Nature PlantsPub Date : 2024-10-04DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01799-5
Xiner Chen, Yuxiu Li, Man Liu, Gongli Ai, Xian Zhang, Jiafa Wang, Shujuan Tian, Li Yuan
{"title":"A sexually and vegetatively reproducible diploid seedless watermelon inducer via ClHAP2 mutation","authors":"Xiner Chen, Yuxiu Li, Man Liu, Gongli Ai, Xian Zhang, Jiafa Wang, Shujuan Tian, Li Yuan","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01799-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-024-01799-5","url":null,"abstract":"Seedless watermelon production relies on triploid cultivation or the application of plant growth regulators. However, challenges such as chromosomal imbalances in triploid varieties and concerns about food safety with growth regulator application impede progress. To tackle these challenges, we developed a sexually and vegetatively reproducible inducer line of diploid seedless watermelon by disrupting the double fertilization process. This innovative approach has enabled the successful induction of diploid seedless watermelon across diverse varieties. A study developed a universal seedless watermelon inducer line using CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out the HAP2 gene, simplifying the breeding process and addressing food safety concerns. This method may also apply to other crops such as cherries or grapes.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142374093","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 : 2024-10-04DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01821-w
Pengcheng Hu, Yanmei Xu, Yanhua Su, Yuxin Wang, Yan Xiong, Yong Ding
{"title":"Nuclear-localized pyruvate kinases control phosphorylation of histone H3 on threonine 11","authors":"Pengcheng Hu, Yanmei Xu, Yanhua Su, Yuxin Wang, Yan Xiong, Yong Ding","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01821-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01821-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Phosphorylation of histone H3 at threonine 11 (H3T11ph) affects transcription and chromosome stability. However, the enzymes responsible for depositing H3T11ph and the functions of H3T11ph in plants remain unknown. Here we report that in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, PYRUVATE KINASE 6 (PK6), PK7 and PK8 enter the nucleus under conditions of sufficient glucose and light exposure, where they interact with SWI2/SNF2-RELATED 1 COMPLEX 4 (SWC4) and phosphorylate H3 at threonine 11. Mutations in these kinases or knockdown of <i>SWC4</i> resulted in <i>FLC</i>-dependent early flowering, short hypocotyls and short pedicels. Genome-wide, H3T11ph is highly enriched at transcription start sites and transcription termination sites, and positively correlated with gene transcript levels. PK6 and SWC4 targeted <i>FLC</i>, <i>MYB73</i>, <i>PRE1</i>, <i>TCP4</i> and <i>TCP10</i>, depositing H3T11ph at these loci and promoting their transcription, and PK6 occupancy at these loci requires SWC4. Together, our results reveal that nuclear-localized PK6, PK7 and PK8 modulate H3T11ph and plant growth.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142374124","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 : 2024-10-04DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01814-9
Philippe Johann to Berens, Jackson Peter, Sandrine Koechler, Mathieu Bruggeman, Sébastien Staerck, Jean Molinier
{"title":"The histone demethylase JMJ27 acts during the UV-induced modulation of H3K9me2 landscape and facilitates photodamage repair","authors":"Philippe Johann to Berens, Jackson Peter, Sandrine Koechler, Mathieu Bruggeman, Sébastien Staerck, Jean Molinier","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01814-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01814-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plants have evolved sophisticated DNA repair mechanisms to cope with the deleterious effects of ultraviolet (UV)-induced DNA damage. Indeed, DNA repair pathways cooperate with epigenetic-related processes to efficiently maintain genome integrity. However, it remains to be deciphered how photodamages are recognized within different chromatin landscapes, especially in compacted genomic regions such as constitutive heterochromatin. Here we combined cytogenetics and epigenomics to identify that UV-C irradiation induces modulation of the main epigenetic mark found in constitutive heterochromatin, H3K9me2. We demonstrated that the histone demethylase, Jumonji27 (JMJ27), contributes to the UV-induced reduction of H3K9me2 content at chromocentres. In addition, we identified that JMJ27 forms a complex with the photodamage recognition factor, DNA Damage Binding protein 2 (DDB2), and that the fine-tuning of H3K9me2 contents orchestrates DDB2 dynamics on chromatin in response to UV-C exposure. Hence, this study uncovers the unexpected existence of an interplay between photodamage repair and H3K9me2 homeostasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142374252","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":"Plant PR1 rescues condensation of the plastid iron-sulfur protein by a fungal effector","authors":"Jingtao Li, Limei Yang, Shuzhi Ding, Mingming Gao, Yu Yan, Gang Yu, Yaning Zheng, Wenxing Liang","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01811-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01811-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plant pathogens secrete numerous effectors to promote host infection, but whether any of these toxic proteins undergoes phase separation to manipulate plant defence and how the host copes with this event remain elusive. Here we show that the effector FolSvp2, which is secreted from the fungal pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>lycopersici</i> (<i>Fol</i>), translocates a tomato iron-sulfur protein (SlISP) from plastids into effector condensates in planta via phase separation. Relocation of SlISP attenuates plant reactive oxygen species production and thus facilitates <i>Fol</i> invasion. The action of FolSvp2 also requires K205 acetylation that prevents ubiquitination-dependent degradation of this protein in both <i>Fol</i> and plant cells. However, tomato has evolved a defence protein, SlPR1. Apoplastic SlPR1 physically interacts with and inhibits FolSvp2 entry into host cells and, consequently, abolishes its deleterious effect. These findings reveal a previously unknown function of PR1 in countering a new mode of effector action.