The Plant Journal最新文献

{"title":"Hydrogen sulfide-mediated persulfidation of ERF106 controls pear fruit aroma biosynthesis via disrupting the ERF106-MYB21-FAD8 complex","authors":"Zhuoyan Xu,&nbsp;Kangdi Hu,&nbsp;Longfei Yan,&nbsp;Shuwei Wei,&nbsp;Weisheng Zhao,&nbsp;Huihui Song,&nbsp;Gaifang Yao,&nbsp;Hua Zhang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71129","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71129","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and its mediated protein persulfidation regulate fruit ripening. Fruit aroma, a key quality trait formed during ripening, largely determines consumer preferences. However, the mechanism by which H₂S modulates aroma biosynthesis in pear remains unclear. This study reveals that H₂S inhibited aroma biosynthesis in ‘Nanguo’ pear and downregulated the fatty acid desaturase gene <i>PuFAD8</i>. Transient overexpression and silencing assays confirmed that <i>PuFAD8</i> was required for linoleic acid synthesis, a key aroma precursor. Heterologous overexpression of PuFAD8 in tomato and its knockout in tomato further validated that <i>PuFAD8</i> promoted fruit aroma formation, while H₂S suppressed this function. Transcriptome analysis identified transcription factors PuMYB21 and PuERF106 co-expressed with <i>PuFAD8</i>. Dual-luciferase and yeast one-hybrid assays revealed that PuMYB21 bound and activated the <i>PuFAD8</i> promoter. Moreover, Y2H, luciferase complementation, pull-down, and transient expression assays demonstrated that PuERF106 interacted with PuMYB21, synergistically enhancing aroma biosynthesis. Persulfidation at Cys162 of PuERF106 attenuated its interaction with PuMYB21, thereby inhibiting aromatic compound synthesis in pear fruit. Subsequently, the biological function of the PuERF106-PuMYB21-PuFAD8 molecular module was validated using stable transgenic pear callus lines and a panel of heterologous and endogenous transgenic tomato lines. This study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism where H₂S-mediated persulfidation suppresses pear aroma biosynthesis, providing a theoretical basis for genetic improvement of high-quality pear.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.71129","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987333","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":"Sinapoylglucose: malate sinapoyltransferase SNG1 negatively regulates drought resistance by crosstalk with abscisic acid signaling in Arabidopsis","authors":"Kun Li,&nbsp;Jiangtao Jia,&nbsp;Yong Yang,&nbsp;Minghui Zhang,&nbsp;Shulin Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaohan Liang,&nbsp;Zhiwen Lu,&nbsp;Min Xu,&nbsp;Zhe Wang,&nbsp;Fengbo Yang,&nbsp;Haipeng Li,&nbsp;Jinggong Guo,&nbsp;Kun-peng Jia,&nbsp;Lam-Son Phan Tran,&nbsp;Jose R. Botella,&nbsp;Weiqiang Li,&nbsp;Yuchen Miao","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71102","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71102","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Drought stress has a profound impact on yield, with massive repercussions for agricultural production. In addition to ABA, the central hormone controlling the plant response to drought, secondary metabolites also play important functions in drought stress; however, the precise nature of their roles is still obscure. Metabolomics analysis of ABA- and PEG-treated Arabidopsis wild–type (WT) seedlings as well as ABA signal transduction mutants <i>snrk-triple</i> (<i>snrk2.2 snrk2.3 snrk2.6</i>) and <i>pyl-quadruple</i> (<i>pyr1 pyl1 pyl2 pyl4</i>) identified a number of drought-related metabolites. Specifically, we observed differences in the levels of sinapic acid and quercetin. To assess the function of sinapoyl esters in the regulation of drought stress, we characterized the <i>sinapoylglucose accumulator 1</i> (<i>sng1</i>) mutant, deficient in the conversion of sinapoylglucose (SG) to sinapoylmalate (SM), resulting in high endogenous levels of SG and low SM levels. <i>sng1</i> mutants showed increased drought resistance compared to WT plants. RNA-sequencing of <i>sng1</i> and WT rosette leaves before and after dehydration revealed differentially expressed genes related to cuticle synthesis, anthocyanin biosynthesis, leaf senescence and ABA response. Consistently, phenotypic analysis of the <i>sng1</i> mutant showed increased cuticle synthesis, wax crystal deposition, anthocyanin accumulation, leaf senescence, ABA responsiveness and stomatal closure compared to WT plants. We propose that the deficiency of SM and accumulation of SG in <i>sng1</i> mutants may affect the metabolic flow of sinapoyl esters to activate multiple biological processes whose combined action enhances drought resistance. Our findings shed light on the secondary metabolites regulatory network in response to drought stress in Arabidopsis.