Integrating physiological, transcriptomic, and cellular analyses, the study shows that olive fruit abscission zones undergo lignification, alkalization, and extensive cell‑wall remodeling during natural maturation and after ethephon treatment. A set of 733 FAZ‑specific genes, including β‑1,3‑glucanases, pectate lyases, and pH‑regulating transporters, were identified, and increased glucanase activity together with reduced plasmodesmata callose suggest enhanced intercellular communication facilitates organ detachment in this non‑climacteric fruit.
Thermotolerant pollen tube growth is controlled by RALF signaling.
Authors: Althiab Almasaud, R., Ouonkap Yimga, S. V., Ingram, J., Oseguera, Y., Alkassem Alosman, M., Travis, C., Henry, A., Medina, M., Oulhen, N., Wessel, G. M., Delong, A., Pease, J., DaSilva, N., Johnson, M.
The study investigates the molecular basis of heat‑tolerant pollen tube growth in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by comparing thermotolerant and sensitive cultivars. Using live imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics, and genetics, the authors identified the Rapid Alkalinization Factor (RALF) signaling pathway as a key regulator of pollen tube integrity under high temperature, with loss of a specific RALF peptide enhancing tube integrity in a thermotolerant cultivar.
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.
Unravelling the intraspecific variation in drought responses in seedlings of European black pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold)
Authors: Ahmad, M., Hammerbacher, A., Priemer, C., Ciceu, A., Karolak, M., Mader, S., Olsson, S., Schinnerl, J., Seitner, S., Schoendorfer, S., Helfenbein, P., Jakub, J., Breuer, M., Espinosa, A., Caballero, T., Ganthaler, A., Mayr, S., Grosskinsky, D. K., Wienkoop, S., Schueler, S., Trujillo-Moya, C., van Loo, M.
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.
Discovery of tomato UDP-glucosyltransferases involved in bioactive jasmonate homeostasis using limited proteolysis-coupled mass spectrometry
Authors: Venegas-Molina, J., Mohnike, L., Selma Garcia, S., Janssens, H., Colembie, R., Kimpe, I., Jaramillo-Madrid, A. C., Lacchini, E., Winne, J. M., Van Damme, P., Feussner, I., Goossens, A., Sola, K.
The study applied limited proteolysis‑coupled mass spectrometry (LiP‑MS) to map JA‑protein interactions, validating known JA binders and uncovering novel candidates, including several UDP‑glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs). Functional omics, biochemical, enzymatic, and structural analyses demonstrated that two tomato UGTs glucosylate jasmonic acid, revealing a previously missing step in JA catabolism.
The study demonstrates that limonene, a natural essential‑oil component, strongly inhibits Fusarium oxysporum, the causal agent of potato dry rot, by impairing colony growth, hyphal morphology, spore viability, membrane integrity, and transcription/translation processes, as well as disrupting ion homeostasis. Combined treatments reveal additive effects with mancozeb and synergistic effects with hymexazol, highlighting limonene's potential as an eco‑friendly bio‑fungicide for potato disease management.
Trichoderma afroharzianum behaves differently with respect to the host transcriptome and microbial communities under varying iron availability in pea plants
Authors: Kabir, A. H., Thapa, A., Ara Saiful, S. A., Talukder, S. K.
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.