Francisco Dini-Andreote, Maria Julia de Lima Brossi
{"title":"Predicting plant microbiomes through complexity.","authors":"Francisco Dini-Andreote, Maria Julia de Lima Brossi","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predicting how microbiota composition determines functional outputs remains a major challenge in rhizosphere ecology. Moran et al. show that physiological or environmental constraints organize high-diversity communities along dominant ecological axes, allowing microbiome functioning to become increasingly predictable. This perspective suggests that rhizosphere complexity itself may generate a predictable ecological organization.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148550666","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}
Roy Sadeh, Roi Ben David, Ittai Herrmann, Zvi Peleg
{"title":"Confronting the phenomics scale gap in field crop breeding.","authors":"Roy Sadeh, Roi Ben David, Ittai Herrmann, Zvi Peleg","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) has advanced rapidly in recent decades, driven by technological developments across research and agricultural frameworks. Despite its success in measuring traits, it remains underutilized in field crop breeding programs. While the most critical and labor-intensive selection is conducted on heterozygous single plants or small plots at early stages, most phenotyping research focuses on stable genotypes grown in large plots. Here, we reconsider how HTP can be effectively integrated into breeding by accounting for methodologies, scale-related constraints, and technological limitations. Our focus remains on self-pollinated field crops, the predominant global food source. In light of climate change and food security needs, improving the integration of breeding and phenomics can accelerate genetic and technological advances in developing elite varieties.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537023","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}
Kieu Thi Xuan Vo, Xuewen Li, Min Yu, Enrico Martinoia, Tobias Kretzschmar
{"title":"The knowns and unknowns of strigolactone transport.","authors":"Kieu Thi Xuan Vo, Xuewen Li, Min Yu, Enrico Martinoia, Tobias Kretzschmar","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phytohormones are predominantly produced in tissues that are spatially separated from their perceptive target tissues. Consequently, short- and long-distance phytohormone movement is a prerequisite for their function, and the underpinning transport mechanisms are crucial for phytohormone action. Strigolactones (SLs) are the most recently identified class of phytohormones. While SL synthesis and signaling pathways are well established, knowledge of active SL transport is scarce, limiting a system-level understanding of SL mechanisms and functions. Following the characterization of several SL transporters in the context of crop protection for two crops of global importance, we review our current knowledge on SL transport and highlight critical knowledge gaps with the aim of providing a conceptual framework for future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148472649","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}
Eva Vandenbroucke-Menu, Nicolas Papon, Vincent Courdavault
{"title":"A long-standing nicotine mystery.","authors":"Eva Vandenbroucke-Menu, Nicolas Papon, Vincent Courdavault","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The process by which plants synthesize the insecticidal compound nicotine remained unexpectedly elusive for many decades. In a new report, Chang et al. shed light on a five-component metabolon that catalyzes the final steps of the nicotine biosynthetic pathway, offering promising prospects for engineering plant resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148456985","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":"The contribution and responses of mosses to the global carbon cycle.","authors":"Boominathan Mohanasundaram, Sona Pandey","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The colonization of land by plants reshaped the global carbon cycle, with distinct functional contributions from different lineages. Mosses, a diverse group of nonvascular plants, inhabit environments ranging from arid rock surfaces to high-latitude peatlands and possess traits that strongly influence the global carbon cycle. Although small in stature, mosses frequently dominate primary production at higher latitudes and contribute to long-term carbon storage in peatland and tundra ecosystems. Emerging evidence indicates that moss physiological responses to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> and changing climate conditions may alter ecosystem carbon balance in ways not currently captured by Earth system models. This review discusses the moss lifestyle, their historical and current influence on the carbon cycle, and their responses to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148457003","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}
Chen Ma, Jiahua Gu, Yi Kuang, Danuse Tarkowska, Qinhua Gan, Yandu Lu
