The study investigates the role of the chromatin regulator MpSWI3, a core subunit of the SWI/SNF complex, in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. A promoter mutation disrupts male gametangiophore development and spermiogenesis, causing enhanced vegetative propagation, and transcriptomic analysis reveals that MpSWI3 regulates genes controlling reproductive initiation, sperm function, and asexual reproduction, highlighting its ancient epigenetic role in balancing vegetative and reproductive phases.

The study examined how polyploidy, hybridization, and incomplete lineage sorting affect phylogenetic reconstructions in the genus Packera, evaluating several published paralog‑processing pipelines. Results showed that the choice of orthology and paralog handling methods markedly altered tree topology, time‑calibrated phylogenies, biogeographic histories, and detection of ancient reticulation, underscoring the need for careful methodological selection alongside comprehensive taxon sampling.

Populus VariantDB v3.2 is a searchable database that catalogs sequence polymorphisms across heterozygous poplar genomes, enabling precise design of guide RNAs and primers for CRISPR genome editing in outcrossing tree species. The tool accepts short sequence inputs, supports multiple Populus genomes (including hybrids), and provides customizable search parameters to improve gRNA/primer design accuracy. Its platform‑agnostic and expandable architecture makes it broadly applicable to sequence‑sensitive functional genomics studies.