Field trials are indispensable for the application of agronomic genes. However, whether a scientific publication needs to include data on field trials is a very complicated issue.

During stomatal development, protodermal cells differentiate into meristemoid mother cells, which undergo a limited number of asymmetric cell divisions that each produce a smaller meristemoid and a larger stomatal-lineage ground cell. The final meristemoid further differentiates into a guard mother cell, which divides symmetrically to produce two guard cells. The asymmetric divisions of the meristemoid

Since the discovery of systemin in tomato in the past century, small peptides have become ubiquitous in plant signalling pathways. Various families with increasingly funny names each contain dozens of individual peptides: PEP, RALF, CEP, IDA, PSK, PSY, SCOOP, SCREW and so on. The CLE family (named after CLV3 and ESR) consists of secreted peptides that are 12–14 amino acids in length, which are perceived

Plants are known to respond to odour cues emitted by other plants that may indicate impending environmental stress. These responses are now understood to extend belowground, where root exudates condition rhizosphere soil bacteria communities in ways that enhance future plant growth and defence.

The new US administration has been very quick to enact their agenda in the first quarter of 2025. This has generated some changes that affect support for plant research and agricultural security.

The researchers sequenced a panel of 226 citrus accessions including sour oranges, landraces and cultivated citrus, and integrated published genomes of sweet orange, pummelo and mandarin in their analyses. Unlike sweet oranges, sour oranges exhibited high genetic and metabolic diversity and high variation in susceptibility to citrus canker. Shared heterozygous genomic segments between sour and sweet

The canonical auxin pathway in the Arabidopsis nucleus was characterized two decades ago: auxin acts as a molecular glue to bind the TIR1 F-box auxin receptor (and five AFB homologues) to small auxin and indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) proteins. These Aux/IAA proteins are then marked for degradation by ubiquitination. As they are degraded, they stop repressing ARF transcription factors, which are then

By calibrating global change models with recent 1.5-°C country-specific climate pledges, Gao et al. generated maps that quantify land-system type transformations over the next 75 years. Whereas previous research (P. Potapov et al. Nat. Food 3, 19–28; 2022) predicted accelerated cropland expansion during the 21st century, this study instead projected a 12.8% reduction in croplands globally. Although

An analysis of 707 genes in 215 rose samples provides hypotheses on the history of wild and cultivated roses.

The stem cells in the root apical meristem divide to give rise to transit-amplifying cells, which eventually exit from the cell cycle for elongation and differentiation. Low levels of brassinosteroids are required for cell cycle progression in the meristem, whereas high levels promote cell cycle exit in the elongation zone. Brassinosteroid signalling in dividing cells is therefore probably dynamically

International regulatory harmonization through consistent regulations and risk assessment guidelines across countries could help to overcome challenges and potential delays in the development and commercialization of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-based biopesticides.

Reduced wood density in natural forests might be an underappreciated risk of climate change. It could promote susceptibility to biotic and abiotic damage by pests, drought or wildfire.