The authors introduce the ENABLE(R) Gene Editing in planta toolkit, a streamlined two‑step cloning system for creating CRISPR/Cas9 knockout vectors suitable for transient or stable transformation. Validation was performed in Oryza sativa protoplasts and Arabidopsis thaliana plants, and the toolkit includes low‑cost protocols aimed at facilitating adoption in the Global South.

The authors created a fast‑cycling, isogenic barley line (GP‑rapid) by introgressing the wild‑type Ppd‑H1 allele from Igri into the Golden Promise cultivar and performing two backcrosses to limit the donor genome, achieving a 25% reduction in generation time under speed‑breeding conditions while retaining high transformation efficiency. CRISPR/Cas9‑mediated editing of Ppd‑H1 showed regeneration and transformation rates comparable to the original Golden Promise, establishing GP‑rapid as a rapid platform for transgenic and gene‑edited barley research.

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 applied CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to Physalis peruviana to modify plant‑architecture genes and create a compact growth ideotype. This compact phenotype is intended to increase per‑plot yield and support future breeding efforts for this nutritionally valuable minor crop.

The study examined how Arabidopsis calcium‑dependent protein kinases AtCPK5 and AtCPK6 modulate immunity triggered by bacterial rhamnolipids, finding that RLs up‑regulate these kinases and that mutants, especially cpk5/6, show altered reactive oxygen species production and defense gene expression. However, these kinases did not influence RL‑induced electrolyte leakage or resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, indicating additional signaling components are involved.

Using a microfluidic valve rootchip, the study simultaneously tracked ROS and calcium dynamics in compressed roots and found three kinetic phases linking mechanosensitive channel activity, NADPH oxidase‑dependent ROS accumulation, and secondary calcium influx. Pharmacological inhibition revealed that a fast calcium response is mediated by plasma‑membrane mechanosensitive channels, while a slower calcium increase is driven by ROS production.

The study examined drought tolerance across nine provenances of the conifer Pinus nigra using high‑throughput phenotyping combined with metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses under controlled soil‑drying conditions. Drought tolerance, measured by the decline in Fv/Fm, varied among provenances but was not linked to a climatic gradient and was independent of growth, with tolerant provenances showing distinct flavonoid and diterpene profiles and provenance‑specific gene expression patterns. Integrating phenotypic and molecular data revealed metabolic signatures underlying drought adaptation in this non‑model conifer.

A comparative phosphoproteomics study using Arabidopsis thaliana ahk5 loss‑of‑function mutants and wild‑type seedlings revealed that the histidine kinase AHK5 mediates a rapid shift from multistep phosphorelay signaling to serine/threonine phosphorylation in response to H2O2. AHK5 controls ROS‑responsive phosphorylation of plasma‑membrane nanodomain proteins and orchestrates distinct ABA‑independent stomatal closure and ABA‑dependent root development pathways by modulating key components such as RBOHD, CAS, HPCA1, and auxin transporters.

The study examined how the bioinoculant Trichoderma afroharzianum T22 influences Pisum sativum growth under iron-sufficient versus iron-deficient conditions, finding pronounced benefits—enhanced photosynthesis, Fe/N accumulation, and stress‑related gene expression—only during iron deficiency. RNA‑seq revealed distinct gene expression patterns tied to symbiosis, iron transport, and redox pathways, and microbiome profiling showed T22 reshapes the root bacterial community under deficiency, suggesting context‑dependent mutualism.

Six new Viola species and two reinstated species from China were identified using field surveys, detailed morphological comparison, and phylogenetic analysis of ITS and GPI gene sequences, placing them in section Plagiostigma subsect. Diffusae. The GPI data offered higher resolution, indicating complex relationships possibly due to ancient hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting, thereby clarifying species boundaries and evolutionary patterns in Chinese Viola.