Genetius

The authors present PlantScience.ai, a virtual plant biology scientist built on an automated scientific knowledge graph construction pipeline (AutoSKG) that integrates continuous learning to stay current with plant science literature. The system combines large language model reasoning with citation-aware retrieval, enabling accurate, source‑traceable answers and interactive collaboration with human researchers.

The authors enhance existing embolism network models by incorporating a three-dimensional representation of intervessel pit membranes and introducing a susceptible-infected (SI) model for embolism propagation. After calibrating spreading probabilities, the SI model replicates vulnerability curves comparable to physiological models and empirical data, enabling embolism dynamics to be studied even without detailed physiological parameters. This framework interprets embolism spread as directed percolation, suggesting xylem failure results from network breakdown rather than sap loss.

The study assessed the stability of nine candidate reference genes for RT‑qPCR normalization in two energy‑cane genotypes with contrasting responses to smut disease, evaluating them across multiple infection time points and conditions using statistical tools such as RefFinder, GeNorm, and RankAggreg. GAPDH displayed high variability, emphasizing the necessity of genotype‑specific validation, and the selected stable genes enabled accurate quantification of ROS‑related defense genes, revealing distinct antioxidant responses between the resistant and susceptible genotypes.

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 authors present an optically transparent, mechanically tunable 3D granular growth matrix that mimics soil’s physical properties, enabling cellular‑level visualization of plant‑fungal interactions in a realistic environment. Using this platform, they observed hyphal reprogramming toward root tips and performed spatiotemporal transcriptomic profiling to identify distinct early signaling modules in both pathogen and host. The system integrates traditional molecular and physiological assays, offering a versatile tool for studying host immunity, pathogen adaptation, and drought‑disease resistance mechanisms.

The study investigates how cortical microtubule orientations are coordinated across tissues, testing the hypothesis that they sense mechanical stress. By quantifying microtubule behavior on different cell faces and edges, the authors find that tissue-level biases arise from cell‑geometric factors and edge‑specific mechanisms rather than direct stress sensing, and they develop a combinatorial model incorporating face‑specific and edge‑specific microtubule dynamics to explain the observed coordination.

The study uses second near-infrared (NIR‑II) fluorescence confocal microscopy to visualize chloroplast movement in intact leaves, revealing that submerged leaves of amphibious plants rapidly avoid red light, unlike aerial leaves. This demonstrates that chloroplast relocation can be fast and depth‑resilient, establishing NIR‑II confocal imaging as a powerful tool for observing subcellular dynamics in photosynthetic tissues.

The study generated deep proteome and phosphoproteome datasets from guard cell‑enriched tissue to examine how phosphorylation regulates stomatal movements. Comparative analysis revealed increased phosphorylation of endomembrane trafficking and vacuolar proteins in closed stomata, supporting a role for phospho‑regulated trafficking in stomatal dynamics.

The study identified twenty survival of SA-induced death (ssd) mutants that are defective in starch, glucose, nitrate metabolism, and circadian regulation, leading to excessive carbohydrate accumulation and susceptibility to salicylic acid (SA)-induced death in prolonged darkness. Glucose application rescues SA‑treated plants by antagonizing oxidative stress and restoring metabolic balance, as revealed by transcriptomic analyses that link SA‑induced cell death to effector‑triggered immunity pathways.

The study employed immunofluorescence labeling and fluorescence intensity quantification to examine tissue-specific cellular modifications in plants under drought stress, revealing targeted alterations in proteoglycans, polysaccharides, and AGPs in leaves and roots. These findings highlight the importance of in planta analyses for accurately capturing stress-induced structural changes.