Genetius

Thermopriming enhances heat stress tolerance by orchestrating protein maintenance pathways: it activates the heat shock response (HSR) via HSFA1 and the unfolded protein response (UPR) while modulating autophagy to clear damaged proteins. Unprimed seedlings cannot mount these responses, leading to proteostasis collapse, protein aggregation, and death, highlighting the primacy of HSR and protein maintenance over clearance mechanisms.

The study integrates multi-omics data from six Sorghum bicolor accessions under field drought to link RNA covalent modifications (RCMs) with photosynthetic performance, identifying the enzyme SbDUS2 that produces dihydrouridine (DHU) on transcripts. Loss‑of‑function dus2 mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana reveal that DHU deficiency leads to hyperstability of photosynthesis‑related mRNAs, impairing germination, development, and stress‑induced CO2 assimilation. The authors propose DHU as a post‑transcriptional mark that promotes rapid mRNA turnover during abiotic stress, enhancing plant resilience.

The study used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the downstream region of the Arabidopsis thaliana FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene, identifying a 2.3‑kb segment containing the Block E enhancer as crucial for normal FT expression and flowering. Fine‑scale deletions pinpointed a 63‑bp core module with CCAAT‑ and G‑boxes, and revealed a cryptic CCAAT‑box that becomes active when repositioned, highlighting the importance of local chromatin context and motif arrangement for enhancer function.

The study identifies an autophagy pathway that degrades plasma membrane-derived clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) during hyperosmotic stress, helping maintain membrane tension as cell volume decreases. Using live imaging and correlative microscopy, the authors show that the TPLATE complex subunits AtEH1/Pan1 and AtEH2/Pan1 act as selective autophagy receptors by directly binding ATG8, thereby removing excess membrane under drought or salt conditions.

The study investigates autophagy’s protective role against cadmium stress in Arabidopsis thaliana by comparing wild-type, atg5 and atg7 autophagy-deficient mutants, and ATG5/ATG7 overexpression lines. Cadmium exposure triggered autophagy, shown by ATG8a-PE accumulation, GFP-ATG8a fluorescence and ATG gene up-regulation, with atg5 mutants displaying heightened Cd sensitivity and disrupted metal ion homeostasis, whereas overexpression had limited impact. Genotype-specific differences between Col-0 and Ws backgrounds were also observed.

The study introduces a native‑condition method combining cell fractionation and immuno‑isolation to purify autophagic compartments from Arabidopsis, followed by proteomic and lipidomic characterisation of the isolated phagophore membranes. Proteomic profiling identified candidate proteins linked to autophagy, membrane remodeling, vesicular trafficking and lipid metabolism, while lipidomics revealed a predominance of glycerophospholipids, especially phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol, defining the unique composition of plant phagophores.

The study identifies the Arabidopsis phospholipases LCAT3 and LCAT4 as essential components that hydrolyze membranes of autophagic bodies within the vacuole, a critical step for autophagy completion. Double mutants lacking both enzymes accumulate autophagic bodies and display diminished autophagic activity, while in vivo reconstitution shows LCAT3 initiates membrane hydrolysis, facilitating LCAT4’s function.

The authors established a live‑cell imaging platform that combines confocal microscopy of genetically encoded fluorescent protein biosensors with on‑stage illumination to monitor pH, MgATP²⁻, and NADH/NAD⁺ dynamics during dark‑light transitions in Arabidopsis mesophyll cells. They discovered that photosynthetic proton pumping triggers a stromal alkalinization wave extending to the cytosol and mitochondria, elevates MgATP²⁻ levels, and drives reduction of the NAD pool, with malate dehydrogenase mutants showing altered cytosolic redox even in darkness. This methodological advance enables high‑resolution mapping of photosynthesis‑linked energy physiology across cellular compartments.

The study introduces a CRISPR/Cas9‑based restoration system (CiRBS) that reactivates a disabled luciferase reporter (LUC40Ins26bp) in transgenic Arabidopsis, enabling long‑term single‑cell bioluminescence monitoring. Restoration occurs within 24 h after particle‑bombardment‑mediated CRISPR delivery, with ~7 % of cells regaining luminescence and most restored cells carrying a single correctly edited chromosome, facilitating reliable analysis of cellular gene‑expression heterogeneity.

The study compared photosynthetic performance and carbon metabolism in mature versus immature leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions from different latitudes under standard and low‑temperature/high‑light conditions. Leaf‑specific measurements of Fv/Fm and CO2 assimilation revealed distinct acclimation capacities, and integration of carbohydrate and carboxylic‑acid profiles into a carbon balance model indicated that mature leaves help stabilize metabolism in younger tissue. The authors emphasize the importance of accounting for intra‑rosette heterogeneity to avoid misleading metabolic interpretations.