Journal of Experimental Botany
LightNews LightNews
banner
jxbotany.bsky.social
Journal of Experimental Botany
@jxbotany.bsky.social
6.2K followers 870 following 1K posts
Founded in 1950, the Journal of Experimental Botany (JXB) is a top-ranking journal owned by the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) and dedicated to publishing advances in plant science.

https://academic.oup.com/jxb

j.exp.bot@lancaster.ac.uk
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
jxbotany.bsky.social
Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 7d
📢 NEW ISSUE ALERT 📢
🔬 Issue 4 is out now 🔬

📔 On the cover: Microscopic observation of stomatal immunity and hypersensitive response during Plasmopara viticola infection in a leaf of resistant grapevine (photo credit: Wei Zheng).

🔗 Read the full issue: academic.oup.com/jxb...
#PlantScience 🧪
The cover of Vol 77 | Issue 4 | 2026 of the Journal of Experimental Botany. Rust coloured banners border the top and bottom of the page and in the centre is an image of green grapevine cells under a microscope, and the stomata guard cells are visible. Photo legend: "Microscopic observation of stomatal immunity and hypersensitive response during Plasmopara viticola infection in a leaf of the resistant grapevine Vitis riparia cv. Qingdahean (photo credit: Wei Zheng). See Ji et al., pp. 1324–1337."
jxbotany.bsky.social
📷⚙️ TECHNICAL INNOVATION ⚙️📷

Ohad & Meroz developed a modular camera-based system to measure weak forces generated by freely moving plant organs. It measures the force projected on two axes, is cost-effective, modular & accommodates a wide range of organism scales.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
Fig. 2 (shortened, full legend in paper): Schematic of the experimental measurement setup. Cameras are placed at top and side positions with respect to the pendulum. Lens add-on structure, extending two posts with a string between them, is attached to the top-view camera, to which the pendulum rod is attached via the cone adapter (see inset). The vertical light blue bar represents the pendulum rod at rest before contact, and the solid blue bar depicts the rod position after a force is applied by the stem. A plant is positioned near the rod (light green, contact with the rod begins; solid green, some time after contact begins). Parameters include full pendulum length (L—includes cone adapter) and radius (R), distance of contact point from hinge (lc), deflection angle (α), distance of the tracked point (ptr) from the rod tip (h), distance (d) of the stem tip from contact point (pc), the horizontal distance of the tracked point from the vertical axis (rtr), and the applied force (F).
February 19, 2026 at 2:37 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌳📐 RESEARCH 📐🌳

Epidermal cell size distributions in leaves of Bursera simaruba and Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees remain largely constant with height growth suggesting there are no height-imposed developmental limitations – Alemán-Sancheschúlz et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 5 (shortened, full legend in paper): Shifts in means, skewness, selection, and ‘limitation’. We interpret our data as consistent with selection favoring specific epidermal cell sizes (A–C) rather than height-related developmental conditions ‘limiting’ cell size (D). (A–C) Three examples of natural selection scenarios, with each box representing a tree growing taller. Each panel shows one tree through time as it grows taller, with stacked histograms giving treetop trait distributions at successively greater heights. Black lines mark trait values favored by selection at each height. The white region shows developmentally possible values; the gray region represents values plants cannot produce due to developmental limitations, regardless of any selective advantage.
February 19, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
abioticstress.bsky.social
#Thermal sensitivity of plant #immunity: a #cellular perspective from #Arabidopsis

academic.oup.com/jxb/article-...

#PlantScience @jxbotany.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social @bspp.bsky.social @martinebotany.bsky.social @tairnews.bsky.social @naascarabidopsis.bsky.social @fawnrot.bsky.social
Thermal sensitivity of plant immunity: a cellular perspective from Arabidopsis
Climate change reshapes plant-microbe interactions by providing a link between plant perception of temperature and pathogen stress. This review examines ce
academic.oup.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
yokoyama-ryo.bsky.social
Lipid droplet proteome plasticity in plant evolution, growth and development, and in response to stress academic.oup.com/jxb/article/... @jxbotany.bsky.social
Lipid droplet proteome plasticity in plant evolution, growth and development, and in response to stress
Abstract. Lipid droplets (LDs) are subcellular structures that occur in all plant cells and are composed of a core of hydrophobic molecules, such as triacy
academic.oup.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:34 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌧️🌳 BRIEF COMMUNICATION 🌳🌧️

