A field trial of ten grapevine rootstock genotypes grafted to two scion varieties revealed that vine compartment (berry vs. root) primarily determines elemental composition, while rootstock genotype has modest effects. The rhizosphere microbiome was largely conserved across genotypes, but taxa such as Streptomyces and Mesorhizobium showed negative correlations with a mineral profile dominated by molybdenum, cadmium, potassium, and iron, indicating specific microbe‑element associations.
The study generated a high-quality, phased diploid reference genome for the grapevine cultivar Pinot noir and combined it with Oxford Nanopore sequencing of 23 clones to map genome-wide genetic and epigenetic variation. While somatic SNPs and structural variants are rare and depleted from coding regions, extensive CG methylation differences were found within gene bodies and accurately recapitulated clonal phylogenies, indicating stable, mitotically inherited epialleles that record propagation history.
Investigating the intraspecific diversity of Vitis vinifera responses to esca with a physiopathology approach
Authors: Gastou, P., Morin, A., Ferrer, N., Alazet, L., Burlett, R., Delzon, S., Lens, F., Moretti, S., Rouveyrol, C., Petriacq, P., Svahn, I., Delmas, C. E. L.
A common garden study of 46 Vitis vinifera cultivars revealed that cultivar-specific water-use traits, rather than xylem anatomy, predict susceptibility to esca disease. Symptomatic vines showed reduced leaf gas exchange, starch storage, and theoretical hydraulic conductivity, while highly susceptible genotypes accumulated more glycosylated flavonoids and terpenes, suggesting a role for xylem‑transported defence metabolites in disease onset.
The study examined how DNA methylation influences cold stress priming in Arabidopsis thaliana, revealing that primed plants exhibit distinct gene expression and methylation patterns compared to non-primed plants. DNA methylation mutants, especially met1 lacking CG methylation, showed altered cold memory and misregulation of the CBF gene cluster, indicating that methylation ensures transcriptional precision during stress recall.
Wood composition, rather than microbial communities, underpins varietal differences in wood degradation and esca foliar symptom expression in grapevine
In a common‑garden study of 23 Vitis vinifera cultivars, the authors linked higher white‑rot necrosis and elevated hemicellulose coupled with reduced extractives to increased susceptibility to Esca disease. Glycosylated phenylpropanoids accumulated in symptomatic vines, while the composition of healthy‑wood endophytic microbial communities remained unchanged across cultivars, indicating that wood degradability and metabolic response drive susceptibility more than microbial factors.
The study reveals that rice perceives Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae outer membrane vesicles through a rapid calcium signal that triggers plasma‑membrane nanodomain formation and the re‑organisation of defence‑related proteins, establishing an early immune response. Without this Ca2+ signal, OMVs are not recognized and immunity is weakened.
The study compares the iron-poor oceanic diatom Thalassiosira oceanica with the iron-rich coastal species T. pseudonana to uncover how diatoms adapt to low-iron conditions. Using photo‑physiological measurements, proteomic profiling, and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, the researchers show that each species remodels chloroplast compartments and exhibits distinct mitochondrial architectures to maintain chloroplast‑mitochondrial coupling under iron limitation.
CLPC2 plays specific roles in CLP complex-mediated regulation of growth, photosynthesis, embryogenesis and response to growth-promoting microbial compounds
Authors: Leal-Lopez, J., Bahaji, A., De Diego, N., Tarkowski, P., Baroja-Fernandez, E., Munoz, F. J., Almagro, G., Perez, C. E., Bastidas-Parrado, L. A., Loperfido, D., Caporalli, E., Ezquer, I., Lopez-Serrano, L., Ferez-Gomez, A., Coca-Ruiz, V., Pulido, P., Morcillo, R. J. L., Pozueta-Romero, J.
The study demonstrates that the plastid chaperone CLPC2, but not its paralogue CLPC1, is essential for Arabidopsis responsiveness to microbial volatile compounds and for normal seed and seedling development. Loss of CLPC2 alters the chloroplast proteome, affecting proteins linked to growth, photosynthesis, and embryogenesis, while overexpression of CLPC2 mimics CLPC1 deficiency, highlighting distinct functional roles within the CLP protease complex.
The study performed a meta‑transcriptomic analysis of over twenty drought versus control experiments in Vitis vinifera and two hybrid rootstocks, identifying a core set of 4,617 drought‑responsive genes. Using transcription factor binding motif enrichment and random‑forest machine learning, gene regulatory networks were built, revealing key regulators such as ABF2, MYB30A, and a novel HMG‑box protein. These regulators and network hierarchies provide candidate targets for breeding and biotechnological improvement of grapevine drought tolerance.
The study investigated how barley (Hordeum vulgare) adjusts mitochondrial respiration under salinity stress using physiological, biochemical, metabolomic and proteomic approaches. Salt treatment increased respiration and activated the canonical TCA cycle, while the GABA shunt remained largely inactive, contrasting with wheat responses.