Genetius

The study discovered that jasmonates and strigolactones synergistically trigger seed germination in the root parasitic plants Orobanche minor and Striga hermonthica by cooperatively activating multiple divergent KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 receptors. Biochemical analyses revealed the combined action on these promiscuous receptors, offering a potential new suicidal germination strategy for crop protection.

The study surveyed diverse cyanobacterial lineages to evaluate in vivo carbon‑acquisition pathways and CO₂‑concentrating mechanism (CCM) performance, and conducted in vitro biochemical assays of Rubisco kinetic parameters and carbon isotope fractionation. It revealed lineage‑specific Rubisco kinetic differences but a common pattern of high turnover and low CO₂ affinity, linked to powerful CCMs, and found a positive correlation between Rubisco isotope fractionation and CO₂/O₂ specificity.

The study compiled a comprehensive occurrence database for Caatinga s.l. bryophytes by integrating field surveys, herbarium records, and literature, revealing 627 taxa with high richness especially in ecotones and significant beta diversity driven by species turnover. Conservation analysis showed that most taxa are recorded within Protected Areas, but sampling bias suggests overestimation of in‑situ protection, highlighting the need for broader systematic sampling and stronger conservation policies.

The study identified loss-of-function mutations in the WOX1 transcription factor as responsible for the prickleless phenotype in blackberry and red raspberry, mapping the S locus through genome-wide association, bulked segregant, and identity‑by‑descent analyses. Gene editing of WOX1 in a commercial prickled blackberry line produced prickleless plants without affecting other traits, demonstrating WOX1 as a precise target for breeding.

The review discusses how floral homeotic MADS-box transcription factors, traditionally seen as early organ identity specifiers, continue to be expressed with cell type‑specific patterns throughout flower development, especially B‑class genes showing distal enrichment in petals. It highlights spatial and temporal expression trends, examines specific literature examples of late functions, and considers molecular mechanisms that enable these transcription factors to acquire distinct roles in different cell types.

The study investigates the evolutionary history of the RAR1‑SGT1 chaperone interaction across land plants, uncovering a lineage‑specific divergence in vascular non‑seed ferns that prevents cross‑lineage binding. Through ancestral state reconstruction and mutagenesis, the authors pinpoint a single residue in RAR1 and three in SGT1 that govern binding specificity, revealing a stepwise co‑evolution from a promiscuous intermediate to a locked‑in interface.

The study reveals that barley and wheat tandem kinase proteins (TKPs) Rmo2 and Rwt7 detect distinct blast fungus effectors through integrated HMA domains, employing different protein interfaces with nanomolar affinity. Structural analysis identified key interface residues that govern effector recognition, enabling the engineering of TKPs with dual specificity, thereby demonstrating the programmability of HMA domains for crop disease resistance.

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.

The study cloned ACR3 genes from diverse algae, moss, gymnosperm, and fern species, expressed them heterologously in budding yeast, and demonstrated that they function as arsenic efflux transporters conferring varying arsenite and arsenate resistance. Subcellular localization analyses revealed that some ACR3 proteins are constitutively plasma‑membrane localized, while others undergo metalloid‑induced ER‑to‑plasma‑membrane trafficking, a process dependent on their elongated N‑terminal domains, as shown using MpACR3.

The study compared Indian and Spanish isolates of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) in tomato and Nicotiana benthamiana, showing that the Indian DNA-B component is essential for systemic spread of the Indian DNA-A in tomato, while the Spanish isolate requires coat protein for efficient movement in N. benthamiana. Pseudo‑recombinant experiments revealed component compatibility differences, and a DsRed‑tagged ΔCP mutant demonstrated the necessity of the coat protein for systemic infection despite the presence of movement functions encoded by DNA‑B.