Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag207
Julia Walter,Dhruv Patel-Tupper,Lam Lam,Alexa Ma,Georgia Taylor,Alistair Leverett,Graham R Fleming,Krishna K Niyogi,Johannes Kromdijk
{"title":"CP26 is not involved in qE- or qZ-type non-photochemical quenching in Arabidopsis.","authors":"Julia Walter,Dhruv Patel-Tupper,Lam Lam,Alexa Ma,Georgia Taylor,Alistair Leverett,Graham R Fleming,Krishna K Niyogi,Johannes Kromdijk","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag207","url":null,"abstract":"CP26 is a monomeric minor light-harvesting complex of Photosystem II (LHCII) protein located at the interface between LHCII trimers and the PSII core in thylakoid membranes. Previous studies have proposed CP26 plays a role in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) in addition to light harvesting. Here, we utilized biophysical and pharmacological approaches to investigate this role using single- and higher-order Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cp26 mutants, examining its relationship to known NPQ regulators (Photosystem II subunit S, PsbS, violaxanthin de-epoxidase, VDE, and the pH gradient across the thylakoid membrane). cp26 mutants showed significantly reduced maximum PSII quantum efficiencies (Fv/Fm) in darkness, indicating a constitutively quenched state further confirmed by fluorescence lifetime measurements. Destabilized PSII-LHCII supercomplexes observed in native gel electrophoresis and tighter PSII supercomplex packing were potential causes, with no other antenna proteins capable of rescuing this phenotype. In addition, the cp26 mutants exhibited altered NPQ capacity-modest in single mutants but substantial in double mutants-independent of PsbS and VDE. Together, these results show that CP26 is not involved in qE or qZ but may primarily play an indirect role in apparent NPQ responses via PSII-LHCII supercomplex organization.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147695080","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag224
Anna Santin,Eleonora Mezzadrelli,Giorgio Perin,Tomas Morosinotto
{"title":"Structure and regulation of violaxanthin de-epoxidase, a key enzyme in the photoprotection of photosynthesis.","authors":"Anna Santin,Eleonora Mezzadrelli,Giorgio Perin,Tomas Morosinotto","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag224","url":null,"abstract":"The xanthophyll cycle is a set of light dependent reactions that regulate the conversion of violaxanthin into zeaxanthin, representing a key mechanism in the regulation of photosynthesis and the response to excess light in eukaryotes. Optimisation of zeaxanthin accumulation has also been identified as a promising target for increasing photosynthetic productivity in crops, balancing the trade-off between photoprotection and photosynthetic efficiency. The activation of the xanthophyll cycle depends on violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE), the enzyme that catalyses the conversion of violaxanthin into zeaxanthin, activated under conditions of light excess. Photosynthetic eukaryote genomes contain other genes with similarity to VDE, called VDL and VDR, that show conserved structural properties but have different biological roles. The available knowledge on VDE structure and catalytic mechanism is reviewed here, including the identification of key amino acids involved in the catalytic mechanisms and conformational changes during protein activation. VDE activity is also shown to be modulated by multiple mechanisms, such as transcriptional control, redox sensitivity, and pH-dependence. All these regulatory mechanisms have an essential role in modulating VDE protein activity in vivo, and their impact should be considered in efforts to optimize photosynthetic productivity.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147695197","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":"Alternative splicing is associated with tissue differentiation, subgenome divergence, and agronomic trait regulation in hexaploid wheat","authors":"Hongyong Dai, Pingchuan Deng, Kai Wang, Baolian Lv, Zhe Yang, Chuizheng Kong, Zhencheng Xie, Jizeng Jia, Chuan Xia, Fei Du, Xu Liu, Xiuying Kong, Lichao Zhang","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag211","url":null,"abstract":"Alternative splicing (AS) is a crucial post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism that enhances transcript and proteome diversity. However, AS in common wheat (Triticum aestivum) remains understudied due to the large and complex genome of this crop. Full-length transcriptome sequencing, which provides long, high-quality reads, offers a powerful tool for analyzing AS in wheat. In this study, we used the PacBio Sequel platform to sequence full-length transcripts from five wheat tissues (root, stem, leaf, spike, and grain) of the cultivar Aikang58 (AK58). We identified 560,631 isoforms from 86,073 genes, with 76.7% of genes producing multiple isoforms and 45.34% undergoing AS events (ASEs). Tissue-specific analysis revealed differences in the number and function of AS genes (ASGs), underscoring the potential role of AS in tissue differentiation. A comparison across the three wheat subgenomes showed similar numbers of ASGs and ASEs but distinct functional patterns, suggesting that AS is involved in subgenomic divergence. We also examined AS in genes linked to key agronomic traits, demonstrating association with trait regulation. These findings enhance our understanding of the adaptability and post-transcriptional gene regulation in wheat, offering insights for future research and breeding efforts.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147684726","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag220
Fatema Alquraish,Israel Maruri-López,Marcin Luzarowski,Itzell E Hernández-Sánchez,Monika Chodasiewicz