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.71102","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987318","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":"Hidden in plain sight: a maize ‘PAL’ with aminomutase activity","authors":"Charlay Wood","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71122","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71122","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;For years, Zm00001d033286 sat in the maize reference genome annotated as a phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). It was a reasonable designation since the enzyme genuinely has PAL activity. Here, Sakamoto and colleagues show that this annotation captures only one part of its chemistry (Sakamoto et al., &lt;span&gt;2026&lt;/span&gt;). The enzyme can also move the amino group of tyrosine from the α- to the β-carbon, producing the non-proteinogenic amino acid (R)-β-tyrosine. Renamed ZmTAM1, it combines tyrosine aminomutase (TAM), PAL and tyrosine ammonia-lyase (TAL) activities on a single scaffold. Its product inhibits the radicle growth of &lt;i&gt;Striga hermonthica&lt;/i&gt;, a parasitic weed responsible for severe losses in maize production.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For Sakamoto, the discovery reinforced ‘the importance of experimentally verifying gene function rather than relying solely on database annotations’. The rice enzyme OsTAM1 was also originally catalogued as a PAL (Yan et al., &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;), leading him to suspect that ‘there are more examples like this waiting to be discovered’.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PAL is a gateway between primary metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (Zhang &amp; Liu, &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;). In grasses, many PAL enzymes also accept tyrosine and are therefore designated phenylalanine/TALs, or PTALs (Barros et al., &lt;span&gt;2016&lt;/span&gt;). PAL and TAL reactions release a substrate's amino group as ammonia. Aminomutases use the same MIO (4-methylideneimidazole-5-one) cofactor but relocate the amino group to the β-carbon instead (Figure 1). Although TAM had long been known in bacteria, it was identified in plants only in 2015 (Christenson et al., &lt;span&gt;2003&lt;/span&gt;; Yan et al., &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Screening 22 grass species, the authors detected appreciable β-tyrosine in only two: oat, at 49 nmol g&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; fresh weight, and maize, at 39 nmol g&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;. Wheat, barley and sorghum contained barely a trace. Because oat and maize belong to the distantly related BOP and PACMAD clades, respectively, β-tyrosine production appears scattered across the grass family rather than confined to a single lineage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The evidence for aminomutase chemistry in maize is elegantly direct. The authors fed maize seedlings tyrosine carrying heavy carbon and nitrogen labels and recovered both labels in the β-tyrosine produced. The signal for the product retaining the heavy nitrogen was 3.6 times that for the corresponding carbon-labelled product lacking it. A pathway in which tyrosine was first deaminated and later reaminated would have lost the original nitrogen; its retention therefore strongly supports a direct TAM route.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A homology search identified Zm00001d033286, itself annotated as a PAL, as the maize protein most similar to OsTAM1, at 88% amino acid identity. It was also the only maize PAL or PTAL to carry tyrosine and asparagine at positions Y128 and N449, corresponding to the Y125 and N446 residues known to be important for TAM activity in the rice enzyme. Transient","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.71122","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987347","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":"Deletion of TaBSK3-2B attenuates BR signaling to regulate the Rht4 semi-dwarf phenotype and drought tolerance in wheat","authors":"Qiumei Lu,&nbsp;Shan Lu,&nbsp;Zining Wang,&nbsp;Yihan Men,&nbsp;Renmei Tian,&nbsp;Yue Qiao,&nbsp;Xianglan Kong,&nbsp;Zhangchen Zhao,&nbsp;Chunge Cui,&nbsp;Yanju Huang,&nbsp;Liang Chen,&nbsp;Yin-gang Hu,&nbsp;Linzhou Huang","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71118","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71118","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The application of Green Revolution alleles <i>Rht-B1b</i> and <i>Rht-D1b</i> in wheat semi-dwarf breeding has remarkably improved lodging resistance and increased global wheat production. However, these gibberellin (GA)-insensitive genes require higher water and fertilizer inputs and impair seedling emergence and early vigor, prompting the search for alternative