{"title":"Evolutionary origin of abscisic acid beyond land plants.","authors":"Chen Ma, Jiahua Gu, Yi Kuang, Danuse Tarkowska, Qinhua Gan, Yandu Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Abscisic acid (ABA) is a central regulator of plant stress responses and development, but its evolutionary history extends far beyond terrestrial plants (Embryophyta). Emerging phylogenomic evidence reveals that the plastidial ABA biosynthetic pathway originates from cyanobacteria-indicating that plastid-based ABA production predates terrestrialization. In contrast, the signaling framework evolved through stepwise modular innovations. The protein phosphate 2C-sucrose non-fermenting 1-related protein kinase2 core is ancient, whereas the canonical ABA-binding capacity of pyrabactin resistance/pyrabactin resistance 1-like/regulatory component of ABA receptors emerged during the evolution of land plants (Embryophyta) from ancestral Zygnematophyceae algae, with further refinement in angiosperms. By integrating noncanonical receptors, such as chloroplast Mg-chelatase H, we propose a continuous evolutionary trajectory of ABA from prokaryotes to embryophytes, highlighting how receptor innovation facilitated the transition to a terrestrial lifestyle.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148456935","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":"Click Breeding: Toward programmable crop design.","authors":"Binbin Dai, Yifu Tian, Jingyi Chai, Fenyi Liu, Siheng Chen, Kexuan Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breeding for complex traits is constrained by limited predictive accuracy and transferability, particularly when nonadditive genetic effects and genotype-by-environment interactions dominate performance. In this review, we propose 'Click Breeding', a design-driven paradigm that shifts emphasis from ranking individual candidates to generating and stress-testing entire multigenerational breeding programs. In this framework, objectives and constraints are encoded as machine-readable plans; candidate strategies are evaluated via simulations that integrate genetics, physiology, and environment; and selected designs become traceable experimental workflows with governance checkpoints. Click Breeding connects genomic prediction, crop modeling, and laboratory automation into a coherent, auditable design cycle that complements the breeder's judgment. We discuss conceptual foundations, assess technology maturity, and identify biological, computational, and regulatory challenges to making programmable crop design operational.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148438005","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":"Invertebrate endozoochory: An overlooked pathway of seed dispersal.","authors":"Si-Chong Chen, Gao Chen, Guillaume Chomicki, Kenji Suetsugu","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seed dispersal is a key process in plant regeneration and persistence. While vertebrates such as birds and mammals are widely recognised as endozoochores, a growing body of evidence reveals that invertebrates also contribute meaningfully to seed dispersal through ingestion and defaecation. This review extends the prevailing vertebrate-centred paradigm, arguing that invertebrate gut passage is a recurrent, testable, and ecologically meaningful process. We synthesise current findings on invertebrate-mediated endozoochory across arthropods, gastropods, and other groups, highlighting their effectiveness, ecological relevance, and overlooked roles in shaping plant recruitment, especially in insular or fragmented systems. We adapt the seed dispersal effectiveness framework to invertebrate-mediated dispersal, identify key knowledge gaps, and call for systematic integration of invertebrates into seed-dispersal research and conservation planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148424380","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":"Expanded threshold of plant immunity by beneficial microbes.","authors":"Yu Chen, Yunpeng Liu, Qirong Shen, Ruifu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants have evolved two primary innate immune strategies, pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity, to prevent excessive microbial infection. As the 'second genome' of plants, microbiota also regulates the plant growth-immune tradeoff. In this opinion article, we propose that beneficial microbes expand the plant immune threshold by coordinately regulating above-ground and below-ground immune signaling. We integrate this concept into the existing framework of plant immune strategies to construct a novel model of plant immunity. Building upon this foundation, we introduce a novel perspective regarding dose-dependent immune responses. We propose that, in natural systems, non-pathogen-plant interactions should be evaluated not only based on the specific recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) but also by incorporating the dose-dependent effects of MAMPs into the assessment framework.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148424355","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}
Duke Pauli, Brennan Huppenthal, Diane Wang, James Schnable, Bedrich Benes
{"title":"Digital twins for plant and crop improvement.","authors":"Duke Pauli, Brennan Huppenthal, Diane Wang, James Schnable, Bedrich Benes","doi":"10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2026.06.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant digital twins (DTs) are dynamic, data-aware virtual representations that integrate plant structure, physiology, and environmental inputs to simulate plant function, growth, and performance. By combining process-based models, phenomics data, and environmental states in a continuous feedback loop linking physical and virtual plants, DTs offer a novel approach for investigating complex biological systems. In this opinion article, we outline the conceptual foundations of DTs and how they offer new opportunities to bridge the genotype-to-phenotype gap and aid in crop improvement. Despite their promise, major challenges remain in DT development, scalability, and accessibility. Addressing these challenges will be critical for enabling the broad adoption of DTs as transformative tools for accelerating plant science research and crop improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":23264,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Plant Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.2,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148412868","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}