Plant Biology

Natural variation in salt-induced changes in root:shoot ratio reveals SR3G as a negative regulator of root suberization and salt resilience in Arabidopsis

1. Maryam Rahmati Ishka
2. Hayley Sussman
3. Yunfei Hu
4. Mashael Daghash Alqahtani
5. Eric Craft
6. Ronell Sicat
7. Minmin Wang
8. Li’ang Yu
9. Rashid Ait-Haddou
10. Bo Li
11. Georgia Drakakaki
12. Andrew Nelson
13. Miguel Pineros
14. Arthur Korte
15. Lukasz Jaremko
16. Christa Testerink
17. Mark Tester
18. Magdalena M Julkowska

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Through cellular, developmental, and physiological analysis, this valuable study identifies a gene that regulates the relative growth of roots and shoots under salt stress. The holistic approach taken provides solid evidence that this member of a larger tandemly duplicated gene family together with an upstream regulator contributes to salt tolerance, although the statistical or biological support for some conclusions could be more robust. The manuscript will be of interest to plant biologists studying mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance and gene family evolution.

Reviewed by eLife

Benzoxazinoid-mediated microbiome feedbacks enhance Arabidopsis growth and defense

1. Katja Stengele
2. Lea Stauber
3. Lisa Thoenen
4. Henry Janse van Rensburg
5. Viola D'Adda
6. Klaus Schlaeppi

Reviewed by PREreview

Molecular Matchmakers: Phytoplasma Effector SAP54 Targets MADS-Box Factor SVP to Enhance Attraction of Fecund Female Vectors by Modulating Leaf Responses to Male Presence

1. Zigmunds Orlovskis
2. Archana Singh
3. Adi Kliot
4. Weijie Huang
5. Saskia A Hogenhout

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study highlights an important discovery: a bacterial pathogen's effector influences plant responses that in turn affect how the leafhopper insect vector for the bacteria is attracted to the plants in a sex-dependent manner. The research is backed by convincing physiological and transcriptome analyses. This study unveils a complex interdependence between the pathogen effector, male leafhoppers, and a plant transcription factor in modulating female attraction to the plant, shedding light on previously unexplored aspects of plant-bacteria-insect interactions.

Reviewed by eLife

Interdependence of plasma membrane nanoscale dynamics of a kinase and its cognate substrate underlies Arabidopsis response to viral infection

1. Marie-Dominique Jolivet
2. Anne-Flore Deroubaix
3. Marie Boudsocq
4. Nikolaj B Abel
5. Marion Rocher
6. Terezinha Robbe
7. Valérie Wattelet-Boyer
8. Jennifer Huard
9. Dorian Lefebvre
10. Yi-Ju Lu
11. Brad Day
12. Grégoire Saias
13. Jahed Ahmed
14. Valérie Cotelle
15. Nathalie Giovinazzo
16. Jean-Luc Gallois
17. Yasuyuki Yamaji
18. Sylvie German-Retana
19. Julien Gronnier
20. Thomas Ott
21. Sébastien Mongrand
22. Véronique Germain

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study is considered important with solid evidence that demonstrates the impact of plasma membrane nano-domains and protein interactions in the plant defence response to viruses. It includes a molecular understanding of the role of a calcium dependent kinase (CPK3) and a remorin protein in the cell-to-cell spread of viruses and cytoskeletal dynamics demonstrating, conclusively, the role of CPK3 with multiple lines of evidence. The work opens avenues to investigate different viruses and other plasma membrane proteins to gain a fuller picture of the involvement of plasmodesmata and other nanodomains in virus spreading.

Reviewed by eLife

Structural basis for molecular assembly of fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins in a diatom photosystem I supercomplex

1. Koji Kato
2. Yoshiki Nakajima
3. Jian Xing
4. Minoru Kumazawa
5. Haruya Ogawa
6. Jian-Ren Shen
7. Kentaro Ifuku
8. Ryo Nagao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents a high-resolution cryoEM structure of the supercomplex between photosystem I (PSI) and fucoxanthin chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins (FCPs) from the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana CCMP1335, revealing subunits, protein:protein interactions and pigments not previously seen in other diatoms or red/green photosynthetic lineages. Combining structural, sequence and phylogenetic analyses, the authors provide convincing evidence of conserved motifs crucial for the binding of FCPs, accompanied by interesting speculation about the mechanisms governing the assembly of PSI-FCP supercomplexes in diatoms and their implications for related PSI-LHC supercomplexes in plants. The findings set the stage for functional experiments that will further advance the fields of photosynthesis, bioenergy, ocean biogeochemistry and evolutionary relationships between photosynthetic organisms.