Globally distributed clones of European beech do not change xylem embolism resistance across a large rainfall gradient, but large inter-canopy variation exists in embolism resistance based on irradiance - Kane et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.Mean (±SE) water potential at 5% intervals of embolized stem xylem area (n=3) of F. sylvatica f. purpurea grown in Hobart Australia (yellow), West Lafayette USA (blue), Berlin Germany (gray), Ljubljana Slovenia (black), Sondershausen Germany (red) (n=4), New York City USA (turquoise). The white dots with black outlines represent the mean P50 of stems of wild-type F. sylvatica (green leaf) from previous publications; the dark red circle is a previously published stem P50 of F. sylvatica f. purpurea (Hacke and Sauter, 1995). The insert depicts the relationship between mean (±SE_ stem P50 of globally distributed F. sylvatica f. purpurea and mean annual precipitation at each location.
February 18, 2026 at 4:55 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🍅📏 RESEARCH 📏🍅

A novel regulatory module involving transcription factors SlBBX20 and SlMYB9 controls tomato plant height and provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of gibberellin action in plants through SlGA2 oxidase – Zhang et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): SlBBX20 negatively regulates tomato plant height and gibberellin A3 (GA3) treatment can rescue the dwarf phenotype of SlBBX20 overexpression transgenic lines. (A) Phenotypes of wild type (WT) and SlBBX20 transgenic lines. (B, C) Plant height (B) and internode numbers and length (C) of WT and SlBBX20 transgenic lines at 30 d after sowing (n=5–8). Height was measured from the base of the plant (at the soil) to the apical meristem. (D, E) Paraffin sections of stem cells (D) and lengths of stem cells (E) of WT and SlBBX20 transgenic lines (n=10). (F) Relative content of endogenous GAs in WT and SlBBX20 transgenic lines (n=3). (G, H) Phenotypes (G) and plant height (H) of WT and SlBBX20 transgenic lines after mock and GA3 treatment (n=3). (I, J) Paraffin sections of stem cells (I) and lengths of stem cells (J) of WT and SlBBX20 transgenic lines after mock and GA3 treatment (n=9).
February 18, 2026 at 11:00 AM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌼⏳ RESEARCH ⏳🌼

BnaFLC.A10 and BnaFLC.A2 contribute to additive vernalization requirements and interact epistatically with BnaFT.A2 to regulate flowering time in B. napus – Yin et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Identification of candidate genes associated with differences in flowering time between spring-type Westar and winter-type Tapidor. (A, B) The respective flowering phenotype and flowering times in greenhouse conditions (without cold treatment). Flowering time of non-flowering Tapidor was assigned the value of 100 days. The scale bar represents 10 cm. **P<0.01 (ANOVA). (C) Results of a QTL-seq approach for mapping flowering time in the derived F2 population. The wavy line at the top and the wavy line in the middle were the SNP index values calculated for each variant in the early bulk (ZH-mix) and the late bulk (WH-mix) in genome order according to Zhongshuang11 (ZS11), respectively. The bottom wavy line: the difference between the SNP index values as the ΔSNP index (Δindex) against the chromosomal position according to ZS11. The enlarged figure shows the positions of 0–38 Mb on chromosome A2 and 0–28 Mb on A10, respectively.
February 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌸🌾 REVIEW 🌾🌸

Macronutrient signaling regulates flowering time through gene expression networks. Understanding these pathways supports sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient crops – Baek et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Regulatory pathway of flowering in response to nitrogen concentrations in Arabidopsis and rice. Flowering time in both Arabidopsis and rice exhibits a U-shaped response to nitrogen concentration, with optimal nitrogen concentration accelerating flowering. This regulation involves the photoperiodic, autonomous, and aging pathways. Nitrogen levels modulate internal mechanisms such as protein phosphorylation, which influences protein localization, stability, and gene expression, ultimately affecting flowering time.
February 17, 2026 at 11:00 AM
jxbotany.bsky.social
📏🌾 RESEARCH 🌾📏

Lapasiya et al. uncovered 17 new genetic regions tied to the shape of the barley flag leaf—two of which work by boosting cell numbers. Surprisingly, barley grew larger leaves when grown in warmer regions.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.Variation of flag leaf size based on the geographical origin. Heat map of adjusted entry means for (A) flag leaf length (FLL) and (B) flag leaf width (FLW) in centimeters in the barley diversity panel according to their geographical origin. Letters below the dots indicate significant differences in the trait value among the accessions from the respective geographical region (P<0.05) not sharing the same letter. The values above the dots denote the number of accessions from the diversity panel belonging to the respective geographical region.
February 16, 2026 at 5:45 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌊🌿 REVIEW 🌿🌊

