In wheat, epigenetically regulated expression of FIP peptides upon pathogen challenge enables their perception by the receptor FIPR, thereby activating defence responses.

A rust effector interacts with a plasma membrane-anchored N-myristoylated protein TaMP to hijack and promote its relocalization from the plasma membrane to chloroplasts, increasing wheat susceptibility to rust fungus.

This Perspective reviews emerging nanocarriers for RNA delivery in agriculture and outlines future research directions, emphasizing that efficient delivery into plant cells, where viruses replicate, remains a key bottleneck for viral disease control.

The GmPEplus system achieves a prime editing (PE) efficiency of 81.3% in stably transformed soybean lines, while the Csy4-mediated multiplex PE system enables simultaneous multi-gene editing. These efficient and precise editing tools greatly facilitate genome editing for soybean breeding.

Endosperm development before fertilization is normally repressed in Arabidopsis, but the molecular mechanism remains incompletely understood. Analysis of the Arabidopsis central cell now reveals that TIE1, a maternally expressed imprinted gene, contributes to the repression of autonomous endosperm proliferation and may function as a molecular adaptor between Polycomb-mediated silencing and transcriptional regulation.

Salicylic acid is a central regulator of plant growth and immunity, yet key steps in the biosynthesis of its precursors have remained unresolved. Two complementary studies in rice identify the missing enzymes and reveal that grasses and eudicots evolved distinct biochemical solutions to produce the same defence hormone.

Plants that form seeds without fertilization could fix hybrid vigour. This study determines that the maternal protein TIE1 serves as a brake to prevent autonomous seed development without fertilization.

Using in situ cryo-electron tomography, researchers found a unique ‘arm’ domain on the small subunit of Chlamydomonas chlororibosomes. This discovery suggests that chlororibosome structure is more evolutionarily diverse than previously thought.

Centromere-proximal recombination is suppressed in plants, presenting a bottleneck in breeding. Salinas Gamboa et al. now identify three cohesion-related factors that actively limit proximal crossovers in Arabidopsis. Mutating these genes enables crossovers in previously inaccessible areas and enhances them in low-recombination regions.

Gamboa et al. identified three proteins that restrict meiotic crossovers near centromeres. This finding suggests that cohesion regulation plays a role in this suppression and creates opportunities to unlock recombination for plant breeding

Non-native and invasive trees establish early during the regeneration of secondary forests. However, their decline over time suggests that native forest recovery can limit their abundance. Thus, neotropical secondary forests may buffer tree invasions.

Nature Plants has existed for eleven and a half years, during which time the European Union has been constantly struggling towards a clear stance on genome engineering. Perhaps they have finally found it.