Xanthomonas spp. cause serious diseases in more than 400 plant species. The conserved AvrBs2 family effectors are among the most important virulence factors in xanthomonads, but how AvrBs2 promotes in...

A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals.

Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature

Signaling of secreted CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION (CLE) peptides via CLV1-type receptor kinases is a central mechanism regulating stem cell pool size. Originally characterized in the context of shoot meristem maintenance, this network has been increasingly scrutinized in recent years for its role in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) root meristem maintenance and organization. These analyses revealed unique, often seemingly paradoxical facets, which can be understood from the rewiring of CLE signaling networks in the root compared with the shoot. Here, we review the intricate interplay between distinct and antagonistic CLE signaling pathways in the primary root meristem, which suggests that the core function of CLE signaling in roots is to dynamically buffer antagonism between positive and negative signaling inputs, thereby enhancing developmental robustness.

The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana consists of 10 chromosomes. By inducing CRISPR-Cas–mediated breaks at subcentromeric and subtelomeric sequences, we fused entire chromosome arms, obtaining two eight...

Pre-zygotic interspecific incompatibility prevents hybridization between species limiting interbreeding strategies for crop improvement using wild relatives. The Brassica rapa female self-incompatibil...