Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02165-9
The jack-o’-lantern, the carved pumpkin with the evil grin, has become the emblem of Halloween. This lantern has its historic roots in carved turnips, which have been used in folklore for hundreds of years.
{"title":"The spookiest plant","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02165-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02165-9","url":null,"abstract":"The jack-o’-lantern, the carved pumpkin with the evil grin, has become the emblem of Halloween. This lantern has its historic roots in carved turnips, which have been used in folklore for hundreds of years.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 11","pages":"2183-2184"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02165-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145538063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N4-acetylcytidine is an evolutionarily conserved RNA modification that plays a key role in regulating transcript stability and translation. Although extensively studied in mammals, its prevalence and functional importance in plant transcriptomes remain unclear. Recent advances in transcriptome-wide mapping and functional characterization have revealed the important role of N4-acetylcytidine modification in plant-specific processes. Here we discuss how N4-acetylcytidine is deposited by plant writers, summarize its influence on plant development and adaptation, outline the major challenges and future directions in the field and highlight its potential applications for crop improvement. This Perspective highlights N4-acetylcytidine as an emerging RNA modification in plants that regulates development and stress responses by modulating mRNA stability, translation and splicing. Manipulation of N4-acetylcytidine offers promising strategies for crop improvement.
{"title":"The emerging epitranscriptomic modification ac4C regulates plant development and stress adaptation","authors":"Jiayu Yao, Guiyu Xiao, Xuan Ma, Shugang Hui, Heyang Shang, Jisen Zhang, Qiutao Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02140-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02140-4","url":null,"abstract":"N4-acetylcytidine is an evolutionarily conserved RNA modification that plays a key role in regulating transcript stability and translation. Although extensively studied in mammals, its prevalence and functional importance in plant transcriptomes remain unclear. Recent advances in transcriptome-wide mapping and functional characterization have revealed the important role of N4-acetylcytidine modification in plant-specific processes. Here we discuss how N4-acetylcytidine is deposited by plant writers, summarize its influence on plant development and adaptation, outline the major challenges and future directions in the field and highlight its potential applications for crop improvement. This Perspective highlights N4-acetylcytidine as an emerging RNA modification in plants that regulates development and stress responses by modulating mRNA stability, translation and splicing. Manipulation of N4-acetylcytidine offers promising strategies for crop improvement.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 11","pages":"2200-2203"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145538106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02155-x
Paul J. Seear, Henry J. A. Dowling, Maja Szymańska-Lejman, Wojciech Dziegielewski, Simona Debilio, F. Chris H. Franklin, Kevin D. Corbett, Owen R. Davies, Piotr A. Ziolkowski, James D. Higgins
The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a meiosis-specific tripartite proteinaceous structure that regulates the number and positions of crossovers (COs). Here we characterize SCEP3, a new Arabidopsis SC component that is essential for CO assurance, promoting positive CO interference and preventing negative CO interference. SCEP3 localizes to the chromosome axes as numerous foci at leptotene, of which a small proportion cluster as large foci that initiate synapsis. SCEP3 then relocates to the central region of the SC as ZYP1 polymerizes. In the absence of SCEP3, homologues align but do not synapse. In the scep3 mutants, COs increase in number towards the chromosome ends and are more likely to cluster together. SCEP3 encodes an 801-amino-acid intrinsically disordered protein that is structurally similar to SIX6OS1 in mammals and SYP-4 in nematodes, containing phenylalanine repeats at the amino terminus and a carboxy-terminal coiled-coil, suggesting that it is a fundamentally conserved SC component across kingdoms. SCEP3 is a new synaptonemal complex protein that prevents clustering of crossovers during meiosis in Arabidopsis, so that every pair of homologous chromosomes receives at least one ‘obligate’ crossover.