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142374123","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 : 2024-10-04DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01791-z
Sonia E. Evans, Yuan Xu, Matthew E. Bergman, Scott A. Ford, Yingxia Liu, Thomas D. Sharkey, Michael A. Phillips
{"title":"Rubisco supplies pyruvate for the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway","authors":"Sonia E. Evans, Yuan Xu, Matthew E. Bergman, Scott A. Ford, Yingxia Liu, Thomas D. Sharkey, Michael A. Phillips","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01791-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-024-01791-z","url":null,"abstract":"RIBULOSE-1,5-BISPHOSPHATE CARBOXYLASE/OXYGENASE (Rubisco) produces pyruvate in the chloroplast through β-elimination of the aci-carbanion intermediate1. Here we show that this side reaction supplies pyruvate for isoprenoid, fatty acid and branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis in photosynthetically active tissue. 13C labelling studies of intact Arabidopsis plants demonstrate that the total carbon commitment to pyruvate is too large for phosphoenolpyruvate to serve as a precursor. Low oxygen stimulates Rubisco carboxylase activity and increases pyruvate production and flux through the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, which supplies the precursors for plastidic isoprenoid biosynthesis2,3. Metabolome analysis of mutants defective in phosphoenolpyruvate or pyruvate import and biochemical characterization of isolated chloroplasts further support Rubisco as the main source of pyruvate in chloroplasts. Seedlings incorporated exogenous,13C-labelled pyruvate into MEP pathway intermediates, while adult plants did not, underscoring the developmental transition in pyruvate sourcing. Rubisco β-elimination leading to pyruvate constituted 0.7% of the product profile in in vitro assays, which translates to 2% of the total carbon leaving the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. These insights solve the “pyruvate paradox”4, improve the fit of metabolic models for central metabolism and connect the MEP pathway directly to carbon assimilation. As nature’s most important enzyme, Rubisco fixes carbon dioxide in the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. Its lesser-known side job is supplying pyruvate in the chloroplast, an observation that solves a long-standing paradox of central metabolism.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142374125","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 : 2024-10-03DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01804-x
Sebastian Pintscher, Rafał Pietras, Bohun Mielecki, Mateusz Szwalec, Anna Wójcik-Augustyn, Paulina Indyka, Michał Rawski, Łukasz Koziej, Marcin Jaciuk, Grzegorz Ważny, Sebastian Glatt, Artur Osyczka
{"title":"Molecular basis of plastoquinone reduction in plant cytochrome b6f","authors":"Sebastian Pintscher, Rafał Pietras, Bohun Mielecki, Mateusz Szwalec, Anna Wójcik-Augustyn, Paulina Indyka, Michał Rawski, Łukasz Koziej, Marcin Jaciuk, Grzegorz Ważny, Sebastian Glatt, Artur Osyczka","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01804-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01804-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A multi-subunit enzyme, cytochrome <i>b</i><sub>6</sub><i>f</i> (cyt<i>b</i><sub>6</sub><i>f</i>), provides the crucial link between photosystems I and II in the photosynthetic membranes of higher plants, transferring electrons between plastoquinone (PQ) and plastocyanin. The atomic structure of cyt<i>b</i><sub>6</sub><i>f</i> is known, but its detailed catalytic mechanism remains elusive. Here we present cryogenic electron microscopy structures of spinach cyt<i>b</i><sub>6</sub><i>f</i> at 1.9 Å and 2.2 Å resolution, revealing an unexpected orientation of the substrate PQ in the haem ligand niche that forms the PQ reduction site (Q<sub>n</sub>). PQ, unlike Q<sub>n</sub> inhibitors, is not in direct contact with the haem. Instead, a water molecule is coordinated by one of the carbonyl groups of PQ and can act as the immediate proton donor for PQ. In addition, we identify water channels that connect Q<sub>n</sub> with the aqueous exterior of the enzyme, suggesting that the binding of PQ in Q<sub>n</sub> displaces water through these channels. The structures confirm large movements of the head domain of the iron–sulfur protein (ISP-HD) towards and away from the plastoquinol oxidation site (Q<sub>p</sub>) and define the unique position of ISP-HD when a Q<sub>p</sub> inhibitor (2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropylbenzoquinone) is bound. This work identifies key conformational states of cyt<i>b</i><sub>6</sub><i>f</i>, highlights fundamental differences between substrates and inhibitors and proposes a quinone–water exchange mechanism.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142369347","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 : 2024-10-02DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01819-4