{"title":"Chloroplastic protein PORC undergoes heat-induced condensation and enhances thermotolerance in Arabidopsis.","authors":"Fatema Alquraish,Israel Maruri-López,Marcin Luzarowski,Itzell E Hernández-Sánchez,Monika Chodasiewicz","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag220","url":null,"abstract":"Chloroplast stress granules (cpSGs) are emerging as dynamic suborganellar condensates that play a crucial role in mediating stress response in plants. In this study, we demonstrate that the chlorophyll biosynthesis enzyme PROTOCHLOROPHYLLIDE OXIDOREDUCTASE C (PORC) localizes to cpSGs in response to acute and prolonged heat stress in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). While PORC promoter activity was developmentally regulated and remained unresponsive to heat, PORC protein re-localized from a diffuse chloroplast distribution into punctate structures under elevated temperatures. This condensation was reversible, translation-dependent, and absent under optimal growth conditions. Genetic disruption of PORC resulted in compromised thermotolerance, whereas overexpression enhanced photosynthetic recovery following both acute (42°C) and prolonged (35°C) heat stress. High-throughput phenotyping and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging confirmed enhanced Photosystem II (PSII) efficiency and increased post-stress growth rate. Proteomic profiling of heat-induced PORC-cpSGs revealed functional enrichment of photosystem I/II components, proteases (e.g., FtsH), and proteins involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis and photoprotection, suggesting a stress-protective role of cpSG under heat. These findings establish PORC as a key player in the chloroplast stress response, implicating cpSGs as protective hubs that facilitate the maintenance of photosynthetic integrity under elevated temperatures. Our study provides insight into chloroplast-specific biomolecular condensates, enhancing our understanding of plant stress resilience and paving the way for future studies on the regulation of their dynamics. Additionally, it highlights how components such as PORC could be utilized to develop heat-tolerant crops.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"440 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147695081","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-15DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag213
Hannah Rae Thomas
{"title":"Sticking together: A chitinase-like gene involved in cell wall remodeling is required for avocado graft compatibility.","authors":"Hannah Rae Thomas","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag213","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147684822","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag208
Peng Wu, Wenjing Ling, Chenyan Qu, Yuan Sun, Ailian Liu, Zhuo Liu, Tianyu Wang, Yuerui Fang, Zou Jinping, Shuping Zhao, Kai Feng, Xiaoming Song, Liangjun Li
{"title":"Multi-omics analysis reveals regulation of rhizome swelling in Nelumbo nucifera","authors":"Peng Wu, Wenjing Ling, Chenyan Qu, Yuan Sun, Ailian Liu, Zhuo Liu, Tianyu Wang, Yuerui Fang, Zou Jinping, Shuping Zhao, Kai Feng, Xiaoming Song, Liangjun Li","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag208","url":null,"abstract":"The swelling of crop storage organs is an important agronomic trait with high economic value. However, the signals influencing storage organ swelling are not fully understood. Here, we assembled a high-quality genome of the rhizome-type Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.), comprising 759 Mb with 99.98% of sequences anchored to 8 chromosomes. Comparative genome analyses revealed conserved synteny with the China Antique Asian lotus and identified 64,886 structural variants. We observed physiological changes during development of the lotus rhizome from the major stolon to the swelling phase. The swelling transition stage was identified as a critical period for initiation of rhizome swelling. Global DNA methylation increased during the rhizome swelling process, mainly due to increased CHH methylation; this correlated with decreased expression of DNA demethylase genes. Large-scale time-series analysis of transcriptome dynamics revealed that differentially methylated genes and differentially expressed genes associated with plant hormone signal transduction and the metabolic processes of sucrose and starch are closely related to rhizome swelling. We analyzed expression patterns and co-expressed modules specific to the stolon to swelling stages and found the auxin pathway to be particularly active during the transition stage. Auxin response factor (ARF) transcription factors were identified as core regulators of the network during the transition stage. Furthermore, the experiments showed that auxin elicits interactions between NnARF2 and Sucrose Transporter1/2 (NnSUT1/2), Starch Synthase1 (NnSS1), and NnARF12 interacts with Starch Branching Enzyme II (NnSBEII) to directly activate source–sink synergy-mediated starch accumulation and increase yield. In conclusion, our findings provide insight into the effects of DNA methylation and auxin on swelling and source–sink sucrose transport regulation.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147666483","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag199
Linying Li, Zelong Xu, Yuqing He, Yao Zhao, Xueying Zhang, Chi Zhang, Chunlan Peng, YiYi Hong, Lanlan Wang, Xijiao Song, Gaojie Hong