{"title":"SCEP3 initiates synapsis and implements crossover interference in Arabidopsis","authors":"Paul J. Seear, Henry J. A. Dowling, Maja Szymańska-Lejman, Wojciech Dziegielewski, Simona Debilio, F. Chris H. Franklin, Kevin D. Corbett, Owen R. Davies, Piotr A. Ziolkowski, James D. Higgins","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02155-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02155-x","url":null,"abstract":"The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a meiosis-specific tripartite proteinaceous structure that regulates the number and positions of crossovers (COs). Here we characterize SCEP3, a new Arabidopsis SC component that is essential for CO assurance, promoting positive CO interference and preventing negative CO interference. SCEP3 localizes to the chromosome axes as numerous foci at leptotene, of which a small proportion cluster as large foci that initiate synapsis. SCEP3 then relocates to the central region of the SC as ZYP1 polymerizes. In the absence of SCEP3, homologues align but do not synapse. In the scep3 mutants, COs increase in number towards the chromosome ends and are more likely to cluster together. SCEP3 encodes an 801-amino-acid intrinsically disordered protein that is structurally similar to SIX6OS1 in mammals and SYP-4 in nematodes, containing phenylalanine repeats at the amino terminus and a carboxy-terminal coiled-coil, suggesting that it is a fundamentally conserved SC component across kingdoms. SCEP3 is a new synaptonemal complex protein that prevents clustering of crossovers during meiosis in Arabidopsis, so that every pair of homologous chromosomes receives at least one ‘obligate’ crossover.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 12","pages":"2531-2547"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02155-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145536111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02156-w
Biomolecular condensates organize immune signalling, yet their roles in stomata remain unclear. We show that, in guard cells, the RNA-binding protein SAIR1 forms biomolecular condensates upon pathogen perception, which enhance the translation of defence-related mRNAs to prompt stomatal closure. This mechanism probably provides a rapid, frontline immune response in plants.
{"title":"Biomolecular condensates translate pathogen signals into stomatal closure","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02156-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02156-w","url":null,"abstract":"Biomolecular condensates organize immune signalling, yet their roles in stomata remain unclear. We show that, in guard cells, the RNA-binding protein SAIR1 forms biomolecular condensates upon pathogen perception, which enhance the translation of defence-related mRNAs to prompt stomatal closure. This mechanism probably provides a rapid, frontline immune response in plants.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 12","pages":"2457-2458"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145536109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02128-0
Mamadou Dia Sow, Cristian Forestan, Caroline Pont, Peter Civan, Raffaella Battaglia, Michael Seidel, Clea Siguret, Pasquale Luca Curci, Alessandro Tondelli, Daniela Bustos Korts, Elisabetta Mazzucotelli, Thibault Leroy, Cécile Huneau, Manon Delayhe, Danara Ormanbekova, Matteo Bozzoli, Perle Guarino-Vignon, Caroline Schaal, Manon Cabanis, Marie Lelievre, Jean Cayrol, Davide Guerra, Domenica Nigro, Agata Gadaleta, Jennifer Ens, Krystalee Wiebe, Beth Shapiro, Richard E. Green, Fred van Eeuwijk, Micha Bayer, Joanne Russell, Ian Dawson, Robbie Waugh, Benjamin Kilian, Ludovic Orlando, Gabriella Sonnante, Curtis J. Pozniak, Roberto Tuberosa, Georg Haberer, Marco Maccaferri, Luigi Cattivelli, Jerome Salse
Over the past 10,000 years, the development of civilization has been enabled by the domestication of plants and animals tailored to human needs. The Triticeae tribe, including barley and wheat, has emerged as one of the most important sources of staple foods worldwide. Here, comparing genomes of wheat and barley genotypes from around the world, we unveiled genomic footprints of convergent selection affecting genes involved in crop adaptation and productivity, as well as a lack of parallel selection for diverse genes delivering genetic diversity specific to particular geographic and associated environmental conditions. We demonstrate that studying convergent selection between crops can help to identify genes crucial for adaptation and sources of diversity for improving cultivated species—forming the basis of the proposed concept of inter-crop translational research for breeding. Convergent selection between crops can help to identify genetic variants with important roles in adaptation as a source of diversity for the improvement of cultivated species through the concept of inter-crop translational research for breeding.