This work provides a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge of root-borne long-distance signals that propagate through the plant and coordinate whole-plant adaptive responses to soil salinity - Gul et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.Various types of root-to-shoot signals in salinity-stressed plants. Hydraulic and electrical signals constitute the category of Physical Signals. The illustration was created in MS PowerPoint and the plant icon was taken from Freepik (www.freepik.com).
February 16, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
francescience.bsky.social
#Recherche #Bio
@cnrs.fr @cea.fr
jxbotany.bsky.social Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 4d
🐛 RESEARCH 🐛

The Riptortus pedestris salivary protein RP246 promotes feeding by activating plant autophagy, revealing a novel pest strategy of hijacking host cellular machinery – Lu et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 4.RP246-enhanced insect feeding depends on NbATG8. (A) Confirmation of silencing efficiency of ATG8 using qRT-PCR. (B) Silencing of ATG8 significantly compromised S. litura feeding preference induced by RP246. Scar bar=1 cm. (C) RP246AKTA failed to promote insect feeding. Insect feeding areas of all experiments were calculated with ImageJ. Significant differences were analyzed with Student’s t-test (mean ±SD; n=8; **P<0.01; ns: no significant difference). (D) Treatment with 3-MA abolished the ability of RP246 to promote insect feeding.
February 15, 2026 at 9:14 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🐛 RESEARCH 🐛

The Riptortus pedestris salivary protein RP246 promotes feeding by activating plant autophagy, revealing a novel pest strategy of hijacking host cellular machinery – Lu et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 4.RP246-enhanced insect feeding depends on NbATG8. (A) Confirmation of silencing efficiency of ATG8 using qRT-PCR. (B) Silencing of ATG8 significantly compromised S. litura feeding preference induced by RP246. Scar bar=1 cm. (C) RP246AKTA failed to promote insect feeding. Insect feeding areas of all experiments were calculated with ImageJ. Significant differences were analyzed with Student’s t-test (mean ±SD; n=8; **P<0.01; ns: no significant difference). (D) Treatment with 3-MA abolished the ability of RP246 to promote insect feeding.
February 15, 2026 at 5:48 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌾🧬 REVIEW 🧬🌾

A comprehensive review of the genetic and genomic resources of pigeonpea, including mapped genes and quantitative trait loci for key agronomic traits for ideotype breeding to meet stakeholder needs and requirements – Singh et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 2.Schematic diagram of pigeonpea plant ideotype with dwarf stature (height ∼100 cm), semi-erect (branching angle ∼30°, canopy width ∼75 cm) plants for easy mechanical operations and light penetration, short sturdy primary stem (∼15 cm), short internodes (<5 cm), determinate growth habit, long pod bearing length (30–50 cm), 10–15 primary branches, 5–8 secondary branches/primary branch, 6–8 seeds per pod, >1000 pods per plant with uniform maturity, deep tap root >50 cm with profuse lateral branching radiating up to 40 cm for subsurface nutrient foraging and symbiotic N-fixation.
February 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
ibmp-cnrs.bsky.social
New review from P Genschik’s team in
@jxbotany.bsky.social 🧬 A fresh look at the huge diversity and functions of plant F-box proteins.
👉 Open questions & new perspectives for 🌱 biology.
▶️https://academic.oup.com/jxb/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jxb/erag074/8475508?redirectedFrom=fulltext
February 14, 2026 at 6:16 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌾🧬 REVIEW 🧬🌾

Hsp90 uses novel mechanisms in the regulation of proteostasis, chloroplast protection, phytohormone signaling, and immune defense to enhance plant adaptation to adverse environments, which can be applied in the field – Wu et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Graphical abstract (shortened, full abstract in paper): There has been groundbreaking progress in identifying unique functions of the plant heat shock protein Hsp90 in stress responses in recent years. However, there is an absence of systematic integration of these new mechanisms in protein quality control, hormone network regulation, chloroplast protection, and immune defense in existing reviews; this article aims to fill this gap. Recent studies have revealed four key mechanisms: (i) Hsp90 forms complexes with E3 ligases to promote polyubiquitination of heat-induced protein aggregates, cooperating with the 26S proteasome for clearance, a pathway hijacked by viruses; (ii) Hsp90 stabilizes the auxin receptor Transport inhibitor response 1 (TIR1), reconstructs root auxin gradients via polarized PIN-FORMED 1 (PIN1), activates abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis, and enhances insect resistance through JA signaling.
February 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌱🧬 VIEWPOINT 🧬🌱

