Phosphite (Phi) and phosphate (Pi) share the same root uptake system, but Phi acts as a biostimulant that modulates plant growth and disease resistance in a species‑ and Pi‑dependent manner. In Arabidopsis, Phi induces hypersensitive‑like cell death and enhances resistance to Plectosphaerella cucumerina, while in rice it counteracts Pi‑induced susceptibility to Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium fujikuroi, accompanied by extensive transcriptional reprogramming.

The study re-analyzed AtGenExpress microarray data to profile expression of Arabidopsis papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) and cystatins under bacterial infection, wounding, and drought, and performed in vitro assays to determine cystatin inhibition specificity for abundant PLCPs. Integrating co‑expression and inhibition data with support vector machine modeling revealed distinct PLCP‑cystatin modules for virulent versus avirulent bacterial infections and overlapping modules between drought and basal defense, indicating shared regulatory programs across stress types.

The authors used a bottom‑up thermodynamic modelling framework to investigate how plants decode calcium signals, starting from Ca2+ binding to EF‑hand proteins and extending to higher‑order decoding modules. They identified six universal Ca2+-decoding modules that can explain variations in calcium sensitivity among kinases and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting calcium signal amplitude and frequency in plant cells.

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 examined soybean (Glycine max) responses to simultaneous drought and Asian soybean rust infection using combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis identified stress-specific gene modules linked to metabolites, while Copula Graphical Models uncovered sparse, condition‑specific networks, revealing distinct molecular signatures for each stress without overlapping genes or metabolites. The integrative approach underscores a hierarchical, modular defense architecture and suggests targets for breeding multi‑stress resilient soybeans.

The study examines how the SnRK1 catalytic subunit KIN10 integrates carbon availability with root growth regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Loss of KIN10 reduces glucose‑induced inhibition of root elongation and triggers widespread transcriptional reprogramming of metabolic and hormonal pathways, notably affecting auxin and jasmonate signaling under sucrose supplementation. These findings highlight KIN10 as a central hub linking energy status to developmental and environmental cues in roots.