Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-09-01Epub Date: 2026-05-11DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.028
Hans-Henning Kunz, Thomas Nägele
{"title":"Integrating ionomes and metabolomes across organelles.","authors":"Hans-Henning Kunz, Thomas Nägele","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.028","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant metabolism is highly compartmentalized, sometimes even across organelles. Many participating enzymes are metalloproteins. Yet an integration of the metabolome and ionome is missing. Recently, nonaqueous fractionation (NAF) was adapted to decipher subcellular metal distributions. Because NAF is extensively used for subcellular metabolomics and proteomics, we petition to combine all these approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"1144-1146"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147875761","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-09-01Epub Date: 2026-04-22DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.005
Lucas Amokrane, Sébastien Aubourg, Eric Ruelland
{"title":"Misannotated domains in plant databases: lessons from 'PIPLC Y-box-containing' proteins.","authors":"Lucas Amokrane, Sébastien Aubourg, Eric Ruelland","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Automated protein annotation tools now scale rapidly, but many rely on partial matches to known protein domains and neglect structural or evolutionary context, risking misleading assignments. Using the annotation of 'phosphoinositide-dependent phospholipase C (PIPLC) Y-box-containing' proteins as a case study, we demonstrate how such errors arise, propagate across databases, and even contribute to the apparent emergence of artificial protein classes. Our analysis reveals that domain-based inference, without careful validation, can obscure true biological roles and distort genomic interpretations. To address this challenge, we propose a practical framework for context-aware annotation, integrating domain architecture, structural plausibility, and phylogenetic evidence. This approach offers researchers and database curators actionable strategies to improve annotation reliability in the era of high-throughput genomics.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"1177-1186"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147782077","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-09-01Epub Date: 2026-05-13DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.024
Qin Feng, Yuese Ning, Guo-Liang Wang
{"title":"Disrupting SnRK1β1A confers broad-spectrum resistance to fungal pathogens.","authors":"Qin Feng, Yuese Ning, Guo-Liang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rice is highly vulnerable to many fungal pathogens that cause major yield losses. Yuan et al. showed that a conserved effector from six fungi targets the susceptibility hub SnRK1β1A. Disrupting this gene confers broad-spectrum resistance, highlighting its potential as a genetic target for improving multipathogen disease resistance in rice.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"1141-1143"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147933574","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}
Javier Pichaco, Celia M Rodriguez-Dominguez, Antonio Diaz-Espejo
{"title":"Hydroactive stomata: a key innovation underpinning angiosperm ecological dominance.","authors":"Javier Pichaco, Celia M Rodriguez-Dominguez, Antonio Diaz-Espejo","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Angiosperms rose to ecological dominance through innovations that enhanced photosynthetic capacity and water-use efficiency. We propose that a pivotal, yet underappreciated, contributor was the hydroactive stomatal mechanism, an abscisic acid-mediated, metabolically driven control of guard-cell turgor. Unlike passive hydraulic responses to changes in water status, hydroactive regulation enables rapid, multisignal integration and minute-scale adjustment of stomatal aperture, synchronising carbon gain with hydraulic safety under fluctuating light, CO<sub>2</sub>, and evaporative demand. We argue that this water-status control module complemented other stomatal signalling pathways responsive to light, CO<sub>2</sub>, and metabolism, improving physiological coordination in dynamic environments. This perspective reframes stomata as decision-making nodes linking leaf anatomical evolution, physiological plasticity, and angiosperm diversification and offers a foundation for engineering climate-resilient crops under climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148763924","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}
Joe M Roberts, Angharad M R Gatehouse, Toby J A Bruce
{"title":"A new sustainability paradigm beyond the organic brand.","authors":"Joe M Roberts, Angharad M R Gatehouse, Toby J A Bruce","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Producing enough food to feed the world in an environmentally sustainable way represents a major challenge for humanity. It requires a bold paradigm that maximises options for the future. In contrast, organic farming has serious limitations, as it is based on an oversimplified assumption that natural substances are safe and artificial substances are unsafe. This approach severely constrains options for using synthetic inputs or new breeding techniques (NBTs) because they are perceived as 'unnatural'. In this opinion article, we encourage a more objective evaluation of the contribution of synthetic inputs and NBTs to sustainability. We argue that crop production per se is not a natural situation and that it is important to keep options open for the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148760173","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}
Usman Ijaz, Waqas Ud Din Khan, Lei Wang, Francisco J Corpas, Sergey Shabala, Mohsin Tanveer