Ghantasala & Choudhury summarise recent findings pertaining to the functionality of legume Nod Factor Receptors (NFRs) that have helped in receptor engineering of LysM-Receptor-Like Kinases (LysM-RLKs) in non-nodulating crop plants.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Engineering LysM-RLKs for root nodule symbiosis (RNS): structural determinants and functional strategies. Top panel: overview of NFR complex assembly. (A) Left: NFR1 (purple) and NFR5 (blue) from model legumes in the absence of NFs. Right: NFR1 and NFR5 form a heteromeric complex upon binding to NFs and promote symbiosis signaling via phosphorylation. (B) Mere assembly of NFR1 and NFR5, mediated via nanobody (Nb), is sufficient to promote RNS signaling, even in the absence of rhizobia. Middle panel: Role of the key structural motifs identified. (C) LysM1 of NFR1 has two motifs (II and IV) that confer ligand specificity, while the C-terminal region of the juxtamembrane (JM) domain (termed SD1) confers signaling specificity and coordinates infection with organogenesis.
February 14, 2026 at 8:00 AM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌞🌿 DARWIN REVIEW 🌿🌞

Tikkanen & Aro review the regulatory networks of photosynthesis that drive plant acclimation. Key gaps are identified and future research needed to enhance crop performance in naturally dynamic environments is outlined.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
February 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🌡️🌽 INSIGHT 🌽🌡️

"When 1–2 °C matters: climate warming reshapes maize disease and resistance networks".
Jia et al. comment on research recently published in JXB by Schwarz et al.

🔍 Insight: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
🔬 Research: oi.org/10.1093/jxb/e...

#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.The impact of climate warming on maize smut disease. Based on climate models for Bavaria, Schwarz et al. (2025) simulated: 1985 (17.9 °C day/6.9 °C night), 2050 (19.1 °C day/8.4 °C night), a short heatwave (3 d at 35 °C day/25 °C night followed by 17.9 °C/6.9 °C), and a standard regime (28 °C/25 °C). Across 17 EU-NAM founders and B73, elevated temperatures significantly increased the disease index (DIX), fungal biomass, and symptom severity, while accelerating sporulation (with spores appearing as early as 14 d post-infection under heatwave conditions). Transcriptome profiling revealed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) increased with temperature. Under 1985 conditions, responses were primarily cultivar specific, whereas under 2050 and heatwave scenarios, a greater proportion of shared responses across cultivars was observed.
February 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
abioticstress.bsky.social
🚨SPECIAL ISSUE - FINAL CALL

🪾💧 The Inter #drought VIII special issue closes on 28 Feb💧🪾

🌎Guest edited by Mark Cooper, Carlos Messina, Karine Chenu & Amelia Henry 🌎

📇 Got a manuscript? Contact: bit.ly/JXBissues

#PlantScience @jxbotany.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social @planteditors.bsky.social
Upcoming and open special issues
The special issues listed in the table below are currently open for submissions or are due to be published soon. If you have a manuscript that you think is appr
bit.ly
February 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
📢 NEW ISSUE ALERT 📢
🔬 Issue 4 is out now 🔬

📔 On the cover: Microscopic observation of stomatal immunity and hypersensitive response during Plasmopara viticola infection in a leaf of resistant grapevine (photo credit: Wei Zheng).

🔗 Read the full issue: academic.oup.com/jxb...
#PlantScience 🧪
The cover of Vol 77 | Issue 4 | 2026 of the Journal of Experimental Botany. Rust coloured banners border the top and bottom of the page and in the centre is an image of green grapevine cells under a microscope, and the stomata guard cells are visible. Photo legend: "Microscopic observation of stomatal immunity and hypersensitive response during Plasmopara viticola infection in a leaf of the resistant grapevine Vitis riparia cv. Qingdahean (photo credit: Wei Zheng). See Ji et al., pp. 1324–1337."
February 12, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
abioticstress.bsky.social
#Cell-to-cell connectivity: a future target for #crop improvement

academic.oup.com/jxb/article/...

