Volume 35, Issue 6, June 2023

Twelve experts present and discuss new and long-standing compelling open questions in plant RNA biology and future perspectives in the field.

Most primary RNAs mature through various RNA processing and modification events; here we review the current advances in understanding the crosstalk between transcription and RNA maturation in plants.

A unique translatomic resource provides insight into the translational control of gene expression during bread wheat grain development, facilitating crop improvement for optimal yield and quality.

The crystal structure of DYW1 provides structural insight into the activation mechanism of cytidine deaminase by complementation of the substrate pocket in the DYW domain.

Maintaining protein homeostasis among different subunits of the m⁶ A methyltransferase complex is essential for ensuring proper m⁶ A deposition in plants.

Arabidopsis PRP39a and SmD1b, two conserved spliceosome components, participate in splicing and synergistically promote transgene PTGS by preventing aberrant RNA degradation in the nucleus.

GSK3 phosphorylates the Green Revolution protein Rht-B1b, enhancing its ability to inhibit target transcription factor activity to reduce plant height in wheat.

Natural variation at KCS4 underlies a differential accumulation of polyunsaturated triacylglycerols under carbon starvation, by acting as a branch point in the fate of fatty acids.

A signaling pathway to accommodate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi consists of receptor-like kinase–associated components at the periarbuscular membrane and is evolutionarily conserved in legumes and cereals.

The E3 ligase SIZ1 regulates apical hook development by SUMOylating HOOKLESS1 in the dark, with light-induced ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 suppressing SIZ1 transcription to initiate apical hook unfolding.

The MADS-box transcription factors SISTER OF TM3 and JOINTLESS 2 affect each other’s binding to FRUITFULL1 in an antagonistic regulatory module controlling tomato inflorescence branch number.

FLOWERING LOCUS T1 and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 control the number of lateral branches and their branching iterations in the thyrse inflorescence of woodland strawberry.

EARLY FLOWERING3β (ELF3β) is generated via alternative promoter usage at the ELF3 locus and promotes flowering by blocking the function of ELF3α

Brassinosteroid signaling modulates the expression of 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthases, the rate-limiting enzymes in very long-chain fatty acid biosynthesis, thus regulating cotton fiber elongation.

PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE1 (PHR1) functions with JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) repressors and MYC2 to maintain the appropriate level of jasmonate signaling under conditions of phosphate deficiency.

Arabidopsis OPT3 loads Cu and Fe into phloem companion cells for distribution to sink tissues and systemic signaling of Cu and Fe deficiencies.

SWEET family proteins can additionally transport cytokinins synergistically with sugars during barley grain filling

ID1 functions as an autonomous phosphate regulator upstream of the miR399-ZmPHO2 module and contributes to the link between phosphate homeostasis and plant development in maize.

Amino acid residues at the N and C termini are required for polar localization of a silicon transporter in rice and this polarity is important for efficient silicon uptake.

3-KETOACYL-COA SYNTHASE3 (KCS3) lacks canonical catalytic activity and negatively regulates cuticular wax synthesis by reducing the activities of KCS6s across diverse plant taxa from Arabidopsis to moss.

The ethylene-activated PpERF9-TOPLESS complex suppresses pear anthocyanin biosynthesis by inhibiting PpMYB114 and PpRAP2.4 expression via histone deacetylation.

Independent evolutionary processes led to homo- and heteromeric geranyl diphosphate synthases (GPPSs), and Leu-Val/Val-Ala residues were keys in homomeric GPPS and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase divergence.

Arabidopsis APEs have different substrate preferences and are required for genomic integrity in somatic and meiotic cells.

The START domain potentiates HD-ZIPIII TF activity and uses ligand-induced conformational change to enable DNA binding, a finding that answers a long-standing question in plant development.

Dissection of an enhancer that drives giant cell-specific expression reveals that activation via TCPs and HD-ZIPs and repression via Dof transcription factors combine to mediate cell type specificity.

Maize ZmVPS23-like, a component of the ESCRT-I complex, interacts with the NLR protein Rp1-D21 and mediates its relocation to endosomes to suppress the defense response.

Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of OsWRKY31 in OsMKK10-2-mediated defense signaling.

Specific 14-3-3 proteins enable activation of MAPK cascades by surface immune receptors.