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 identifies the AP2/ERF transcription factor GEMMIFER (MpGMFR) as essential for asexual reproduction in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, showing that loss of MpGMFR via genome editing or amiRNA abolishes gemma and gemma cup formation, while dexamethasone‑induced activation triggers their development. Transient strong activation of MpGMFR initiates gemma initial cells at the meristem, which mature into functional gemmae, indicating MpGMFR is both necessary and sufficient for meristem‑derived asexual propagule formation.

The study introduces a hybrid modeling framework that integrates a logistic ordinary differential equation with a Long Short-Term Memory neural network to form a Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) for predicting wheat plant height. Using only time and temperature as inputs, the PINN outperformed other longitudinal growth models, achieving the lowest average RMSE and reduced variability across multiple random initializations. The results suggest that embedding biological growth constraints within data‑driven models can substantially improve prediction accuracy for plant traits.

The study identified the poplar homolog of Arabidopsis HDG11 and generated transgenic poplar hybrids overexpressing PtaHDG11. Constitutive expression conferred markedly improved drought tolerance, as evidenced by higher leaf water content, reduced oxidative damage, up‑regulation of antioxidant genes, and greater post‑stress biomass, while also causing a glabrous phenotype. These results highlight PtaHDG11 as a promising target for breeding drought‑resilient trees.

The study examined how elevated atmospheric CO₂ (550 ppm) affects immunity in the C₄ cereal maize (Zea mays L.) by exposing plants grown under ambient and elevated CO₂ to a range of pathogens. Elevated CO₂ increased susceptibility to sugarcane mosaic virus, decreased susceptibility to several bacterial and fungal pathogens, and left susceptibility to others unchanged, with reduced bacterial disease linked to heightened basal immune responses. These findings provide a baseline for future investigations into CO₂‑responsive defense mechanisms in C₄ crops.

The authors performed a genome-wide analysis of 53 CCCH zinc‑finger genes in pearl millet, identified seven stress‑responsive members and demonstrated that overexpressing PgC3H50 in Arabidopsis enhances drought and salt tolerance. They showed that the ABA‑responsive transcription factor PgAREB1 directly binds the PgC3H50 promoter, activating its expression, as confirmed by yeast one‑hybrid, dual‑luciferase and EMSA assays, defining a new PgAREB1‑PgC3H50 regulatory module.

The study characterizes the plant spliceosomal protein AtSF1 in Arabidopsis thaliana, using iCLIP and RNA‑seq to map its in vivo branch point binding sites and demonstrate that loss of AtSF1 causes widespread 3' splice‑site mis‑selection. Structural comparison reveals a plant‑specific domain architecture, and the identified AtSF1 targets are enriched for circadian and defense genes, linking splicing regulation to timing and immunity.

The study cloned the resistance genes Rmo2 and Rwt7 from barley and wheat, revealing them as orthologous tandem kinase proteins (TKPs) with an N‑terminal heavy metal‑associated (HMA) domain. Domain‑swapping experiments indicated that the HMA domain dictates effector specificity, supporting a model of TKP diversification into paralogs and orthologs that recognize distinct pathogen effectors.

Mutations in the plastid division gene PARC6 and the granule initiation gene BGC1 were combined to generate wheat plants with dramatically enlarged A-type starch granules, some exceeding 50 µm, without affecting plant growth, grain size, or overall starch content. The parc6 bgc1 double mutant was evaluated in both glasshouse and field trials, and the giant granules displayed altered viscosity and pasting temperature, offering novel functional properties for food and industrial applications.

The study identified 12 SABATH methyltransferase genes in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and demonstrated that MpSABATH2 is crucial for normal thallus growth and gemma cup formation. Loss‑of‑function mutants displayed developmental phenotypes reminiscent of far‑red light responses, which were linked to gibberellin metabolism and could be partially rescued by inhibiting GA biosynthesis or supplying the GA precursor ent‑kaurenoic acid. These findings suggest that SABATH enzymes independently evolved regulatory roles in land‑plant development.