#PlantScience #PlantStress @jxbotany.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social @plantcellphysiol.bsky.social @plantcelltech.bsky.social @plantcellatlas.bsky.social @cropxr.bsky.social @mcropper.bsky.social
Cell-to-cell connectivity: a future target for crop improvement
This review explores plasmodesmata-mediated cell-to-cell connectivity as a key target for crop improvement. We list gene targets and propose genetic strate
academic.oup.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:03 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
📜 On this #DarwinDay, explore our Darwin Reviews 📜

📇 Darwin Reviews are our most prestigious review series, featuring carefully selected topics from leading plant scientists 📇

🌳 In 2025, we celebrated 75 years of JXB with a special Darwin collection: academic.oup.com/jxb...

#PlantScience 🧪
An illustration of tree rings with text centred in a circle: "A special collection of Darwin Reviews to celebrate 75 years of JXB"
February 12, 2026 at 12:54 PM
jxbotany.bsky.social
🚨 SPECIAL ISSUE - FINAL CALL 🚨

📅 🪾💧 The Interdrought VIII special issue closes on 28 February 💧🪾📅

🌎 Guest edited by Mark Cooper, Carlos Messina, Karine Chenu & Amelia Henry 🌎

📇 Got a manuscript? Contact us: bit.ly/JXBissues

#PlantScience 🧪 #JXBspecialissues
jxbotany.bsky.social Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · Dec 17
🪾 UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE 🪾

💧 Interdrought VIII: Pathways from understanding drought responses of plants to on-farm impact
🌎 Guest edited by Mark Cooper, Carlos Messina, Karine Chenu & Amelia Henry

📅 Deadline 28 Feb 2026
📣 Got a manuscript? Contact us: bit.ly/JXBissues
#PlantScience 🧪
Front cover of a postcard to promote an upcoming special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany titled "Interdrought VIII: Pathways from understanding drought responses of plants to on-farm impact". The issue will be edited by Mark Cooper, Carlos Messina, Karine Chenu & Amelia Henry. The images on the postcard are of rice fields under drought conditions in Tanzania (top left & right) and the Philippines (bottom) (courtesy of Amelia Henry, IRRI).
February 12, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
planteditors.bsky.social
Still time for an edit and #ImageIntegrity check! planteditors.com
jxbotany.bsky.social Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 9d
🚨 SPECIAL ISSUE - CLOSING SOON 🚨

🔬 Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics in Plants 🔬

📝 Edited by @smukhtarlab.bsky.social

📅 Closing date: 28 February 2026

📇 Got a suitable manuscript? Contact the JXB office: bit.ly/JXBissues

#JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪 @sebiology.bsky.social
jxbotany.bsky.social Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · Oct 22
🧬 UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE 🧬

🔬 Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics in Plants 🔬

📝 Edited by Shahid Mukhtar

📅 Deadline: 28 February 2026

📣 Got a suitable manuscript? Contact us: bit.ly/JXBissues

@smukhtarlab.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social

#JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪

(1/2)
February 11, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Journal of Experimental Botany
jxbotany.bsky.social
🧱⚙️ SPECIAL ISSUE EXPERT VIEW ⚙️🧱

Simonaviciene et al. highlight the current research on plasmodesmata cell walls and their biomechanical properties and discuss the challenges and opportunities of parametrizing and dissecting their function.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.A simplified model of the primary cell wall structure in plants. The figure represents the extracellular space between developing cells, including the middle lamella, primary cell wall, and plasma membrane. The primary cell wall consists of cellulose microfibrils, hemicellulose (which includes xyloglucan, mannoglycans, xylan, mixed linkage β-glucans, and others), pectins (homogalacturonan, xylogalacturonan, rhamnogalacturonan I, rhamnogalacturonan II), and proteins (including arabinogalactan proteins, AGPs). The chemical structures of cellulose, xyloglucan, and the pectin homogalacturonan exemplify the diversity of these cell wall components. Biomechanical hotspots (labelled with arrows) are areas where pectins and xyloglucans interact and bind cellulose microfibrils. These hotspots control cell wall extensibility and biomechanics. (Created in Biorender. Simonaviciene, B. (2025) https://BioRender.com/jmcz0e7. The figure was adapted from Huang, E. (2025).
February 9, 2026 at 7:33 PM