Plant genetics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Affinity purification in Arabidopsis identified all key subunits of the outer kinetochore KMN complex. Functional analyses revealed a striking conservation of its composition and organization across kingdoms, underscoring its deep evolutionary origin.

Avena fatua (wild oat) is a herbicide resistant weed species for many crops worldwide. Here, the authors report its genome assembly, reveal evolutionary history through population genetics analyses, and identify expanded GST genes in conferring herbicide resistance.

Genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses from a population of 295 diverse sweet-corn inbred lines provide insights into kernel quality formation mechanisms and the divergence of sweet corn and field corn.

This genome-wide association study identifies CELL DIVISION CYCLE-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN 7 (CDCA7) as a regulator of DNA methylation in natural Arabidopsis thaliana populations. CDCA7 binds the chromatin remodeller DDM1 and modulates the control of CG methylation.

The juxtaposition effect increases meiotic crossover frequency in heterozygous chromosome regions flanked by homozygous regions. Initially discovered in self-fertilizing Arabidopsis, this mechanism also operates in the outcrossing cereal crop maize.

Rice sheath blight is a major fungal disease caused by the necrotrophic pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. We identified a natural SBRR1-R allele that is activated by the bHLH57 transcription factor, leading to increased expression of chitinase antifungal protein genes that confer resistance to sheath blight.

After a long hiatus, a recent paper identifies the molecular basis of Mendel’s remaining three traits and demonstrates that the genes concerned are major contributors to phenotypic variation in pea.