GA-sensitive dwarfing genes to breed environmentally friendly wheat varieties for sustainable wheat production. Here, we reported the map-based cloning of <i>Rht4</i> and functional characterization of its potential causal gene <i>TaBSK3-2B</i>, which encodes a plasma membrane-localized serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in the brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathway. Loss function of <i>TaBSK3-2B</i> attenuated BR responses and inhibited stem elongation by reducing cell expansion, which was accompanied by decreased levels of the bioactive gibberellins GA₁ and GA₄. Under controlled conditions, <i>TaBSK3-2B</i> positively regulates wheat drought tolerance by integrating transcriptional level changes of key drought-related genes and physiological adjustments under water deficit. Furthermore, we identified a natural haplotype <i>TaBSK3-2B</i>^<i>H2</i> which was associated with reduced plant height and improved yield-related traits, with the potential to mitigate the yield penalty associated with the original <i>Rht4</i> allele, a major limitation on its application in wheat breeding. The frequency of <i>TaBSK3-2B</i>^<i>H2</i> is dramatically higher in cultivars compared to landraces, indicating a strong artificial selection of <i>TaBSK3-2B</i>^<i>H2</i> during semi-dwarf wheat breeding. Our study not only provides new insights into the synergistic improvement of plant height and grain yield by fine-tuning BR signaling but also offers potential genetic resources for breeding drought-adapted semi-dwarf wheat varieties.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.71118","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148981908","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":"Essential mitochondrial activity in Physcomitrium patens relies on complementary cytochrome and alternative oxidase pathways","authors":"Shun-Ling Tan,&nbsp;Antoni M. Vera-Vives,&nbsp;Heyu Wang,&nbsp;Xing Huang,&nbsp;Claudia Beraldo,&nbsp;Alessandro Alboresi,&nbsp;Tomas Morosinotto","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71127","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71127","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mitochondrial respiration catalyses the transfer of electrons from NADH to oxygen through the activity of five multiprotein complexes. In plants, mitochondria also possess additional alternative electron transport pathways, including the alternative oxidase (AOX) pathway, which transfers electrons from ubiquinol to O₂, bypassing the cytochrome-dependent electron transport chain. This study investigates the functional role of AOX during plant evolution by analysing <i>Physcomitrium patens</i> plants that lack or overexpress AOX. In the moss <i>P. patens,</i> AOX exhibits a remarkably high electron transport capacity, sufficient to fully compensate for the inactivation of the cytochrome pathway. Despite the high potential activity of AOX, <i>aox</i> knockout lines did not show significant defects in growth under various abiotic stresses. This suggests that the cytochrome pathway can compensate for AOX loss and effectively support the consumption of reducing power produced by photosynthesis even under stressful conditions. Although photosynthetically active cells can produce ATP in chloroplasts under illumination independently of mitochondrial electron transport, respiration is shown to be essential for the conversion of reducing power into ATP for distribution throughout the cell. Simultaneous inactivation of AOX and CIII was lethal, indicating that AOX and the complementary cytochrome pathway contribute to the essential role of mitochondrial respiration in the redox and energy balance in <i>P. patens</i> cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tpj.71127","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148981832","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":"An atypical EF-hand domain containing resistance protein SRC4 boosts plant immunity in a calcium-enhanced manner","authors":"Zikai Zhou,&nbsp;Di Miao,&nbsp;Jie Zhao,&nbsp;Yuxi Zhou,&nbsp;Ting Yan,&nbsp;Niu Niu,&nbsp;Zhuo Bao,&nbsp;Fangjiao Lv,&nbsp;Lu Liu,&nbsp;Ning Xu,&nbsp;Fang Yan,&nbsp;Jun Liu,&nbsp;Hada Wuriyanghan","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71125","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71125","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The typical nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins, such as TIR-NBS-LRR (TNL) and CC-NBS-LRR (CNL), are known to be engaged in effector-triggered immunity (ETI). However, several atypical resistance (R) proteins with truncated NLR domains or with nonclassical domains are emerging to be key regulators in plant immunity. SMV resistance cluster 4 (SRC4) is an atypical NLR protein in soybean, distinguished by an N-terminal Domain (NTD)-TIR-shortened NBS