Genetius

Using laser ablation microscopy, the study dissected the role of the first cell row and a contiguous stem cell quorum in the apical notches of germinating Marchantia gemmae, revealing that these cells are essential for meristem activity and that apical notches communicate via auxin‑mediated signals to regulate dominance and regeneration. The findings support a model of intra‑, inter‑, and extra‑notch communication governing meristem formation and maintenance in Marchantia.

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.

Chromatin accessibility profiling and transcriptomics of Marchantia polymorpha heat‑shock transcription factor (HSF) mutants reveal that HSFA1 governs the placement of cis‑regulatory elements for heat‑induced gene activation, a mechanism conserved across plants, mice, and humans. Integrated gene regulatory network modeling identifies MpWRKY10 and MpABI5B as indirect regulators linking phenylpropanoid and stress pathways, while abscisic acid influences gene expression downstream of HSFA1 without broadly reshaping chromatin. A cross‑species, cross‑condition machine‑learning framework successfully predicts chromatin accessibility and expression, underscoring a conserved regulatory logic in stress responses.