Plants continuously monitor their environment through sophisticated defense systems that recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns and activate immune responses. Among the diverse signaling molecules involved, peptides have emerged as an important molecular language that coordinates communication…

Genome editing has rapidly transformed biology, and Cas9 remains the most widely used tool for making targeted changes in DNA. Recently, a new AI-designed editor called OpenCRISPR-1 (OC1) which differs from prototypical SpCas by more than 400 amino acids has shown promise in human cells. Das and colleagues…

The mechanisms by which plants switch between growth and stress survival remain somewhat enigmatic. Following on from previous studies, Gong et al. revealed that the conserved N-terminal acetyltransferase B (NatB) helps regulate this balance. Arabidopsis mutants lacking the catalytic subunit of NatB,…

Crops such as rice usually flower in the late morning when the ambient temperature rises. Rice plants briefly open their flowers so the mature anthers hang out. However, heat stress can trigger abnormal anther dehiscence, flower infertility, and subsequent yield reduction. Early-morning flowering…

Autophagy is a conserved cellular recycling process that clears unwanted components and helps maintain balance under stress. In plants, immunity protects against invading pathogens, but how autophagy regulates this defense system has remained unclear. To address this question, Clavel and colleagues challenged…

In this interesting Letter to the Editor, Drew and Nagel explore the concept of how identities are established, and draw a comparison between the scientific identity of a person and the cellular identity of a developing guard cell. The article starts by briefly describing the cell autonomous and non-cell…

Special issue on methods to assess crop stress resilience Our food crops are threatened by ever-increasing environmental challenges as a consequence of climate change. It’s critical that we develop strategies to monitor and mitigate these stresses, but it’s also a huge undertaking. A new focus…

Behind the manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals, and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science. You’ve seen our First Authors on Bluesky, X and Facebook— now, read more about why they chose to pursue plant sciences and click on the links to read their articles. Vinod…