{"title":"OsPHR2 and OsMYC2 coordinate phosphate starvation-induced sakuranetin biosynthesis for enhanced rice blast resistance","authors":"Linying Li, Zelong Xu, Yuqing He, Yao Zhao, Xueying Zhang, Chi Zhang, Chunlan Peng, YiYi Hong, Lanlan Wang, Xijiao Song, Gaojie Hong","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag199","url":null,"abstract":"How plants integrate nutrient availability with immune defense remains incompletely understood. This study reveals a molecular mechanism by which rice (Oryza sativa) enhances disease resistance under inorganic phosphate (Pi)-limited conditions through the regulation of sakuranetin biosynthesis. We observed that the Osnomt mutant exhibits reduced sakuranetin levels and compromised disease resistance under Pi deficiency. Further investigations revealed that the Pi signaling regulator OsPHR2 directly binds to the P1BS element in the OsNOMT promoter, activating its expression and promoting sakuranetin production and disease resistance. Genetic analyses demonstrated the synergistic regulatory roles of OsPHR2 and OsMYC2 in controlling OsNOMT expression. Notably, OsMYC2 and its target genes exhibited expression patterns consistent with OsNOMT across developmental stages, while OsPHR2 specifically responded to Pi deficiency, underscoring their unique functions in regulating sakuranetin-mediated resistance under diverse environmental conditions. Additionally, the Pi-sensing protein OsSPX1 negatively regulated sakuranetin biosynthesis and rice resistance by inhibiting OsPHR2-mediated transcriptional activation of OsNOMT. Consequently, under Pi-sufficient conditions, OsSPX1 synergizes with OsBZR1 to further modulate this process. In contrast, Pi-deficient conditions trigger the dissociation of OsPHR2 from the OsSPX1-OsPHR2 complex, thereby activating the biosynthetic pathway and leading to sakuranetin accumulation and enhanced disease resistance. This study elucidates a precise molecular network that coordinates nutrient signaling with immune defense, providing insights for improving crop resistance under nutrient-limited conditions.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147666485","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}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiag204
Alice Gauthey
{"title":"Beyond P50,a better way to predict tree mortality.","authors":"Alice Gauthey","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag204","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147667083","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":"Dual-role effector Bgt5481 from Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici induces plant immunity and contributes to virulence.","authors":"Baoyu Huai,Xiaozhu Fan,Zhiyuan Yuan,Ruxue Xie,Yan Sun,Yan Niu,Defu Rui,Yanjia Wang,Hang Zheng,Ning Hao,Qian Yang,Yuemin Pan","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag185","url":null,"abstract":"Wheat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a destructive fungal disease posing a serious threat to global wheat production. The function of effectors in Bgt remains mostly undiscovered. Here, we identified an effector, Bgt5481, from Bgt that triggers cell death in multiple plants. Bgt5481 homologs are widely distributed across fungi. Bgt5481-triggered cell death occurred independently of NbBAK1, NbSOBIR1, NbSGT1 and NbCERK1. Purified Bgt5481 protein activated the ROS burst and upregulation of defense-related genes in the non-host Nicotiana benthamiana but not in wheat. Additionally, silencing Bgt5481 expression by virus-mediated host-induced gene silencing system significantly attenuated the pathogenicity of Bgt, while transient overexpression of Bgt5481ΔSP by a four-component BSMV-based system suppressed the immune response in wheat to Bgt. Overall, our data show that the Bgt5481 effector from Bgt can function as a PAMP to induce the plant immune response in a non-host but contributes to Bgt virulence in wheat.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147666487","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":"Interacting with GUN1 and MORF2, SL1 modulates plastid RNA editing during norflurazon-induced retrograde signaling.","authors":"Yuhan Liu,Yutong Zheng,Deyuan Jiang,Yafei Shi,Kaixiang He,Xiangsheng Ke,Yetao Wang,Xinlian Liu,Xin Hou","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiag205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiag205","url":null,"abstract":"Chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signaling and plastid RNA editing are both essential for chloroplast biogenesis and plant development, but the underlying mechanism linking these two processes remains unclear. Here, we identify the mitochondrial transcription termination factor mTERF3/Seedling Lethal 1 (SL1), previously characterized as a plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP)-associated protein, as a key regulator connecting RNA editing to retrograde signaling. SL1 directly interacts with GUN1 and MORF2 and is indispensable for 31 out of 34 plastid RNA editing sites in Arabidopsis. Loss of SL1 function results in a strong genome uncoupled (gun) molecular phenotype under norflurazon (NF) treatment, accompanied by defective RNA editing and complete loss of the NDH complex. Mechanistically, SL1 assembles the editosome by recruiting canonical and atypical PPR-DYW proteins (CRR28, RARE1, DYW1, and DYW2) together with multiple non-PPR editing factors, while its strong affinity to MORF2 ensures appropriate editosome stoichiometry. SL1 also colocalizes with the PEP complex, suggesting a physical coupling between transcription and RNA editing in plastid nucleoids. Furthermore, SL1 modulates RNA editing profiles and regulates GLK1/2 expression during NF-induced retrograde signaling. Our findings expand the functional repertoire of mTERF proteins and uncover a molecular mechanism that connects RNA editing with retrograde signaling through SL1.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147695083","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}