Plant disease symptoms exhibit complex spatial and temporal patterns that are challenging to quantify. Image-based phenotyping approaches enable multidimensional characterization of host-microbe interactions and are well suited to capture spatial and temporal data that are key to understanding disease progression. We applied image-based methods to investigate cassava bacterial blight, which is caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam).

Since the dawn of land plants, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) has played a critical role in regulating plant responses to water availability. Here we seek to explain the origins of the core ABA signaling pathway found in modern seed plants. Using the characterization of mutants and gene silencing in a fern species, we find that the same hormone signaling components are used in sex determination of ferns as are used for the control of seed dormancy and transpiration in seed plants.

Plant plasma membrane (PM) plays important roles in immune response. Here, we utilized quantitative mass spectrometry to explore the rice PM protein composition 34 and dynamic changes during Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae) infection. We report  thus far the largest rice PM Proteome dataset with 3,906 identified proteins, among which 484 proteins were differentially expressed after M. oryzae infection. One third  of the identified proteins are predicted to have at least one transmembrane domain

Resistant starch (RS) has the potential to protect against diabetes and reduce the incidence of diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, and chronic renal and hepatic diseases. In this study, we identified two critical starch synthase genes which together regulate RS biosynthesis in rice, and we explored their potential interactions as part of a network of starch biosynthetic enzymes. The findings hold promise for applications in breeding varieties with improvement of RS in hot cooked rice and may also have general implications for understanding RS biosynthesis in other major cereal crops.

Translation is the process by which ribosomes decode information in RNA to produce proteins. The resulting proteins constitute cellular structures and regulate diverse functions in all organisms. Translation also affects mRNA stability. As the final step of the central dogma, translation can alter protein production more rapidly than transcription in a changing environment

Sugarcane and maize plants showing symptoms typical of those described for the so-called "African streak viruses" (AfSVs) were encountered during field surveys conducted from February to July 2015 to document viruses infecting both crops across the northern Guinea savannah region of Nigeria. As part of this study, two categories of complete mastrevirus-like genome sequences were obtained from nine samples (maize = 2; sugarcane = 7)

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified (GM) crops is a process to evaluate whether the biotechnology trait(s) in a GM crop may result in increased pest potential or harm to the environment. In this analysis, two GM insect-resistant (IR) herbicide-tolerant maize hybrids (MON-89Ø34-3 × MON-88Ø17-3 and MON-89Ø34-3 × MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) and one herbicide-tolerant GM hybrid (MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) were compared with conventional maize hybrids of similar genetic backgrounds.

Ca²⁺ and CO₂ are fundamental biological signaling molecules in microbes, animals, and plants. Although Ca²⁺ was proposed to act as a second messenger in CO₂ signaling in guard cells of terrestrial plants, the role of Ca²⁺ in CO₂ signal transduction pathways in aquatic photosynthetic organisms remains largely unknown. We show here that a chloroplast Ca²⁺-binding protein, CAS, changes its localization in response to environmental CO₂ conditions and regulates the expression of nuclear-encoded limiting-CO₂–induced genes, including two key bicarbonate transporters.

Cold storage is widely used to extend shelf-life of agriculture products. For tomato, this handling results in reduced flavor quality. Our work provides major insights into the effects of chilling on consumer liking, the flavor metabolome and transcriptome, as well as DNA methylation status. Transcripts for some key volatile synthesis enzymes and the most important ripening-associated transcription factors are greatly reduced in response to chilling.

Brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens Stål, is one of the most devastating insect pests of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Currently, 30 BPH-resistance genes have been genetically defined, most of which are clustered on specific chromosome regions. Here, we describe molecular cloning and characterization of a BPH-resistance gene, BPH9, mapped on the long arm of rice chromosome 12 (12L)