Reviewed by eLife

ATG6 interacting with NPR1 increases Arabidopsis thaliana resistance to Pst DC3000/avrRps4 by increasing its nuclear accumulation and stability

1. Baihong Zhang
2. Shuqin Huang
3. Shuyu Guo
4. Yixuan Meng
5. Yuzhen Tian
6. Yue Zhou
7. Hang Chen
8. Xue Li
9. Jun Zhou
10. Wenli Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study, which proposes a new role of ATG6 in plant immune response, makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of plant immunity. The results suggest a direct interaction between ATG6 and NPR1, a salicylic acid receptor protein, and they will be of interest to scientists studying the regulation of plant immunity. The data presented are convincing, although the discrepancies between data from fluorescence microscopy and protein blots, particularly in the interpretation of ATG6-mCherry fusion proteins. Addressing these inconsistencies would enhance the study's overall impact.

Reviewed by eLife

Dihydroxyhexanoic acid biosynthesis controls turgor in pathogenic fungi

1. Naoyoshi Kumakura
2. Takayuki Motoyama
3. Keisuke Miyazawa
4. Toshihiko Nogawa
5. Katsuma Yonehara
6. Kaori Sakai
7. Nobuaki Ishihama
8. Kaisei Matsumori
9. Pamela Gan
10. Hiroyuki Koshino
11. Takeshi Fukuma
12. Richard J. O’Connell
13. Ken Shirasu

Reviewed by PREreview

Short heat shock factor A2 confers heat sensitivity in Arabidopsis: Insights into heat resistance and growth balance

1. Wanxia Chen
2. Jiaqi Zhao
3. Zhanxia Tao
4. Shan Zhang
5. Xiujuan Bei
6. Wen Lu
7. Xiaoting Qi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper reports a novel mechanism of regulation of the heat shock response in plants that acts as a brake to prevent hyperactivation of the stress response. The findings are valuable to understand and potentially manipulate the plant's response to heat stress and the presented evidence is overall solid. However, in some cases, the data are either poorly presented or insufficient to support the primary claims.

Reviewed by eLife

Root-specific theanine metabolism and regulation at the single-cell level in tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

1. Shijia Lin
2. Yiwen Zhang
3. Shupei Zhang
4. Yijie Wei
5. Mengxue Han
6. Yamei Deng
7. Jiayi Guo
8. Biying Zhu
9. Tianyuan Yang
10. Enhua Xia
11. Xiaochun Wan
12. William J Lucas
13. Zhaoliang Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study combines experimental and theoretical approaches to examine metabolites at the single-cell level in tea plants. The authors skilfully integrated various tools available for this type of research, and meticulously presented and illustrated every step of the survey. The overall quality of the work is convincing, and it represents an important contribution to our understanding of the compartmentalization of biosynthesis pathways.

Reviewed by eLife

Root cap cell corpse clearance limits microbial colonization in Arabidopsis thaliana

1. Nyasha Charura
2. Ernesto Llamas
3. Concetta De Quattro
4. David Vilchez
5. Moritz K Nowack
6. Alga Zuccaro

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study investigated the involvement of programmed cell death (PCD) in Arabidopsis thaliana root cap cells and its effect on microbial colonization. The authors have reported the importance of timely corpse clearance in the root cap and a root cap-specific transcription factor in controlling microbial colonization by beneficial fungi. By demonstrating the connection between transcriptional control of PCD and microbial colonization, this study provides fundamental insights into how relationships are established and regulated at the root-microbiome interface. The strength of the evidence presented is convincing, providing a foundation for further research concerning the spatial and temporal dynamics of microbiome recruitment along the root axis.

Reviewed by eLife