oligomerization region (SNOR)-EF-hand (EFh) domain architecture. SRC4 lacks both NBS and LRR domains but retains basal antiviral activity through its TIR-SNOR region, with SNOR contributing to TIR-dependent antiviral activity and SRC4 self-association. The EFh domain recognizes coat protein (CP) of soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and serves as a Ca²⁺-responsive module to distinctly regulate TIR-SNOR-mediated immune response in soybean. <i>SRC4-</i>overexpression (Ox-<i>SRC4</i>) soybean plants show SMV resistance without obvious growth penalty. Furthermore, several <i>SRC4</i> high-expression soybean varieties showed stronger SMV resistance and Ca²⁺ responsiveness than the <i>SRC4</i> low-expression soybean varieties. Our study highlights the essential roles of atypical resistance proteins in plant immunity and growth-defense balance.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13575729/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148965899","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":"FatPlants 2.0: an AI-powered platform integrating plant lipid genes, pathways, and literature","authors":"Yongfang Qin,&nbsp;Congyu Guo,&nbsp;Minseong Kim,&nbsp;Yichuan Zhang,&nbsp;Muhammad Azam,&nbsp;Tingyuan Xiao,&nbsp;Chunhui Xu,&nbsp;Basil Shorrosh,&nbsp;Timothy P. Durrett,&nbsp;Doug K. Allen,&nbsp;Trupti Joshi,&nbsp;Edgar B. Cahoon,&nbsp;Jay J. Thelen,&nbsp;Dong Xu","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71117","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71117","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plant lipid research depends on accessible databases that connect genes, pathways, and prior literature. However, currently available resources are fragmented, species-limited, and lack AI-powered interfaces for integrated querying. FatPlants 2.0 addresses these issues by integrating ARALIP, PlantFADB, and new Cuphea/Pennycress experimental data into a unified platform with 14 000 genes/proteins, 110 pathways across 5 species, and 57 000+ curated publications. The platform features LipidBot, an AI agent enabling natural language queries via graph-based pathway search and retrieval-augmented generation-powered literature retrieval. Users query complex relationships conversationally and receive answers with traceable citations. The graph database models 100+ biological pathways as queryable networks with large language model-guided Cypher generation. By evaluating more than 1000 curated questions, LipidBot achieved 95% accuracy on pathway queries and 92% recall in literature retrieval using optimized embeddings. The tool demonstrated robust performance across factual, numerical, and multi-hop queries on curated benchmarks. FatPlants 2.0 accelerates research by reducing the time spent on literature reviews. Database and AI agent freely available at https://fatplants.net with bulk downloads and quarterly updates.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13578592/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148975146","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 Phytophthora effector hijacks host StKNOX3-StHUB1/2 complex to reprogram defense gene expression via histone monoubiquitination","authors":"Jing Zhou,&nbsp;Xiaoshuang Zhou,&nbsp;Jiahui Nie,&nbsp;Yetong Qi,&nbsp;Lang Liu,&nbsp;Xinya Wu,&nbsp;Yingtao Zuo,&nbsp;Ruimin Yu,&nbsp;Lei Guo,&nbsp;Paul R.J. Birch,&nbsp;Zhendong Tian","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71112","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71112","url":null,"abstract":"<p>KNOX (<span>KNO</span>TTED1-like HOMEOBO<span>X</span>) transcription factors regulate the expression of genes involved in plant growth, development, and immunity by specifically binding to DNA elements. Previously, we found that the <i>Phytophthora infestans</i> RxLR effector Pi22798 targets the potato transcription factor StKNOX3 to promote colonization. We show here that StKNOX3 interacts with StHUB1 and StHUB2, two E3 ubiquitin ligases that monoubiquitinate histone 2B to form H2Bub1. StKNOX3 stabilizes StHUB1 and StHUB2 in the nucleus, and the StKNOX3-StHUB1/2 complex acts to enhance <i>P. infestans</i> infection. The effector Pi22798 promotes the formation of the StKNOX3-StHUB1/2 complex, facilitating the nuclear accumulation of StHUB1/2, thereby elevating H2Bub1 levels and increasing plant susceptibility. Combined ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq analyses demonstrate that StKNOX3 modulates transcriptome reprogramming governing cell wall composition, phytohormone responses, and stress responses. StKNOX3 directly binds to the core motifs TGAC or TGTCA in promoter regions of target genes and represses the expression of multiple defense-related genes. Expression of Pi22798 results in reinforced regulation of the StKNOX3-targeted genes by affecting the binding affinity of StKNOX3 to their