Enhancing photosynthetic CO₂ fixation to increase crop yields is a major focus in plant biotechnology. Notably, several algal species form pyrenoids, phase-separated organelles that boost the activity of the CO₂-fixing enzyme Rubisco by supplying it with concentrated CO₂, thereby making carboxylation…

Mangroves are salt-adapted trees that provide critical habitats for many organisms and stabilize shorelines. They also have several strategies for dealing with the hostile coastal environment that is high in salt and, for the submerged root system, low in oxygen. Pneumatophores are upward-growing components…

We don’t often consider tiny dewdrops as having much influence on plant physiology, but a new study by Zheng et. al. reveals that these delicate dewdrops are active microreactors that can influence when plants flower. Working with Arabidopsis thaliana, researchers discovered that microscopic dewdroplets…

Rhizobial symbiosis requires communication and recognition between the plant host and the nitrogen-fixing bacteria. When successful, plant root hairs reorganize their membranes and form specialized infection threads through which the rhizobia enter the root and initiate nodules. In new work, Qiao et…

Tea plants (Camellia sinenesis) are usually cultivated in warm and humid regions where fungal infections are favoured. Foliar diseases directly affect the quality of the leaves that are used for tea production. Colletotrichum camelliae is a common fungal pathogen infecting tea plants. Previous studies…

Vector-borne viruses such as rice stripe virus (RSV) are transmitted from plant to plant by insects such as planthoppers. Plants under attack often emit volatile compounds such as methyl salicylate (MeSA) that attract parasitoid wasps that destroy the eggs of the virus-transmitting insects. In a recent…

Review: Rare variants in crops genomes and how to spot them Despite the usefulness of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for linking DNA variation to agronomic traits, GWAS are focused on detecting common alleles and often fail to detect less-common, rare variants. Rare variants may account for…

Climate change brings about higher temperatures, threatening plant populations worldwide. Higher temperatures interfere with reproductive processes such as pollen production or fertilization, even if the plant itself can withstand these temperatures. For example, some plants can withstand temperatures…