Jessica Orozco, Paula Guzmán-Delgado, Maciej A. Zwieniecki
{"title":"Megafire smoke exposure jeopardizes tree carbohydrate reserves and yield","authors":"Jessica Orozco, Paula Guzmán-Delgado, Maciej A. Zwieniecki","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01819-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01819-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The global incidence of megafires is on the rise, leading to extensive areas being shrouded in dense smoke for prolonged periods, spanning days or weeks<sup>1</sup>. Here, by integrating long-term regional observations of non-structural carbohydrate content in trees across California’s Central Valley with spatiotemporal satellite data, we present compelling evidence that dense smoke plumes negatively impact carbohydrate stores in three tree species: <i>Prunus dulcis</i>, <i>Pistacia vera</i> and <i>Juglans regia</i>. Our findings show that the presence of smoke causes a significant decrease in total non-structural carbohydrates, with reductions in the accumulation of both soluble sugar and starch reserves. This decline in carbohydrate levels persists through the trees’ dormancy period into the next season’s bloom, culminating in a reduced yield. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized wildfire threat that could affect plant health and ecosystem stability in both agricultural and natural environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142362737","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 : 2024-09-30DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01806-9
Claudia Martinho
{"title":"From RdDM to plant defence","authors":"Claudia Martinho","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01806-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-024-01806-9","url":null,"abstract":"Genetic analysis has shown that RNA polymerase V (Pol V) regulates plant defence independently of its known function in RNA-directed DNA methylation. These findings reveal a mechanism whereby Pol V transcripts regulate gene expression upon infection with pathogens.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330338","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 : 2024-09-27DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01795-9
Huaxun Ye, Mei Louden, Jon A. T. Reinders
{"title":"A novel in vivo genome editing doubled haploid system for Zea mays L.","authors":"Huaxun Ye, Mei Louden, Jon A. T. Reinders","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01795-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-024-01795-9","url":null,"abstract":"Doubled haploid (DH) technologies accelerate maize inbred development. Recently, methods using CRISPR–Cas have created gene-edited maize DH populations, albeit with relatively low editing frequencies. Restoring fertility via haploid chromosome doubling remains a critically important production constraint. Thus, improved editing and chromosome doubling outcomes are needed. Here we obtained maternally derived diploid embryos in vivo by ectopically co-expressing Zea mays BABY BOOM and cyclin D-like gene products within unfertilized egg cells. When combined with gene editing, the in vivo method enables the production of mature seed with a maternally derived, gene-edited diploid embryo without requiring in vitro tissue culture methods nor the use of a chemical chromosome doubling agent. In summary, we report a novel approach for creating gene-edited maize DH populations that we expect can accelerate genetic gain in a scalable, cost-effective manner. Ye et al. use a novel genetic haploid genome doubling method with parthenogenesis and gene editing to produce edited, maternally derived di-haploid progeny. A truncated BABY BOOM peptide confers both parthenogenesis and haploid genome doubling.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142325579","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 : 2024-09-27DOI: 10.1038/s41477-024-01807-8
Mathieu Raingeval, Basile Leduque, Pierre Baduel, Alejandro Edera, Fabrice Roux, Vincent Colot, Leandro Quadrana
{"title":"Retrotransposon-driven environmental regulation of FLC leads to adaptive response to herbicide","authors":"Mathieu Raingeval, Basile Leduque, Pierre Baduel, Alejandro Edera, Fabrice Roux, Vincent Colot, Leandro Quadrana","doi":"10.1038/s41477-024-01807-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01807-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The mobilization of transposable elements is a potent source of mutations. In plants, several stransposable elements respond to external cues, fuelling the hypothesis that natural transposition can create environmentally sensitive alleles for adaptation. Here we report on the detailed characterization of a retrotransposon insertion within the first intron of the <i>Arabidopsis</i> floral-repressor gene <i>FLOWERING LOCUS C</i> (<i>FLC</i>) and the discovery of its role for adaptation. The insertion mutation augments the environmental sensitivity of <i>FLC</i> by affecting the balance between coding and non-coding transcripts in response to stress, thus expediting flowering. This balance is modulated by DNA methylation and orchestrated by IBM2, a factor involved in the processing of intronic heterochromatic sequences. The stress-sensitive allele of <i>FLC</i> has spread across populations subjected to recurrent chemical weeding, and we show that retrotransposon-driven acceleration of the life cycle represents a rapid response to herbicide application. Our work provides a compelling example of a transposable element-driven environmentally sensitive allele that confers an adaptive response in nature.</p>","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142329015","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}