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Triclosan (TCS), an antimicrobial agent commonly found in consumer products, has been reported to exacerbates colitis in animal models. Here, using in vitro and in vivo approaches, the authors show that gut bacterial enzymes can drive the metabolic activation and gut toxicity of TCS, highlighting an important role of intestinal microbial factors in the complex etiology of colitis.

Long hairpin RNA (hpRNA) transgenes are the most widely used RNAi technology in plants, but are potentially subject to self-induced transcriptional silencing. Here, the authors show nucleotide mismatches prevent intrinsic self-silencing of hpRNA transgenes in Arabidopsis and tobacco.

In most C₄ lineages, photosynthesis is compartmented between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells. Using the C₃ model Arabidopsis, this study identifies cis-elements and transcription factors driving gene expression restricted to bundle sheath strands.

Expression of Medicago truncatula symbiosis-specific nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) genes in soybean—which lacks NCR—is induced by conserved transcription factors in the symbiotic nodule cells and provokes features of terminal differentiation of endosymbiotic Rhizobium bacteroids.

VRN2 is a Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 subunit, best known as a regulator of vernalization that accumulates during prolonged cold. Here Gibbs et al. show that VRN2 is degraded via the N-end rule pathway, which  prevents ectopic accumulation of VRN2 in the absence of appropriate environmental stimuli.

Zinc (Zn) is one of the essential micronutrients for plant growth and development, but the Zn-sensing mechanisms are poorly understood in plants. Two Arabidopsis bZIP transcription factors were previously shown to modulate plant responses to Zn deficiency. In this study, the authors find that they are indeed the sensors of Zn in Arabidopsis.

Jasmonate derivatives regulate numerous defense and developmental pathways in plants. A chemical screen in Arabidopsis thaliana identifies jarin-1 as an inhibitor of jasmonate biosynthesis and a potential chemical probe of jasmonate signaling.

In contrast to the current model based on fast recycling of the K/HDEL receptor (ERD2) between the ER and the Golgi apparatus, here authors show evidence that ERD2 is specifically retained in the Golgi apparatus and evades joining its ligands en route to the ER.

The chromatin remodelling protein CHR2 interacts with Serrate in Arabidopsis to regulate microRNA biogenesis.

Lateral roots emerge from the primary root at right angles but briefly grow asymmetrically to set a distinct growth angle. Here Waidmann et al. show that cytokinin acts as an anti-gravitropic signal that impairs growth on the upper side of emerged lateral roots to promote radial expansion of the root system.

Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are a subfamily of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Here, the authors report a cryo-EM structure of the human TAS2R14 in complex with its signaling partner gustducin, and bound to an anti-inflammatory drug flufenamic acid (FFA).

This study identifies the CLE peptides involved with the SUNN receptor in the autoregulation of the mycorrhizal symbiosis pathway during colonization of Medicago roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

RNA secondary structure is a new regulatory layer of transcript fates. Here, Li et al. find that plant RNA helicase Brr2a, acting beyond its canonical role in spliceosome, can optimize secondary structure of pri-miRNAs to promote miRNA production.

This study shows that plants form epidermal cells anew to protect a vulnerable new surface exposed by organ abscission while facilitating the subsequent growth of tissue and fruit at the abscission site.

Epigenetic regulation is critical for controlling gene expression during the transition from embryo to seedling in plants. Here Gao et al. report that in Arabidopsis, the SCARECROW-LIKE15 protein physically interacts with a histone deacetylase to repress expression of embryonic traits in seedlings.

Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing and chromatin-accessibility analyses in rice (a C₃ plant) and sorghum (a C₄ plant) provide insight into how C₄ photosynthesis evolved in bundle-sheath cells, revealing that the acquisition of ancestral cis-elements was key.

Agrobacterium infection can cause defense responses in many plants, which leads to transformation recalcitrance. Here, the authors express type III secretion system in Agrobacterium to deliver effector proteins into plant cells to suppress host defense responses and thus enhance transformation in some plant species.

Analysis of a new Arabidopsis mutant shows that SGT1b protein associates with chaperones to stabilize jasmonate receptor Col1 and auxin hormone F-box receptor TIR1. This study highlights the importance of chaperone complexes in hormone signalling.

Ethylene is synthesized from the non-proteinogenic amino acid ACC. Here, Mou et al. show that ACC itself acts independently of ethylene to trigger secretion of a pollen tube attractant in the sporophytic tissue of Arabidopsis ovules and can activate Ca²⁺-currents via GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE channels.