{"title":"Striking convergent selection history of wheat and barley and its potential for breeding","authors":"Mamadou Dia Sow, Cristian Forestan, Caroline Pont, Peter Civan, Raffaella Battaglia, Michael Seidel, Clea Siguret, Pasquale Luca Curci, Alessandro Tondelli, Daniela Bustos Korts, Elisabetta Mazzucotelli, Thibault Leroy, Cécile Huneau, Manon Delayhe, Danara Ormanbekova, Matteo Bozzoli, Perle Guarino-Vignon, Caroline Schaal, Manon Cabanis, Marie Lelievre, Jean Cayrol, Davide Guerra, Domenica Nigro, Agata Gadaleta, Jennifer Ens, Krystalee Wiebe, Beth Shapiro, Richard E. Green, Fred van Eeuwijk, Micha Bayer, Joanne Russell, Ian Dawson, Robbie Waugh, Benjamin Kilian, Ludovic Orlando, Gabriella Sonnante, Curtis J. Pozniak, Roberto Tuberosa, Georg Haberer, Marco Maccaferri, Luigi Cattivelli, Jerome Salse","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02128-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02128-0","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past 10,000 years, the development of civilization has been enabled by the domestication of plants and animals tailored to human needs. The Triticeae tribe, including barley and wheat, has emerged as one of the most important sources of staple foods worldwide. Here, comparing genomes of wheat and barley genotypes from around the world, we unveiled genomic footprints of convergent selection affecting genes involved in crop adaptation and productivity, as well as a lack of parallel selection for diverse genes delivering genetic diversity specific to particular geographic and associated environmental conditions. We demonstrate that studying convergent selection between crops can help to identify genes crucial for adaptation and sources of diversity for improving cultivated species—forming the basis of the proposed concept of inter-crop translational research for breeding. Convergent selection between crops can help to identify genetic variants with important roles in adaptation as a source of diversity for the improvement of cultivated species through the concept of inter-crop translational research for breeding.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 11","pages":"2268-2285"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02128-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145531499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-14DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02151-1
Lingling Ye, Xin Wang, Juan José Valle-Delgado, Julia P. Vainonen, Isaac Wopereis, Kavindra Kumar Kesari, Junko Takahashi, Maija Sierla, Ari Pekka Mähönen
Plant growth originates from the interlinked action of cell division and cell growth. During radial growth of secondary tissues, bifacial cambial stem cells grow and divide to produce xylem and phloem precursors, which subsequently undergo expansion characteristic of their respective differentiation processes. In Arabidopsis roots, cytokinins and four downstream LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD) transcription factors are key players in promoting radial growth, though the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here our results indicate that these LBD genes primarily regulate cell growth rather than proliferation. Through a large-scale CRISPR–Cas9-aided reverse genetic screen, we identified a set of PECTATE LYASE-LIKE (PLL) genes that function downstream of cytokinin and the LBDs in the regulation of radial growth. We show that at least one of these PLLs, PLL18, possesses pectate lyase activity. In accordance with this activity, PLLs and LBDs promote radial growth by modifying the pectin composition and mechanical properties of the primary cell wall. Our findings thus connect the central role of cytokinins in radial growth with cell wall remodelling and pave a way for further research on hormone-mediated plant growth regulation and cell wall metabolism. This study reveals that LBD transcription factors in the cambium drive radial plant growth by regulating PECTATE LYASE-LIKE (PLL) enzymes that remodel cell wall pectin, promoting cell expansion.
