Land plants continuously contact beneficial, commensal, and pathogenic microbes in soil via their roots. There is limited knowledge as to how the totality of root-associated microbes (i.e., the microbiome) is shaped by various factors or its pattern of acquisition in the root. Using rice as a model, we show that there exist three different root niches hosting different microbial communities of eubacteria and methanogenic archaea. These microbial communities are affected by geographical location, soil source, host genotype, and cultivation practice.

Key message  A tropical RIL maize population was subjected to phenotypic and genotypic analysis for maize weevil resistance during four seasons, and three main genomic areas were detected as main QTLs. Abstract  The maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) (MW) is a common and important pest of stored maize (Zea mays) worldwide, especially in tropical areas.

FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) acts as a mobile floral activator that is synthesized in leaf and transported to shoot apex. A Rice FT-like protein, Heading date 3a (Hd3a), requires interaction with 14-3-3 proteins and transcription factor FD to induce flowering. We confirm that Hd3a and its interactors, as well as their transcriptional target,

NAC (NAM/ATAF/CUC) transcription factors comprise a large plant-specific gene family that contains more than 149 members in rice. Extensive studies have revealed that NAC transcription factors not only play important roles in plant growth and development, but also have functions in regulation of responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, biological functions for most of the members in the NAC family remain unknown.

In many invertebrates, development depends on obligate bacterial symbionts that are confined to specialized host cells and are transmitted directly from mother to progeny. A primary model for this kind of symbiosis is the Buchnera/pea aphid association, which has been maintained for more than 100 million years through strict maternal transmission. The intimacy of this symbiosis has thwarted experiments aimed at dissecting how symbiont and host genotypes contribute to overall phenotype and ecological tolerances.

The root of eukaryote phylogeny formally represents the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA), but its position has remained controversial. Using new genome sequences, we revised and expanded two datasets of eukaryotic proteins of bacterial origin, which previously yielded conflicting views on the eukaryotic root. Analyses using state-of-the-art phylogenomic methodology revealed that both expanded datasets now support the same root position.

Major quantitative trait loci have been mapped to Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) chromosomes 11 and 14 that govern the highly resistant phenotype in response to infection by root-knot nematode (RKN; Meloidogyne incognita); however, nearly nothing is known regarding the underlying molecular determinants of this RKN-resistant phenotype.

Within plants, controlled gradients of the hormone auxin are essential for development. These gradients are achieved through intracellular polar positioning of auxin transporter proteins, such as PIN-FORMED proteins (PINs), at the plasma membrane, thus guiding the direction of auxin transport. The establishment and maintenance of PIN polarity is controlled within each cell by complicated trafficking pathways of the endomembrane system.

The advance of biotechnology opens up greater possibilities of bioterror and bioerror. Here, we propose multiplexed safeguard switches rooted in the development of foundational genomic, regulatory, and metabolic technologies. Safeguard switches can be regulated by submicromolar small molecule(s) and combined in a modular fashion. The resulting safeguard strains show high fitness and low reversion rates.

Trichoderma virens and some Trichoderma species are considered as biocontrol fungi since they can stimulate defense responses by interacting with the host plant. Previous studies have shown that cerato-platanin proteins, Sm1 from T. virens as well as Epl1 from Trichoderma atroviride, are vital in inducing plant defenses. However, the other members of this protein family have not yet been investigated.