This Commentary examines a recent study that identified peroxisomal cinnamate: CoA ligases as key enzymes for salicylic acid biosynthesis, which promotes submerged germination by releasing the inhibition of rice germination by indole-acetic acid. This study thus provides important information for developing rice varieties suitable for direct seeding.

In foxtail millet (Setaria italica), knockout of the glutamate formiminotransferases SiGFT1 and 2 increased the accumulation of bioactive folates to approximately four times the level of wild-type plants and decreased levels of the bioinactive oxidation product MeFox by 95%, thus providing a promising route for folate biofortification in cereal crops.

A CRISPR/Cas12i.3-based gene editing platform is established in broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and used to create new elite germplasm for this ancient crop.

Oomycete Nudix effectors have characteristics of independent evolution, but adopt a conserved WY-Nudix conformation. Furthermore, multiple oomycete Nudix effectors exhibit mRNA decapping activity.

Three Medicago truncatula LysM domain receptor kinases have redundant functions in nodulation, with multiple specificities mediating both entry and signaling responses and with distinct contributions to nodulation likely resulting from differing transcription patterns.

Two guanine base editors created using an engineered N-methylpurine DNA glycosylase with CRISPR systems achieved targeted G-to-T editing with 4.94–12.50% efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa). The combined use of the DNA glycosylase and deaminases enabled co-editing of target guanines with adenines or cytosines.

SapBase, a comprehensive, one-stop resource and analysis platform dedicated to the Sapindaceae family, aggregates publicly available genomes and omics data from seven Sapindaceae species, thus providing user-friendly tools for gene information mining, co-expression analysis, and comparative genomic analysis across species.

The maize SIMILAR TO RCD-ONE (SRO) protein family member ZmSRO1e functions in regulating mesocotyl elongation and tolerance to deep sowing by interacting with and inhibiting the activity of the transcription factor ZmbZIP61.

Overexpression of the tonoplast Ca²⁺-ATPase gene ACA11 increases Ca²⁺ accumulation in the vacuole, promoting stomatal opening, carbon assimilation, and plant growth under optimal conditions. However, during drought, the over-accumulation of vacuolar Ca²⁺ triggers a larger release of cytosolic Ca²⁺, resulting in stomatal closure and enhancing drought tolerance.

The soybean MADS-box transcription factor GmFULc directly activates the ZIETLUPE photoreceptor gene GmZTL4 to promote earlier maturity and natural variation in the promoter of GmZTL4 contributes to differences in the growth period of soybean plants.

The soybean (Glycine max) ARM repeat superfamily protein GmDFB1 interacts with the RNA exosome cofactor SUPER KILLER7 (GmSKI7) and the core components of gene silencing pathway ARGONAUTE 1 (GmAGO1), thereby regulating gene silencing and flower development in soybean.

Arabidopsis α1-COP, a member of the coat protein complex, regulates callose deposition in plasmodesmata by modulating two sphingolipid biosynthesis enzymes. In the absence of a1-COP, these enzymes are mislocalized, leading to an increase in callose deposited in plasmodesmata apertures.

The poplar transcription factor PagMYB128 positively regulates lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose biosynthesis during wood formation and has broader impacts on secondary cell wall formation compared to its Arabidopsis ortholog, AtMYB103.

The MYB2– and MYB108–LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN29 regulatory modules act downstream of AUXIN RESPOSE FACTOR7 and control auxin-mediated lateral root development in Arabidopsis.

An Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation protocol and a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome-editing system were established for Hongmi, an elite variety of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Additionally, a near-complete, comprehensively annotated genome sequence of Hongmi was assembled. These advances open the door to improving broomcorn millet through biotechnology.

CYP80G6 and CYP80Q5 catalyze the formation of type I and type II aporphine skeletons, respectively. Pathway reconstruction achieved the de novo synthesis of two types of aporphines in yeast. The newly identified CYP719C3 and CYP719C4 are responsible for catalyzing the formation of two methylenedioxy bridges in aporphines.

The cryptochrome FaCRY1 responds to light and acts as a positive regulator of strawberry fruit ripening by modifying the DNA methylation level of FaCYP707A4 and its transcript, thus influencing abscisic acid catabolism in light-mediated strawberry ripening.

In Artemisia annua, the B-box transcription factor AaBBX21 interacts with ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (AaHY5) to mediate light-regulated artemisinin biosynthesis. The E3 ubiquitin ligase AaCOP1 attenuates AaHY5 and AaBBX21 accumulation, weakening the transcriptional activation activity of the AaBBX21–AaHY5 complex and leading to low artemisinin accumulation in the dark.

The transcriptional cascade involving B-BOX DOMAIN PROTEIN22 and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 controls internode elongation and participates in the cross-regulation of fruit pigmentation in citrus. Members of this pathway may prove useful for breeding novel types of dwarf trees with attractive, health-beneficial fruits in citrus.

The processed C-terminus of AvrRps4 from Pseudomonas syringae targets the Arabidopsis transcription factors WRKY46, WRKY53, WRKY54, and WRKY70, promoting virulence by suppressing WRKY54-mediated enhanced resistance and WRKY54's transcriptional and binding activities. AvrRps4^C induces WRKY-complex formation and translocates WRKYs to the cytoplasm, thus inhibiting WRKY function in plant immunity.

Endothecium lignification can be divided into two phases: the preparation of lignin precursors and the synthesis of lignin. The Arabidopsis AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR ARF17 acts as a transcription enhancer by interacting with MYB26 to promote expression of the NAC transcription factor genes NST1 and NST2, thereby facilitating endothecium lignification.

INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION1 sactivates QUA QUINE STARCH (QQS) expression by interacting with INDETERMINATE DOMAIN14 in Arabidopsis. QQS interacts with a key lipid biosynthetic enzyme, CUT1, to regulate pollen lipid metabolism, ultimately determining pollen hydration and fertility.