Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-01904-2
Raphael Trösch
{"title":"A new m6A reader complex","authors":"Raphael Trösch","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-01904-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01904-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>N</i><sup>6</sup>-Methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A) is the most widespread modification of mRNA and is required to control mRNA stability and translation efficiency. In plants, its effect is mediated by m<sup>6</sup>A reader proteins such as EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED C-TERMINAL REGION (ECT) proteins. Marlene Reichel from the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues, find that the m<sup>6</sup>A binding and reader function of ECT2 in <i>Arabidopsis</i> requires proteins from the ACETYLATION LOWERS BINDING AFFINITY (ALBA) family, which suggests that these factors form an m<sup>6</sup>A reader complex.</p><p><i>Arabidopsis</i> encodes eleven ECTs; of these, ECT2 and ECT3 have the most important role in post-embryonic development, and ECT4 has a more minor contribution. The <i>ect2 ect3 ect4</i> (<i>ect2/3/4</i>) triple mutants display delayed organogenesis and aberrant morphology, including misshaped leaves, petals and siliques as well as increased trichome branching. These ECTs bind to m<sup>6</sup>A modifications in the 3′ untranslated region of mRNAs and recruit poly(A) binding proteins to enhance mRNA stability. However, the exact mode of mRNA binding of ECTs and whether other factors are involved was unclear.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"205 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01901-x
Sai-Xi Li, Yang Liu, Yan-Mei Zhang, Jian-Qun Chen, Zhu-Qing Shao
{"title":"Convergent reduction of immune receptor repertoires during plant adaptation to diverse special lifestyles and habitats","authors":"Sai-Xi Li, Yang Liu, Yan-Mei Zhang, Jian-Qun Chen, Zhu-Qing Shao","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01901-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01901-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plants deploy cell-surface pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and intracellular nucleotide-binding site–leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) to recognize pathogens. However, how plant immune receptor repertoires evolve in responding to changed pathogen burdens remains elusive. Here we reveal the convergent reduction of NLR repertoires in plants with diverse special lifestyles/habitats (SLHs) encountering low pathogen burdens. Furthermore, a parallel but milder reduction of PRR genes in SLH species was observed. The reduction of PRR and NLR genes was attributed to both increased gene loss and decreased gene duplication. Notably, pronounced loss of immune receptors was associated with the complete absence of signalling components from the enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) and the resistance to powdery mildew 8 (RPW8)-NLR (RNL) families. In addition, evolutionary pattern analysis suggested that the conserved toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR)-only proteins might function tightly with EDS1/RNL. Taken together, these results reveal the hierarchically adaptive evolution of the two-tiered immune receptor repertoires during plant adaptation to diverse SLHs.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"95 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01899-2
Jing Nie, Hongyu Huang, Sheng Wu, Tao Lin, Lidong Zhang, Lijun Lv, Yuzi Shi, Yicong Guo, Qian Zhang, Yuhe Li, Weiliang Kong, Hujian Li, Zhen Yang, Wenbo Li, Lingjun Xu, Nan Ma, Zhonghua Zhang, Chuanqing Sun, Xiaolei Sui
{"title":"Molecular regulation and domestication of parthenocarpy in cucumber","authors":"Jing Nie, Hongyu Huang, Sheng Wu, Tao Lin, Lidong Zhang, Lijun Lv, Yuzi Shi, Yicong Guo, Qian Zhang, Yuhe Li, Weiliang Kong, Hujian Li, Zhen Yang, Wenbo Li, Lingjun Xu, Nan Ma, Zhonghua Zhang, Chuanqing Sun, Xiaolei Sui","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01899-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01899-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Parthenocarpy is a pivotal trait that enhances the yield and quality of fruit crops by enabling the development of seedless fruits. Here we unveil a molecular framework for the regulation and domestication of parthenocarpy in cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i> L.). We previously discovered a natural non-parthenocarpic mutant and demonstrated that the AP2-like transcription factor NON-PARTHENOCARPIC FRUIT 1 (NPF1) is a central regulator of parthenocarpy through activating <i>YUC4</i> expression and promoting auxin biosynthesis in ovules. A Phe-to-Ser substitution at amino acid residue 7 results in a stable form of NPF1 that is localized in the nucleus. An A-to-G polymorphism (SNP-383) within an NPF1-binding site in the <i>YUC4</i> promoter significantly enhances the activation of NPF1 towards <i>YUC4</i>, leading to an increased rate of parthenocarpy. Additionally, NPF1 influences bitterness by reducing cucurbitacin C biosynthesis through the suppression of <i>Bt</i> expression. Our results suggest a two-step evolutionary model for parthenocarpy and fruit bitterness during cucumber domestication.