Nature Plants最新文献

{"title":"The state of photosystem II reaction centres adjusts the rate of non-photochemical quenching","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02381-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02381-x","url":null,"abstract":"Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) in plants is thought to occur at a fixed quenching rate, and altering NPQ induction or relaxation is a common strategy for improving photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield. This study shows that in Arabidopsis thaliana the NPQ quenching rate is approximately 35% lower in the presence of the photosynthetic reactions than in their absence.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1432-1433"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752579","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":"Endophytic Flavobacterium promotes root hair development and enhances drought tolerance via an ERF–CEP5 hormonal regulatory module","authors":"Arezoo Rahimi, Sofia Stiegert, Omid Karami, Vladyslav Lysenko, Hugo A. Pantigoso, Guillermo Guerrero-Egido, Priyanka Chopra, Jefri Heyman, Aixia Huang, Guodong Wang, Connor Philippo, Tingting Zhu, Thijs Stegmann, Victoria Berdion Gabarain, Jingke Kang, Mitja Remus-Emsermann, Viola Willemsen, Nathaniel I. Martin, Lieven De Veylder, Ive De Smet, Marcel Wiermer, Jos M. Raaijmakers, José Manuel Estevez, Bernd Mueller-Roeber, Victor J. Carrión, Salma Balazadeh","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02350-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02350-4","url":null,"abstract":"Root hairs (RHs) are cellular outgrowths of plant root epidermal cells that are important for water uptake, nutrient acquisition and rhizosphere dynamics. Key genes controlling RH development have been identified, but the regulatory mechanisms of RH growth during drought stress remain largely elusive. Here we show that the bacterial root endophyte Flavobacterium sp. 98 (Flavo98) modulates root system architecture with a pronounced promotion of RH formation and cell elongation that is maintained under low-water conditions. We also show that Flavo98 improves plant performance under drought in diverse plant species, including Arabidopsis and wheat, and mitigates drought-associated seed yield loss. Using cellular, molecular and genetic analyses in Arabidopsis, we identified root stele-expressed ERF transcription factors, ERF115 and ERF114, as key mediators of Flavo98-induced RH development and plant drought responses. We show that both ERFs operate, in part, by inducing the expression of the small signalling peptide C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE 5 (CEP5). In addition, we present evidence for enhanced ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in Flavo98-induced ERF115 and ERF114 expression, revealing a new pathway that integrates ethylene signalling into RH regulation under drought. Together, our findings uncover a pathway that regulates RH growth as part of a broader, microorganism-dependent root system architecture plasticity under low-water conditions. This study highlights the potential of uncovering plant–microorganism mechanisms to strengthen crop resilience in a changing climate. Flavobacterium sp. 98 promotes root hair development and enhances plant drought tolerance via a novel signalling pathway, highlighting the role of plant–microorganism interactions for improving crop resilience under water limitation.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1543-1560"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02350-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148729008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A natural allele of TaSCE1-A1 confers drought resistance in wheat","authors":"Qun Yang, Zehui Liu, Danyang Zhao, Wei Chu, Jinpeng Li, Lingfeng Miao, Xingbei Liu, Chenji Zhang, Jingchen Lin, Debiao Liu, Lei Zhang, Xiao Peng, Xinran Wu, Wanghongan Jia, Mingming Xin, Yingyin Yao, Fengzhi Wang, Huiru Peng, Zhongfu Ni, Qixin Sun, Zhaorong Hu","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02370-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02370-0","url":null,"abstract":"Drought stress threatens global wheat productivity, yet the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying drought resilience remain incompletely understood. Here we identify TaSCE1-A1, which encodes a SUMO-conjugating enzyme, as a positive regulator of drought resistance through genome-wide association studies. In arid regions, an evolutionary G-to-A transition in the promoter confers elevated TaSCE1-A1 expression through disruption of TaBPC1-mediated transcriptional repression. Prime-edited and near-isogenic lines harbouring elite alleles show improved drought resilience, confirming its functional significance. Moreover, TaSCE1-A1 mediates SUMOylation of TaBAP1/2, thereby enhancing its protein stability, which in turn modulates the ABA pathway to facilitate stomatal closure under drought conditions. Evolutionarily, this adaptive allele originated in tetraploid wheat and underwent positive selection during hexaploid wheat domestication. Our findings reveal a drought resistance pathway shaped by evolutionary selection, offering molecular targets for breeding drought-resilient wheat varieties. A natural allele of the SUMO-conjugating enzyme SCE1-A1 enhances wheat drought resistance by improving water-use efficiency without compromising growth under normal conditions, providing a potential genetic resource for breeding drought-resistant wheat varieties.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1528-1542"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148728901","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":"Bottom-up reconstruction of synthetic pyrenoids provides insights into the mechanisms and evolution of carbon concentration by EPYC1 proteins","authors":"A. M. Küffner, B. Pommerenke, L. Kley, J. Z. Y. Ng, S. Prinz, M. Tinzl-Zechner, L. Schulz, P. Claus, N. Paczia, T. Chotel, M. Klose, J. Zarzycki, G. K. A. Hochberg, T. J. Erb","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02349-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02349-x","url":null,"abstract":"Membraneless organelles play essential roles in many cellular processes. In various photosynthetic organisms, they are a crucial part of CO2/carbon-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) that increase photosynthetic productivity. One example is the pyrenoid in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a liquid-phase-separated organelle that localizes and improves CO2 fixation via the intrinsically disordered protein essential pyrenoid component 1 (EPYC1CR). Modern-day pyrenoids are complex structures with an elaborate cellular architecture and dozens of components, raising the question of how they could have developed from simpler condensates. Here we develop a bottom-up approach to study the function of EPYC1s and explore their sequence–function space across phylogenetic diversity and evolution. We demonstrate that extant and ancestral EPYC1 sequences induce phase separation of Rubisco into synthetic pyrenoids with functional CCMs. Surprisingly, these CCMs are mainly based on enhanced carboxylation rates (rather than increased specificity), offering new insights into the construction, function and evolution of natural and synthetic pyrenoids. This study shows that the structural protein essential pyrenoid component 1 (EPYC1) and the enzyme Rubisco are sufficient to assemble into pyrenoid-like structures that are functionally active and show a basic carbon-concentrating activity.