{"title":"Cambium LBDs promote radial growth by regulating PLL-mediated pectin metabolism","authors":"Lingling Ye, Xin Wang, Juan José Valle-Delgado, Julia P. Vainonen, Isaac Wopereis, Kavindra Kumar Kesari, Junko Takahashi, Maija Sierla, Ari Pekka Mähönen","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02151-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02151-1","url":null,"abstract":"Plant growth originates from the interlinked action of cell division and cell growth. During radial growth of secondary tissues, bifacial cambial stem cells grow and divide to produce xylem and phloem precursors, which subsequently undergo expansion characteristic of their respective differentiation processes. In Arabidopsis roots, cytokinins and four downstream LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD) transcription factors are key players in promoting radial growth, though the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here our results indicate that these LBD genes primarily regulate cell growth rather than proliferation. Through a large-scale CRISPR–Cas9-aided reverse genetic screen, we identified a set of PECTATE LYASE-LIKE (PLL) genes that function downstream of cytokinin and the LBDs in the regulation of radial growth. We show that at least one of these PLLs, PLL18, possesses pectate lyase activity. In accordance with this activity, PLLs and LBDs promote radial growth by modifying the pectin composition and mechanical properties of the primary cell wall. Our findings thus connect the central role of cytokinins in radial growth with cell wall remodelling and pave a way for further research on hormone-mediated plant growth regulation and cell wall metabolism. This study reveals that LBD transcription factors in the cambium drive radial plant growth by regulating PECTATE LYASE-LIKE (PLL) enzymes that remodel cell wall pectin, promoting cell expansion.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 12","pages":"2565-2580"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02151-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145509226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-13DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02145-z
Frej Tulin, Yalikunjiang Aizezi, Andres V. Reyes, Yuji Fujieda, Arthur Grossman, Shou-ling Xu, Masayuki Onishi, Farhah F. Assaad, Zhi-Yong Wang
Cell cycle regulation is well understood in opisthokonts (fungi and metazoans) but not in plants or Apicomplexa, as some cell cycle regulators are not conserved. In opisthokonts, cell cycle progression requires the dephosphorylation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) by the CDC25 phosphatase. Plants have no CDC25, and thus their mechanisms of cell cycle regulation remain elusive. Here we show that the BSL1 phosphatase dephosphorylates CDKB1 to promote mitotic entry in Chlamydomonas. Alterations of BSL1 or CDKB1 block mitotic entry after DNA replication. BSL1 shows dynamic localization through the cell cycle at the basal bodies, spindle poles and cleavage furrow. CDKB1 is hyperphosphorylated at the Thr14 and Tyr15 residues in the bsl1 mutant and in wild-type cells treated with DNA replication inhibitors. BSL1 binds to CDKB1 and dephosphorylates CDKB1 pThr14/pTyr15 in vitro. Phospho-mimicking alterations of Thr14/Tyr15 inactivate CDKB1 function, whereas phospho-blocking alterations cause sensitivity to DNA replication inhibitors, which delay cytokinesis in wild-type cells more than in cells expressing unphosphorylatable mutant CDKB1. These results indicate that CDKB1 Thr14 and Tyr15 are phosphorylated to block mitotic entry before DNA replication is complete, and BSL1 dephosphorylates CDKB1 to promote mitosis. Our study demonstrates that BSL1, a phosphatase conserved in plants and Apicomplexa but absent in fungi and animals, is a CDKB1-activating mitosis-promoting factor that has evolved additional signalling functions in receptor kinase pathways in higher plants. The mechanism controlling mitosis is not understood in plants. Tulin et al. show that mitosis is prevented by CDKB phosphorylation and promoted by BSL1-mediated dephosphorylation, revealing the mechanism of mitotic control in the plant kingdom.
{"title":"Mitotic entry is controlled by the plant-specific phosphatase BSL1 and cyclin-dependent kinase B","authors":"Frej Tulin, Yalikunjiang Aizezi, Andres V. Reyes, Yuji Fujieda, Arthur Grossman, Shou-ling Xu, Masayuki Onishi, Farhah F. Assaad, Zhi-Yong Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02145-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02145-z","url":null,"abstract":"Cell cycle regulation is well understood in opisthokonts (fungi and metazoans) but not in plants or Apicomplexa, as some cell cycle regulators are not conserved. In opisthokonts, cell cycle progression requires the dephosphorylation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) by the CDC25 phosphatase. Plants have no CDC25, and thus their mechanisms of cell cycle regulation remain elusive. Here we show that the BSL1 