Entries by Ching Chan

Trehalose-mediated reprograming: metabolic crosstalk in plant-insect interactions

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In nature, plants often face multiple attackers simultaneously, giving rise to complex three-way interactions that can reshape defense outcomes in unexpected ways. An intriguing example comes from observations that prior aphid infestation, or even pretreatment with aphid honeydew, suppresses the jasmonic acid (JA) burst typically triggered by herbivory, thereby increasing plant susceptibility to subsequent insect […]

Review: Root exudates as the architects of the rhizosphere microbiome

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The “Green Revolution” transformed global food production through the use of fertilizer, but at the expense of rising costs and reliance on non-renewable inputs, prompting modern agriculture to shift toward alternative strategies such as the symbiotic relationships between plants and soil microorganisms. Beyond supporting nutrient acquisition, the soil microbiome enhances plant resilience to biotic and […]

Unraveling soybean evolution: Insights from 8,105 genomes

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Soybean is one of the most important cash crops for global food and feed, valued for its high-quality plant oil and protein. Centuries of domestication and breeding have narrowed its genetic diversity, leaving current cultivars vulnerable to climate change. To address this, Zhu and colleagues generated a comprehensive genomic resource by analyzing 8,105 soybean accessions, […]

Bypassing hormones: Engineering pluripotency through a minimal transcription factor module

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Plants possess the remarkable ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissues, a trait that underpins both their survival in nature and their utility in modern biotechnology. This intrinsic regenerative capacity forms the basis of tissue culture systems used for species preservation, breeding, and crop improvement. Conventional regeneration protocols that rely on exogenous hormonal treatments sometimes […]

Cracking the oat code: A comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource

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Oat (Avena sativa) is a globally cultivated cereal for its rich dietary fiber and health-promoting benefits. Yet, despite its nutritional importance, oat genomics has long lagged behind other cereals due to its large, repeat-rich, and allohexaploid genome which does not generally recombine. In a recent landmark study, Avni and colleagues tackled this complexity by assembling […]

Hydrogen peroxide: A new messenger in the phosphate starvation response

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Phosphorus (P) is one of the indispensable macronutrients that fuel plant growth and development. However, most soil P is locked in insoluble complexes with heavy metals, making it largely inaccessible to plants. In rice, the MYB transcription factor PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE 2 (OsPHR2) acts as a central regulator of phosphate starvation-induced (PSI) genes to promote […]

Illuminating plant immunity: A live sensor to watch salicylic acid in action

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Salicylic acid (SA) is best known as a central hormone orchestrating plant immune response, including the hypersensitive reaction and systemic acquired resistance. Beyond defense, SA also influences plant growth and development, highlighting a delicate role in balancing the trade-off between immunity and productivity. To fully unravel how plants control these processes, tools are needed to […]

Late ROS burst as a signature of exotoxin-triggered immunity in plants

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Plants depend on innate immune systems to recognize microbial invaders or damages that signal danger. This discrimination must be extremely precise: they must welcome beneficial microbes that support nutrient uptake and growth while defending against pathogens that threaten survival. A long-standing question in plant-microbe interactions is how plants distinguish between closely related beneficial and pathogenic […]

Review. How plant cells decide their fate: Balancing growth and specialization

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Every plant begins its life as a single cell, which divides, differentiates, and gradually gives rise to the intricate tissues and organs we see. Initially, plant cells are highly versatile, able to divide and give rise to many other cell types. During development, cells receive signals that control whether they keep dividing or specialize into […]