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1622-1636"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02349-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148728902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Going against gravity","authors":"Yujing Yan","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02393-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02393-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1421-1421"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148725185","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":"Population history rather than tree age contributes to the evolutionary importance of ancient trees in an endangered conifer","authors":"Wei-Ping Zhang, Chao Feng, Xi-Zuo Shi, Shou-Jie Li, Martin Lascoux, Ming Kang","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02367-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02367-9","url":null,"abstract":"Ancient trees are in global decline and face increasing conservation challenges. Their exceptional longevity has fostered the view that they are genetic reservoirs, yet whether old age is synonymous with unique genetic variation remains unclear. Here we assembled a ~8-Gb chromosome-level reference genome for the critically endangered conifer Glyptostrobus pensilis, now largely restricted to southern China with scattered populations in Vietnam and Laos, and resequenced 147 individuals, including 64 ancient (>100 years old and persisting in human-dominated landscapes), 33 wild and 50 recently cultivated individuals. Ancient individuals comprised both likely natural relics and historically introduced individuals and formed two deeply divergent lineages and one ancestral–admixed group, each with distinct demographic histories of prolonged contraction and genomic erosion. Lineage identity explained more variation in genome-wide diversity, inbreeding and genetic load than the three conservation types, despite broad differences in age structure. Rare-allele analyses revealed pronounced heterogeneity among ancient trees: only relic and ancestral-origin individuals from high-diversity lineages contributed substantial unique variation, much of which is poorly represented in wild and cultivated populations. Together, our findings suggest that ancient trees are not uniformly genetically irreplaceable and that, at least in this conifer, evolutionary importance is shaped more strongly by population history than by age alone. Genome analyses of the endangered conifer Glyptostrobus pensilis reveal that population history, rather than tree age, contributes more strongly to the evolutionary importance of ancient trees.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1455-1468"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02367-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148713227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Saxifraga confirmed carnivorous","authors":"Guillaume Tena","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02395-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02395-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1423-1423"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148713254","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":"Cambium needs no preprophase band","authors":"Raphael Trösch","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02392-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02392-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1422-1422"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148713186","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":"Narrow origin yet broad action","authors":"Jun Lyu","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02389-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02389-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1420-1420"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148707110","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":"A mechanistic framework for the recognition of chemically diverse brassinosteroids by BRI1-family receptor kinases","authors":"Alberto Caregnato, Houming Chen, Miroslav Kvasnica, Ulrich Hohmann, Jana Oklestkova, Karoll Ferrer, Larissa Broger, Ludwig A. Hothorn, Miroslav Strnad, Michael Hothorn","doi":"10.1038/s41477-026-02346-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-026-02346-0","url":null,"abstract":"Brassinosteroids (BRs) are chemically diverse plant steroid hormones produced via a branched biosynthetic pathway. The potent BR brassinolide is sensed by the membrane receptor kinase BRI1 and a SERK co-receptor, but the physiological functions of other abundant BRs remain to be characterized. Here we present quantitative binding kinetics for 4 Arabidopsis thaliana BR receptors and 15 BRs, which define the key chemical features required for high-affinity receptor binding, ligand positioning and co-receptor recognition. BRI1, BRL1 and BRL3 share overlapping ligand preferences, whereas BRL2 binds C28 BRs with moderate affinity. Structural analyses of BR-bound BRI1 and BRL3 ectodomains combined with extensive in vitro and in vivo mutagenesis studies reveal a high structural plasticity of the hormone-binding pocket. Functional assays using structure-based BR agonists and antagonists uncover that BR receptor–co-receptor signalling complexes can recognize chemically diverse BRs, introducing an additional, intriguing layer of BR signalling regulation. The ligand-binding spectrum of the four brassinosteroid receptors in the model plant Arabidopsis is investigated, revealing the key chemical features defining brassinosteroid bioactivity.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"12 8","pages":"1579-1595"},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02346-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148679608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}