Phosphite (Phi) and phosphate (Pi) share the same root uptake system, but Phi acts as a biostimulant that modulates plant growth and disease resistance in a species‑ and Pi‑dependent manner. In Arabidopsis, Phi induces hypersensitive‑like cell death and enhances resistance to Plectosphaerella cucumerina, while in rice it counteracts Pi‑induced susceptibility to Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium fujikuroi, accompanied by extensive transcriptional reprogramming.

The review examines the genetic networks governing spikelet number per spike (SNS) in wheat, highlighting how the balance between inflorescence meristem activity and the timing of terminal spikelet transition determines yield potential. It discusses how mutations affecting meristem identity can create supernumerary spikelets, the trade-offs of such traits, and recent advances using spatial transcriptomics, single‑cell analyses, and multi‑omics to identify new SNS genes for breeding.

The study examined how interactions among plant genotype, aphid genotype, and rhizobial symbiosis affect defense priming in two Medicago truncatula genotypes inoculated with Sinorhizobium meliloti or supplied with nitrate. Aphid performance, plant fitness, and leaf expression of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathway genes were monitored over 12 days, revealing that both plant and aphid genotypes and rhizobial inoculation jointly shape defense outcomes. The results highlight the importance of genetic context and microbial symbiosis in multitrophic interactions and suggest avenues for enhancing pest resistance via beneficial microbes.

The study identifies MtFTb1 and MtFTb2 as essential, redundant regulators of long‑day flowering in the legume Medicago truncatula, demonstrating that they are required for up‑regulating MtFTa1 under vernalised long‑day conditions. Using CRISPR/Cas9‑generated single and double mutants, the authors show that double mutants are specifically delayed in flowering under long days while retaining vernalization responsiveness, and transcriptomic analyses reveal that MtFTb1/2 activate MADS‑box genes and other flowering regulators.

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.

A yeast two‑hybrid screen using Medicago truncatula root cDNA identified MtCSP1, a BTB/POZ domain protein, as an interactor of the ARF GTPase MtARFA1. Interaction was confirmed in planta by co‑immunopurification and bimolecular fluorescence complementation, showing localization to late‑endosomal vesicles, and functional assays in transgenic roots demonstrated that MtCSP1 is essential for rhizobial infection progression and nodule organogenesis, linking small GTPase activity to ubiquitin‑mediated protein turnover during symbiosis.

The study applied dual-species spatial transcriptomics at single-cell resolution to map plant and fungal gene activity in rice roots colonized by Rhizophagus irregularis, revealing transcriptional heterogeneity among morphologically similar arbuscules. By pioneering an AM-inducible TRAP-seq using stage‑specific promoters, the authors uncovered stage‑specific reprogramming of nutrient transporters and defence genes, indicating dynamic regulation of nutrient exchange and arbuscule lifecycle.

The study combines mathematical modeling, live-cell fluorescence imaging, and bacterial mutant analyses to investigate how Sinorhizobium meliloti moves within infection threads of Medicago truncatula root hairs, finding that movement is slow and likely passive, relying on flagella-independent surface translocation mediated by the rhizobactin 1021 surfactant. Flagella-deficient mutants retain colonization ability, whereas disruption of rhbE impairs surface motility, leads to branched infection threads, and compromises nodule development.

The study characterizes the single-copy S-nitrosoglutathione reductase 1 (MpGSNOR1) in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, showing that loss-of-function mutants generated via CRISPR/Cas9 exhibit marked morphological defects and compromised SNO homeostasis and immune responses. These findings indicate that GSNOR-mediated regulation of S‑nitrosylation is an ancient mechanism linking development and immunity in early land plants.

The study investigates the role of the immune kinase SOBIR1 in Medicago truncatula’s symbiotic interactions, showing that sobir1 mutants form normal nodules with Sinorhizobium meliloti but fewer, abnormal nodules with S. medicae, while exhibiting increased colonization by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus versiforme. Localization of a tagged SOBIR1 protein to the periarbuscular membrane suggests distinct regulatory functions of SOBIR1 in nodulation versus mycorrhizal symbiosis.