phosphatase dephosphorylates CDKB1 to promote mitotic entry in Chlamydomonas. Alterations of BSL1 or CDKB1 block mitotic entry after DNA replication. BSL1 shows dynamic localization through the cell cycle at the basal bodies, spindle poles and cleavage furrow. CDKB1 is hyperphosphorylated at the Thr14 and Tyr15 residues in the bsl1 mutant and in wild-type cells treated with DNA replication inhibitors. BSL1 binds to CDKB1 and dephosphorylates CDKB1 pThr14/pTyr15 in vitro. Phospho-mimicking alterations of Thr14/Tyr15 inactivate CDKB1 function, whereas phospho-blocking alterations cause sensitivity to DNA replication inhibitors, which delay cytokinesis in wild-type cells more than in cells expressing unphosphorylatable mutant CDKB1. These results indicate that CDKB1 Thr14 and Tyr15 are phosphorylated to block mitotic entry before DNA replication is complete, and BSL1 dephosphorylates CDKB1 to promote mitosis. Our study demonstrates that BSL1, a phosphatase conserved in plants and Apicomplexa but absent in fungi and animals, is a CDKB1-activating mitosis-promoting factor that has evolved additional signalling functions in receptor kinase pathways in higher plants. The mechanism controlling mitosis is not understood in plants. Tulin et al. show that mitosis is prevented by CDKB phosphorylation and promoted by BSL1-mediated dephosphorylation, revealing the mechanism of mitotic control in the plant kingdom.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 11","pages":"2395-2408"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02145-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145498267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant guard cells perceive pathogens and close stomata to prevent their invasion. Biomolecular condensates are membraneless organelles essential for life processes. However, guard cell biomolecular condensates mediating stomatal immunity remain unknown. Here we identify a guard-cell-preferential RNA-recognition-motif-type RNA-BINDING PROTEIN, STOMATAL IMMUNE RNA-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (SAIR1), that forms pathogen-responsive guard cell condensates via phase separation. Upon perception of the pathogen molecular pattern flg22, the activated kinases MPK3 and MPK6 phosphorylate SAIR1 and trigger its condensation in guard cells for stomatal immunity. SAIR1 condensates recruit translational regulators such as POLYADENYLATE-BINDING PROTEINs and eIFiso4G, and sequester defence-related mRNAs, including key components of the salicylic acid pathway. Through these interactions, SAIR1 condensates enhance the translation of defence mRNAs, ultimately promoting stomatal closure. Our findings reveal phosphorylation-regulated SAIR1 condensates as a critical hub that links flg22–MPK3/6 signalling to stomatal immunity. The RNA-binding protein SAIR1 forms phosphorylation-regulated condensates in guard cells, which link PAMP–MPK3/6 signalling to stomatal immunity. This finding reveals how biomolecular condensates regulate spatially specific immune responses in plants.
{"title":"Pathogen-induced condensation of the guard cell RNA-binding protein SAIR1 fine-tunes translation for immunity","authors":"Qiangsheng Yu, Jie Wu, Yunfan Jin, Tianxue Song, Wenrui Wang, Yuejuan Zeng, Huang Huang, Haiteng Deng, Wei Wang, Jianghui Xie, Zhi John Lu, Xiaofeng Fang, Susheng Song, Tiancong Qi","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02154-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02154-y","url":null,"abstract":"Plant guard cells perceive pathogens and close stomata to prevent their invasion. Biomolecular condensates are membraneless organelles essential for life processes. However, guard cell biomolecular condensates mediating stomatal immunity remain unknown. Here we identify a guard-cell-preferential RNA-recognition-motif-type RNA-BINDING PROTEIN, STOMATAL IMMUNE RNA-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (SAIR1), that forms pathogen-responsive guard cell condensates via phase separation. Upon perception of the pathogen molecular pattern flg22, the activated kinases MPK3 and MPK6 phosphorylate SAIR1 and trigger its condensation in guard cells for stomatal immunity. SAIR1 condensates recruit translational regulators such as POLYADENYLATE-BINDING PROTEINs and eIFiso4G, and sequester defence-related mRNAs, including key components of the salicylic acid pathway. Through these interactions, SAIR1 condensates enhance the translation of defence mRNAs, ultimately promoting stomatal closure. Our findings reveal phosphorylation-regulated SAIR1 condensates as a critical hub that links flg22–MPK3/6 signalling to stomatal immunity. The RNA-binding protein SAIR1 forms phosphorylation-regulated condensates in guard cells, which link PAMP–MPK3/6 signalling to stomatal immunity. This finding reveals how biomolecular condensates regulate spatially specific immune responses in plants.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 12","pages":"2548-2564"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145498266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-12DOI: 10.1038/s41477-025-02146-y
