The study employed ultra large‑scale 2D clinostats to grow tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants beyond the seedling stage under simulated microgravity and upright control conditions across five sequential trials. Simulated microgravity consistently affected plant growth, but the magnitude and direction of the response varied among trials, with temperature identified as a significant co‑variant; moderate heat stress surprisingly enhanced growth under simulated microgravity. These results highlight the utility of large‑scale clinostats for dissecting interactions between environmental factors and simulated microgravity in plant development.

The authors present Conservatory, a computational pipeline that exploits microsynteny and iterative alignments across 284 plant genomes to map ~2.3 million conserved non‑coding sequences, including over 3,000 that predate angiosperms. Functional mutagenesis of ancient CNSs near homeobox genes caused strong developmental phenotypes, and comparative analysis revealed conserved order despite spacing variation, rearrangement‑driven CNS‑gene re‑associations, and preferential retention of ancient CNSs among paralogs.

The authors compiled and standardized published data on Rubisco dark inhibition for 157 flowering plant species, categorizing them into four inhibition levels and analyzing phylogenetic trends. Their meta‑analysis reveals a complex, uneven distribution of inhibition across taxa, suggesting underlying chloroplast microenvironment drivers and providing a new resource for future photosynthesis improvement efforts.

The study investigated metabolic responses of kale (Brassica oleracea) grown under simulated microgravity using a 2-D clinostat versus normal gravity conditions. LC‑MS data were analyzed with multivariate tools such as PCA and volcano plots to identify gravity‑related metabolic adaptations and potential molecular markers for spaceflight crop health.

The authors generated a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly for the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus vulnus and performed comparative genomics revealing close evolutionary ties to Meloidogyne graminicola. Transcriptome profiling uncovered stage-specific expression of parasitism-related genes, and analyses identified expanded effector repertoires and lineage-specific cell wall-degrading enzyme families, elucidating genome organization and parasitic mechanisms in this woody‑plant nematode.

The study compares the genomes of three annual–perennial pairs of Oryza species to uncover genetic mechanisms underlying the transition from perennial to annual life cycles. It identifies 91 gene families present exclusively in perennial species, predicts their functional roles in phenology, energy allocation, and source‑sink dynamics, and shows through co‑expression analysis that they may regulate reproduction, root development, and environmental responses. These findings reveal the complexity of annuality emergence in Oryza and provide candidate genes for future functional validation.

The authors created a strict covariation‑based pipeline to screen ~14,000 plastid genomes for conserved secondary RNA structures, uncovering 57 motifs that include known functional classes and novel cis‑acting elements in photosynthetic gene UTRs and introns, as well as trans‑acting antisense RNAs. This atlas reveals a broad layer of post‑transcriptional regulation in plastids and offers a framework applicable to other genomes.

The study presents the first chromosome‑level genome assembly of the non‑nitrogen‑fixing legume Nissolia brasiliensis, compares its genome to RNS‑forming relatives to pinpoint genes linked to root nodule symbiosis, and establishes a stable transformation protocol to enable future re‑engineering of RNS in legumes.

The study characterizes the composition and structure of cell wall glycans in eight tissue types of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, revealing both typical land‑plant features and unique traits such as abundant (1,5)-arabinan in sporophytes and low overall pectin levels. Comparative genomic analysis shows a diversified glycosyltransferase repertoire relative to Arabidopsis, and the authors created a Gateway‑compatible library of 93 M. polymorpha GTs to facilitate future functional studies.

The study reports the first chromosome-scale reference genome of the highly heterozygous autotetraploid leek (Allium porrum), assembled using long‑read sequencing and a SNP‑array‑derived genetic map of 11,429 markers across eight linkage groups, yielding a 15.2 Gbp assembly with 97.2% BUSCO completeness. Analysis of the linkage map reveals a recombination landscape concentrated near centromeres and comparative genomics uncovers structural rearrangements indicating a close genomic relationship with garlic (A. sativum).