional sensitivity to water scarcity.

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.

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.

The study investigated unexpected leaf spot symptoms in Psa3‑resistant kiwifruit (Actinidia) germplasm, finding that Psa3 was detectable by qPCR and metabarcoding despite poor culturing. Metabarcoding revealed distinct bacterial community shifts in lesions versus healthy tissue, and whole‑genome sequencing identified diverse Pseudomonas spp. that, while not individually more pathogenic, could enhance Psa3 growth, suggesting pathogenic consortia on resistant hosts.

The study examined transcriptomic responses of the tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea from a pristine and an impacted site under single and combined thermal and excess nutrient stress in mesocosms. Combined stress caused greater gene reprogramming than individual stresses, with thermal effects dominating and the impacted population showing reduced plasticity but higher resilience. Core stress‑response genes were identified as potential early field indicators of environmental stress.