A plant endogenous peptide-receptor signaling pathway termed SCREW–NUT is described; it counteracts microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)- and abscisic acid-induced stomatal closure to regulate the reopening of stomata after biotic and abiotic stresses.

Cytosolic RNA degradation by the RNA exosome requires the Ski complex. Here the authors show that the proteins RST1 and RIPR assist the RNA exosome and the Ski complex in RNA degradation, thereby preventing the production of secondary siRNAs from endogenous mRNAs.

CLASSY (CLSY) proteins regulate DNA methylation at specific loci in the Arabidopsis genome. Here the authors show that the CLSYs also control tissue-specific DNA methylation, including at siren loci in ovules, and that the lack of an individual CLSYs can shift the epigenetic landscape between tissues.

Arabidopsis root-hair position and orientation in epithelial cells is directed by an auxin gradient maximum at the root tip. The Raf-like kinase CTR1 negatively regulates local auxin biosynthesis in the root to determine root hair position.

Agricultural rice production germinates seeds and establishes seedlings underwater. Now a trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) phosphatase, OsTPP7, is shown to enhance anaerobic germination tolerance by increasing T6P turnover and thus starch mobilization.

Screening in Escherichia coli and biochemical experiments show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, OSCA2.1 and OSCA2.2 function as plant sensors of hypo-osmolarity, utilize Ca²⁺ oscillations as second messengers and have crucial roles in pollen germination.

Engineering of a biosensor allows the authors to map the signaling activity of the phytohormones gibberellins (GAs) and to show that GAs orient cell division at the shoot apex to establish the organization in parallel cell files of plant stems.

Little is known about the selection of regulatory mechanisms for plant microRNAs. Now a Dicer partnering protein, DRB2, is reported to determine translational inhibition and repress transcript cleavage, allowing the selection of the two mechanisms.

Nuclear calcium oscillations initiate plant–arbuscular mycorrhiza and nitrogen-fixing bacteria symbioses for nutrient acquisition, with a newly discovered autoactive CNGC15 mutant enhancing these partnerships, potentially improving crop nutrition and reducing inorganic fertilizer dependence.

This paper describes the discovery of the exopolysaccharide receptor (Epr3) in plants, and shows that its expression is induced upon perception of the bacterial Nod factors; the EPR3 receptor recognizes exopolysaccharides on the surface of rhizobia, thus controlling the symbiotic infection of the roots of legumes.

Alan Lloyd and colleagues identify a MYB gene in beet that acts as a key regulator of the betalain red pigmentation pathway. They further show that this gene resides at the classical Y pigmentation locus and shares homology with MYB genes that encode positive regulators of the anthocyanin pigmentation pathway in other species.

Cell-surface receptors form the front line of plant immunity. Here, the authors show that the RLP co-receptors SOBIR1 and BAK1 directly phosphorylate each other, leading to activation of the immune receptor complex in which RLCKs are differentially required for production of reactive oxygen species that play a role in resistance against Phytophthora palmivora.

Peptide signals generated during plant microbe interactions can trigger immune responses in plants. Here the authors show that SCOOP12, a member of a family of peptides present in Brassicaceae plants, and SCOOP12-like motifs in Fusarium fungi, can trigger immune responses following perception by the MIK2 receptor kinase.

Hypoxia in the shoot meristem of Arabidopsis links the regulation of metabolic activity to development by inhibiting proteolysis of a substrate of the N-degron pathway, which controls class-III homeodomain-leucine zipper transcription factors.

NPR1 is a highly conserved key regulator of SA-mediated immunity. Here, the authors show that it also plays an essential role in a previously unknown pathway that allows plants to adapt and acclimatize to cold temperatures.

This study provides evidence that microbiota has a fundamental role in immune maturation and age-dependent disease resistance in plants. Results also implicate a negative impact of high nitrogen on microbiota colonization and function.

The Casparian strip (CS) is a hydrophobic endodermal barrier isolating the cortex from the vasculature in the roots. A visual genetic screen identifies SCHENGEN1, a novel receptor-like kinase crucial for the integrity and positioning of the CS.

The orientation of plant roots responds to gravity and influences nutrient acquisition. Here the authors show that the formin RMD buffers movement of specialized gravity-sensing organelles and report enhanced RMD expression during phosphate deficiency that could alter root angle to improve phosphate uptake.

In a new study including 200 families who experienced perinatal death, adding genomic analyses to standard autopsies improved the identification of underlying pathogenic causes and informed genetic counseling.