Julia M. Kraus, Michaela Neubergerová, Alvaro Furones Cuadrado, Neeltje Schilling, Dominique Eeckhout, Nancy De Winne, Eveline Van De Slijke, Michaël Vandorpe, Klaas Yperman, Evelien Mylle, Marcus Fislage, Geert De Jaeger, Roman Pleskot, Daniël Van Damme
Eukaryotic cells maintain homeostasis of their outer membrane by controlled internalization of lipid and protein constituents via endocytosis. Endocytosis is evolutionary conserved and uses similarly folded domains. How these structural folds are combined into proteins and protein complexes, however, differs between eukaryotic kingdoms. The TPLATE complex (TPC) in plants is an evolutionary ancient protein module that combines several protein domains with a conserved role in endocytosis into a single octameric protein complex. Its molecular architecture, lipid-nucleated condensate formation and requirement for clathrin cage curvature revealed its function in endocytosis initiation in plants. Mechanistic understanding of how this complex drives membrane deformation during plant endocytosis is, however, lacking. Here we used an integrative structural approach to obtain a precise molecular structure of the TPC of Arabidopsis thaliana. In addition, our approach allowed visualizing the structural flexibility that hallmarks this enigmatic complex. We prove that the intrinsic structural flexibility is required for its functionality and membrane recruitment. The membrane-binding interface consists of several domains with differential lipid preferences. Finally, we demonstrate via molecular dynamics simulations that the crescent shape of the structured part of the complex is sufficient for membrane curvature generation. Our mechanistic insight, obtained by a combined biochemical and computational approach, shows that the structured part of the TPC likely contributes to the execution of plant endocytosis, which does not depend on cytoskeletal-based force generation. The manuscript uses an integrative approach to generate a comprehensive structure of the multisubunit endocytic TPLATE complex and to study its membrane targeting and its role in membrane deformation during the initial phase of plant endocytosis.
{"title":"A combined biochemical and computational approach provides evidence for membrane remodelling by the structural scaffold of the endocytic TPLATE complex","authors":"Julia M. Kraus, Michaela Neubergerová, Alvaro Furones Cuadrado, Neeltje Schilling, Dominique Eeckhout, Nancy De Winne, Eveline Van De Slijke, Michaël Vandorpe, Klaas Yperman, Evelien Mylle, Marcus Fislage, Geert De Jaeger, Roman Pleskot, Daniël Van Damme","doi":"10.1038/s41477-025-02146-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41477-025-02146-y","url":null,"abstract":"Eukaryotic cells maintain homeostasis of their outer membrane by controlled internalization of lipid and protein constituents via endocytosis. Endocytosis is evolutionary conserved and uses similarly folded domains. How these structural folds are combined into proteins and protein complexes, however, differs between eukaryotic kingdoms. The TPLATE complex (TPC) in plants is an evolutionary ancient protein module that combines several protein domains with a conserved role in endocytosis into a single octameric protein complex. Its molecular architecture, lipid-nucleated condensate formation and requirement for clathrin cage curvature revealed its function in endocytosis initiation in plants. Mechanistic understanding of how this complex drives membrane deformation during plant endocytosis is, however, lacking. Here we used an integrative structural approach to obtain a precise molecular structure of the TPC of Arabidopsis thaliana. In addition, our approach allowed visualizing the structural flexibility that hallmarks this enigmatic complex. We prove that the intrinsic structural flexibility is required for its functionality and membrane recruitment. The membrane-binding interface consists of several domains with differential lipid preferences. Finally, we demonstrate via molecular dynamics simulations that the crescent shape of the structured part of the complex is sufficient for membrane curvature generation. Our mechanistic insight, obtained by a combined biochemical and computational approach, shows that the structured part of the TPC likely contributes to the execution of plant endocytosis, which does not depend on cytoskeletal-based force generation. The manuscript uses an integrative approach to generate a comprehensive structure of the multisubunit endocytic TPLATE complex and to study its membrane targeting and its role in membrane deformation during the initial phase of plant endocytosis.","PeriodicalId":18904,"journal":{"name":"Nature Plants","volume":"11 11","pages":"2423-2436"},"PeriodicalIF":13.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145492617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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