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142981349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Precise deletion, replacement and inversion of large DNA fragments in plants using dual prime editing","authors":"Yidi Zhao, Zhengwei Huang, Ximeng Zhou, Wan Teng, Zehua Liu, Wenping Wang, Shengjia Tang, Ying Liu, Jing Liu, Wenxi Wang, Lingling Chai, Na Zhang, Weilong Guo, Jie Liu, Zhongfu Ni, Qixin Sun, Yanpeng Wang, Yuan Zong","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01898-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01898-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Precise manipulation of genome structural variations holds great potential for plant trait improvement and biological research. Here we present a genome-editing approach, dual prime editing (DualPE), that efficiently facilitates precise deletion, replacement and inversion of large DNA fragments in plants. In our experiments, DualPE enabled the production of specific genomic deletions ranging from ~500 bp to 2 Mb in wheat protoplasts and plants. DualPE was effective in directly replacing wheat genomic fragments of up to 258 kb with desired sequences in the absence of donor DNA. Additionally, DualPE allowed precise DNA inversions of up to 205.4 kb in wheat plants with efficiencies of up to 51.5%. DualPE also successfully edited large DNA fragments in the dicots <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> and tomato, with editing efficiencies of up to 72.7%. DualPE thus provides a precise and efficient approach for large DNA sequence and chromosomal engineering, expanding the availability of precision genome-editing tools for crop improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01900-y
{"title":"Tomato fruit ripening is modulated by redox modification of RNA demethylase","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01900-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01900-y","url":null,"abstract":"This study reveals that the RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase SlALKBH2 undergoes a reduction–oxidation (redox) modification in which hydrogen peroxide mediates the oxidation and the reductase SlNTRC catalyses the reduction. This redox modification affects SlALKBH2 protein stability, thereby modulating its physiological function in the regulation of normal ripening of tomato fruits.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Redox modification of m6A demethylase SlALKBH2 in tomato regulates fruit ripening","authors":"Leilei Zhou, Guangtong Gao, Renkun Tang, Jinying Liu, Yuying Wang, Zhenchang Liang, Shiping Tian, Guozheng Qin","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01893-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01893-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) functions as a critical signalling molecule in controlling multiple biological processes. How H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> signalling integrates with other regulatory pathways such as epigenetic modification to coordinately regulate plant development remains elusive. Here we report that SlALKBH2, an m<sup>6</sup>A demethylase required for normal ripening of tomato fruit, is sensitive to oxidative modification by H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, which leads to the formation of homodimers mediated by intermolecular disulfide bonds, and Cys39 serves as a key site in this process. The oxidation of SlALKBH2 promotes protein stability and facilitates its function towards the target transcripts including the pivotal ripening gene <i>SlDML2</i> encoding a DNA demethylase. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the thioredoxin reductase SlNTRC interacts with SlALKBH2 and catalyses its reduction, thereby modulating m<sup>6</sup>A levels and fruit ripening. Our study establishes a molecular link between H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and m<sup>6</sup>A methylation and highlights the importance of redox regulation of m<sup>6</sup>A modifiers in controlling fruit ripening.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01902-w
Yan Li, Bin Zhang, Songyao Zhang, Chui Eng Wong, Qiqi Liang, Shuai Pang, Yujin Wu, Ming Zhao, Hao Yu
{"title":"Pangeneric genome analyses reveal the evolution and diversity of the orchid genus Dendrobium","authors":"Yan Li, Bin Zhang, Songyao Zhang, Chui Eng Wong, Qiqi Liang, Shuai Pang, Yujin Wu, Ming Zhao, Hao Yu","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01902-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01902-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Orchids constitute one of the most diverse families of angiosperms, yet their genome evolution and diversity remain unclear. Here we construct and analyse chromosome-scale de novo assembled genomes of 17 representative accessions spanning 12 sections in <i>Dendrobium</i>, one of the largest orchid genera. These accessions represent a broad spectrum of phenotypes, lineages and geographical distributions. We first construct haplotype-resolved genomes for a <i>Dendrobium</i> hybrid and uncover haplotypic variations and allelic imbalance in the heterozygous genome, demonstrating the significance of diverse ancestry. At <i>Dendrobium</i> genus-wide scale, we further elucidate phylogenetic relationships, evolutionary dynamics, entire gene repertoire, and the mechanisms of preserving ancient genetic variants and rapid recent genome evolution for habitat adaption. We also showcase distinctive evolutionary trajectories in MADS-box and PEBP families over 28 Ma. These results considerably contribute to unearthing the mystery of orchid origin, evolution and diversification, laying the foundation for efficient use of genetic diversity in breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01894-7