{"title":"Hydrogen sulfide as a potential translational hub for crop salinity tolerance.","authors":"Usman Ijaz, Waqas Ud Din Khan, Lei Wang, Francisco J Corpas, Sergey Shabala, Mohsin Tanveer","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) is widely implicated in plants' adaptive responses to salinity, regulating processes ranging from ionic homeostasis to antioxidant defense and is often described as a central signaling hub due to its interaction with core signaling pathways, such as Ca<sup>2+</sup>, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and phytohormones. However, most evidence remains correlative and relies heavily on pharmacological interventions. This review critically examines the mechanistic gaps, causality, and specificity of H<sub>2</sub>S-mediated signaling in regulating salinity adaptive responses in plants. We argue that moving from phenomenological observations to causal mechanisms requires a strategic shift towards advanced genetic tools, in vivo dynamic imaging, synthetic biology, and systems-level interrogation. Addressing these challenges is essential to harness the translational potential of H<sub>2</sub>S signaling for improving crop resilience in saline environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148707827","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-08-01Epub Date: 2026-04-14DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.03.011
Yasser Nehela, Nabil Killiny
{"title":"Revisiting SA biosynthesis: new post-PAL route in plant immunity.","authors":"Yasser Nehela, Nabil Killiny","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.03.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.03.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Salicylic acid (SA), the active component of aspirin, is a crucial defense phytohormone that coordinates both local and systemic acquired resistance. For decades, SA biosynthesis was attributed to two pathways: (i) the isochorismate synthase pathway, which is dominant in arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and other Brassicaceae, and (ii) the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) pathway, common in most other plants. However, the PAL pathway remained biochemically incomplete due to the lack of a molecularly identified benzoic acid 2-hydroxylase. Recent findings fill this gap by identifying a conserved post-PAL route that converts trans-cinnamic acid to SA through benzoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) intermediates, spanning multiple subcellular compartments. This pathway explains pathogen-induced SA accumulation in non-Brassicaceae and establishes post-PAL metabolism as an ancestral, conserved mechanism underlying plant immunity.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"1073-1084"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147692393","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-08-01Epub Date: 2026-05-15DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.019
Nicholas Hassan, Shelly Braun, Richard P Fahlman, Richard Glen Uhrig
{"title":"New opportunities for BONCAT use in plants.","authors":"Nicholas Hassan, Shelly Braun, Richard P Fahlman, Richard Glen Uhrig","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) bridges the RNA-informed translatome and proteome by isolating newly synthesized proteins. Recent implementation in plants has demonstrated the potential of BONCAT experimentation, which still lags behind its utilization in other fields. In this forum, current and potential future uses of BONCAT in plants are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"989-991"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147949665","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-08-01Epub Date: 2026-04-23DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.001
Ibtissam Jabre, Waqas Khokhar, Anireddy S N Reddy, Cornelia Wilson, Naeem H Syed
{"title":"Alternative splicing in plants: emerging order from chaos.","authors":"Ibtissam Jabre, Waqas Khokhar, Anireddy S N Reddy, Cornelia Wilson, Naeem H Syed","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Alternative splicing (AS) is a key evolutionary innovation that adds a regulatory layer to gene expression. Being predominantly co-transcriptional, AS is influenced by chromatin state, enabling appropriate and repeatable gene expression patterns under stress or adaptive conditions. Chromatin state may influence early co-transcriptional steps of AS, potentially modulating gene expression patterns during environmental or adaptive responses. Recent evidence shows that AS not only modulates gene expression but can also increase protein diversity under specific conditions. To fully understand its roles in regulation, diversification, and evolution, research must move beyond condition-specific studies to population-level analyses. Comparing relict (survivors from glacial refugia) and global arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) populations for transcript isoform and protein diversity could reveal how AS contributes to stress tolerance and adaptation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"1014-1029"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147782126","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}
Trends in Plant SciencePub Date : 2026-08-01Epub Date: 2026-05-12DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.023
Muhammad Waqas, Chen Yaning, Jason C White, Gabriele Berg, Christoph-Martin Geilfus
{"title":"Nano-selenium coordinates plant-microbiome redox for sustainable crops.","authors":"Muhammad Waqas, Chen Yaning, Jason C White, Gabriele Berg, Christoph-Martin Geilfus","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.04.023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Foliar selenium nanomaterials act as redox-active coordinators linking photosynthesis, root carbon allocation, and rhizosphere microbiomes. By enhancing photosynthesis, nitrogen cycling, and microbial function, they improve 'nitrogen use efficiency, crop quality, profitability, and greenhouse gas mitigation' under reduced fertilizer inputs. This framework highlights nano-enabled pathways toward sustainable agriculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":"996-1000"},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147933621","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}