Plant Biology

A bacterial type III effector hijacks plant ubiquitin proteases to evade degradation

1. Wenjia Yu
2. Meng Li
3. Wenjun Wang
4. Haiyan Zhuang
5. Jiamin Luo
6. Yuying Sang
7. Cecile Segonzac
8. Alberto P. Macho

Reviewed by PREreview

H1 restricts euchromatin-associated methylation pathways from heterochromatic encroachment

1. C Jake Harris
2. Zhenhui Zhong
3. Lucia Ichino
4. Suhua Feng
5. Steven E Jacobsen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study indicates a role for linker Histone H1 in protecting heterochromatic regions from certain types of repression. The experiments and data analysis that support the model for the role of linker Histone H1are solid, although additional experiments could provide a deeper mechanistic understanding. The study will be of broad interest to those interested in the role of chromatin in eukaryotic gene expression.

Reviewed by eLife

Metabolic enzymes moonlight as selective autophagy receptors to protect plants against viral-induced cellular damage

1. Marion Clavel
2. Anita Bianchi
3. Roksolana Kobylinska
4. Roan Groh
5. Juncai Ma
6. Ranjith K. Papareddy
7. Nenad Grujic
8. Lorenzo Picchianti
9. Ethan Stewart
10. Michael Schutzbier
11. Karel Stejskal
12. Juan Carlos de la Concepcion
13. Victor Sanchez de Medina Hernandez
14. Yoav Voichek
15. Pieter Clauw
16. Joanna Gunis
17. Gerhard Durnberger
18. Jens Christian Muelders
19. Annett Grimm
20. Arthur Sedivy
21. Mathieu Erhardt
22. Victoria Vyboishchikov
23. Peng Gao
24. Esther Lechner
25. Emilie Vantard
26. Jakub Jez
27. Elisabeth Roitinger
28. Pascal Genschik
29. Byung-Ho Kang
30. Yasin Dagdas

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

A fungal transcription factor converts a beneficial root endophyte into an anthracnose leaf pathogen

1. Ren Ujimatsu
2. Junya Takino
3. Seishiro Aoki
4. Masami Nakamura
5. Hiromi Haba
6. Atsushi Minami
7. Kei Hiruma

Reviewed by PREreview

Graft incompatibility between pepper and tomato can be attributed to genetic incompatibility between diverged immune systems

1. Hannah Rae Thomas
2. Alice Gevorgyan
3. Alexandra Hermanson
4. Samantha Yanders
5. Lindsay Erndwein
6. Matthew Norman-Ariztía
7. Erin E. Sparks
8. Margaret H Frank

Reviewed by PREreview

Improving rice drought tolerance through host-mediated microbiome selection

1. Alex Styer
2. Dean Pettinga
3. Daniel Caddell
4. Devin Coleman-Derr

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study reports on a series of artificial selection experiments for microbiomes that confer drought tolerance to rice plants. A major strength is the solid experimental design with multiple soils, which will likely guide others in designing their experiments, but the study has also shortcomings in that the rescuing effect is not benchmarked against healthy well-watered plants, the sterilized controls do not add much information, and the dispersal between inocula confounds the interpretation of the results. In addition, while the type of work presented here is a first step towards the eventual goal of plant microbiome engineering, that goal is still mainly an ambition. The abstract would benefit from this being made clear, and the presentation would overall benefit from more extensive consideration of recent developments in the field.

Reviewed by eLife

Characterization of the small Arabidopsis thaliana GTPase and ADP-ribosylation factor-like 2 protein TITAN 5

1. Inga Mohr
2. Amin Mirzaiebadizi
3. Sibaji K. Sanyal
4. Pichaporn Chuenban
5. Mohammad R. Ahmadian
6. Rumen Ivanov
7. Petra Bauer

Reviewed by Review Commons

Natural genetic variation underlying the negative effect of elevated CO2 on ionome composition in Arabidopsis thaliana

1. Oceane Cassan
2. Lea-Lou Pimpare
3. Timothy Mozzanino
4. Cecile Fizames
5. Sebastien Devidal
6. Fabrice Roux
7. Alexandru Milcu
8. Sophie Lebre
9. Alain Gojon
10. Antoine Martin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper provides useful information about how the ionome of Arabidopsis thaliana adapts to very high CO2-levels, backed up by solid evidence and carefully designed studies. The work will be of interest to anyone studying natural genetic variation as well as the response of plants to altered CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

Reviewed by eLife

A shade-responsive microProtein in the Arabidopsis ATHB2 gene regulates elongation growth and root development

1. Ashleigh Edwards
2. Maurizio Junior Chiurazzi
3. Anko Blaakmeer
4. Ylenia Vittozzi
5. Ashish Sharma
6. Sanne Matton
7. Valdeko Kruusvee
8. Daniel Straub
9. Giovanna Sessa
10. Monica Carabelli
11. Giorgio Morelli
12. Stephan Wenkel

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Through a genome-wide screen for functional alternative transcription start sites (TSS) in Arabidopsis, the authors provide evidence for widespread transcription of potential microproteins from previously annotated protein-coding genes. Functional analysis of AtHB2-miP, derived from the C-terminal region of transcription factor AtHB2 and predicted to form non-productive dimers with ATHB2, suggested that this microprotein could affect AtHB2 functions in shade responses, root growth, and iron homeostasis. The work is valuable as a case study of how new microproteins could act to modulate gene regulation in response to environmental change, but the focus on a single gene, the lack of precision in AtHB2-miP measurement and missing controls, and the relatively minor phenotypic effects mean that data supporting microprotein production as a vital regulatory strategy are incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Unraveling the role of urea hydrolysis in salt stress response during seed germination and seedling growth in Arabidopsis thaliana

1. Yuanyuan Bu
2. Xingye Dong
3. Rongrong Zhang
4. Xianglian Shen
5. Yan Liu
6. Shu Wang
7. Tetsuo Takano
8. Shenkui Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study advances our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying salt stress-induced inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, with rigorous genetic, physiological, and metabolic analyses. This paper will be of interest to plant stress biologists and crop breeders.

Reviewed by eLife