promoters and increasing H2Bub1 levels. Our data support a model in which the host StKNOX3-StHUB1/2 complex is hijacked by Pi22798 to induce epigenetic modifications that ultimately enhance potato susceptibility to <i>P. infestans</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13575310/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148965845","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":"The PhyB-PIF4 module directly photoregulates BR-ENHANCED EXPRESSION genes to enhance stem fiber cell elongation in Arabidopsis","authors":"Hu Xin,&nbsp;Fang Luo,&nbsp;Dan Zong,&nbsp;Xulei Guo,&nbsp;Richard D. Vierstra,&nbsp;Laigeng Li","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71110","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71110","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fiber cells are a primary component of vascular tissue in angiosperms, offering mechanical support for most aerial structures, reinforcing vascular transport functions, and enabling vertical growth. Our previous research discovered light as a vital signal in modulating fiber cell-wall thickening and thus length and strength during maturation. Here, we reveal that the red light-sensing Phytochrome B (PhyB)/Phy-Interacting Factor-4 (PIF4) module plays a major photoregulatory role in Arabidopsis stem fiber growth upon activation through its negative influence on the downstream transcription factors encoded by the <i>BR-ENHANCED EXPRESSION</i> (<i>BEE</i>) gene family. Whereas stem fiber cells in the <i>phyB</i> mutant hyperelongate, those in the <i>pif quadruple</i> mutant, which blocks the expression of <i>PIF1</i>-<i>4</i>, are shorter. DNA binding studies showed that this PhyB/PIF module photoregulates <i>BEE2</i> expression by directly interacting with G-box-like elements within its promoter. Accordingly, fibers in the triple <i>bee123</i> mutant are shorter, whereas stems overexpressing <i>BEE2</i> develop longer fibers. <i>BEE2</i> in particular then encourages fiber cell elongation by directly enhancing expression of genes associated with cell-wall loosening, two being the xyloglucan endotransglycosylases/glucanases XTH8 and XTH33. Our studies identify a key multicomponent photoregulatory cascade in fiber cell elongation, thus offering possible avenues for engineering stem properties by modulating light signals.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13575309/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148965867","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":"Structural and functional characterisation of a reconstructed ancestral strigolactone receptor","authors":"Andrew J. Tuckey,&nbsp;Andrew C. Marshall,&nbsp;Emel Rothzerg,&nbsp;Antonella P. Monte,&nbsp;Tom Bennett,&nbsp;Charles S. Bond,&nbsp;Mark T. Waters","doi":"10.1111/tpj.71113","DOIUrl":"10.1111/tpj.71113","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Strigolactones are phytohormones that regulate shoot branching and facilitate communication with neighbouring plants, bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In seed plants, strigolactone perception begins with the enzyme-receptor DWARF14 (D14), an α/β-hydrolase likely to have evolved via gene duplication within a larger gene family that includes the karrikin receptor, KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) and other D14-like (DLK) proteins of uncertain function. However, it is unclear when the functional characteristics that define a <i>bona fide</i> strigolactone receptor evolved. Here, we apply ancestral sequence reconstruction to generate a D14 protein representative of seed plants to study the evolution of ligand specificity and the conservation of signalling mechanisms and to explore desirable traits for protein engineering. Ancestrally reconstructed D14 is structurally and functionally comparable to D14 from <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. The ligand specificity of ancestral D14 does not meaningfully differ, despite having unusual active site geometry and altered enzyme kinetics. We show that the catalytic aspartic acid residue of ancestral D14 is not required for strigolactone signalling when expressed in <i>A. thaliana</i>, suggesting that this mechanistic feature is conserved throughout seed plants. We find that ancestral D14 exhibits higher recombinant yields, greatly increased thermostability and enhanced catalytic activity relative to D14 from <i>A. thaliana</i>. This work provides insight into the evolution of phytohormone signalling and presents a robust scaffold for the application of D14-type proteins in diverse applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":233,"journal":{"name":"The Plant Journal","volume":"127 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13575467/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148965855","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}