Haoxuan Li, Guanqun Wang, Chang Ye, Zhongyu Zou, Bochen Jiang, Fan Yang, Kayla He, Chengwei Ju, Lisheng Zhang, Boyang Gao, Shun Liu, Yanming Chen, Jianhua Zhang, Chuan He
{"title":"Quantitative RNA pseudouridine maps reveal multilayered translation control through plant rRNA, tRNA and mRNA pseudouridylation","authors":"Haoxuan Li, Guanqun Wang, Chang Ye, Zhongyu Zou, Bochen Jiang, Fan Yang, Kayla He, Chengwei Ju, Lisheng Zhang, Boyang Gao, Shun Liu, Yanming Chen, Jianhua Zhang, Chuan He","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01894-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01894-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Pseudouridine (Ψ) is the most abundant RNA modification, yet studies of Ψ have been hindered by a lack of robust methods to profile comprehensive Ψ maps. Here we utilize bisulfite-induced deletion sequencing to generate transcriptome-wide Ψ maps at single-base resolution across various plant species. Integrating ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA and messenger RNA Ψ stoichiometry with mRNA abundance and polysome profiling data, we uncover a multilayered regulation of translation efficiency through Ψ modifications. rRNA pseudouridylation could globally control translation, although the effects vary at different rRNA Ψ sites. Ψ in the tRNA T-arm loop shows strong positive correlations between Ψ stoichiometry and the translation efficiency of their respective codons. We observed a general inverse correlation between Ψ level and mRNA stability, but a positive correlation with translation efficiency in <i>Arabidopsis</i> seedlings. In conclusion, our study provides critical resources for Ψ research in plants and proposes prevalent translation regulation through rRNA, tRNA and mRNA pseudouridylation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"82 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142936964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-06DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01891-w
Kaihuai Li, Yan Qiao, Huan Chen, Fengquan Liu
{"title":"Small molecules unlock broad-spectrum plant resistance","authors":"Kaihuai Li, Yan Qiao, Huan Chen, Fengquan Liu","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01891-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01891-w","url":null,"abstract":"Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain proteins possess NADase activity and trigger plant immunity via their enzymatic products. Two recent studies have elucidated the mechanism by which TIR NADase-derived 2′cADPR and pRib-AMP/ADP activate EDS1–PAD4–ADR1 (EPA) signalling, thereby inducing immune responses in plants.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"96 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142929421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature PlantsPub Date : 2025-01-03DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01892-9
Shipeng Li, Xuanhao Zhang, Haodong Huang, Mou Yin, Matthew A. Jenks, Dylan K. Kosma, Pingfang Yang, Xianpeng Yang, Huayan Zhao, Shiyou Lü
{"title":"Deciphering the core shunt mechanism in Arabidopsis cuticular wax biosynthesis and its role in plant environmental adaptation","authors":"Shipeng Li, Xuanhao Zhang, Haodong Huang, Mou Yin, Matthew A. Jenks, Dylan K. Kosma, Pingfang Yang, Xianpeng Yang, Huayan Zhao, Shiyou Lü","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01892-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01892-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plant cuticular waxes serve as highly responsive adaptations to variable environments<sup>1,2,3,4,5,6,7</sup>. Aliphatic waxes consist of very-long-chain (VLC) compounds produced from 1-alcohol- or alkane-forming pathways<sup>5,8</sup>. The existing variation in 1-alcohols and alkanes across <i>Arabidopsis</i> accessions revealed that 1-alcohol amounts are negatively correlated with aridity factors, whereas alkanes display the opposite behaviour. How carbon resources are allocated between the 1-alcohol and alkane pathways responding to environmental stimuli is still largely unknown. Here, in <i>Arabidopsis</i>, we report a novel 1-alcohol biosynthesis pathway in which VLC acyl-CoAs are first reduced to aldehydes by CER3 and then converted into 1-alcohols via a newly identified putative aldehyde reductase SOH1. CER3, previously shown to interact with CER1 in alkane synthesis, is identified to interact with SOH1 as well, channelling wax precursors into either alcohol- or alkane-forming pathways, and the directional shunting of these precursors is tightly regulated by the SOH1–CER3–CER1 module in response to environmental conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142917280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}