The complete synthetic pathway of echinacoside from Cistanche deserticola and its de novo biosynthesis in yeast.

Echinacoside (ECH), a representative phenylethanol glycoside, exhibits diverse pharmacological properties and is used in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases), ischemic brain injury, and cancer.

Electrical and calcium signaling in plant systemic defense: from local wounds to global responses.

Sessile plants, constrained by their immobile nature in dynamic environments, have evolved sophisticated defense mechanisms to ensure survival. When confronted with threats such as insect feeding or mechanical wounding, plants not only activate localized defense responses at the injury site but also quickly transmit danger signals from the wound to the distal undamaged tissues for the activation of systemic defense signaling, which enables the plant to prepare for the upcoming threats effectively. Emerging evidence highlights the pivotal role of vascular-mediated long-distance transmission of electrical signals and calcium (Ca) waves in coordinating whole-plant defense programs.

Multi-Omics Analyses Reveal the Red and Far-Red Light Combination Enhancing Heterologous Protein and Metabolite Production in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Transient expression of exogenous protein in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves via agroinfiltration offers a rapid and efficient platform for functional gene discovery and heterologous production of valuable eukaryotic proteins and metabolites. Though light quality is an important factor for plant photomorphogenesis, its impact on the efficiency of transient expression remains unexplored. In this study, we examined the influence of five representative light qualities with varying wavelength mix on the N.

Glutathione triggers leaf-to-leaf, calcium-based plant defense signaling.

Animals rely on nervous systems to cope with environmental variability, whereas plants are characterized by lack of nervous system but still have evolved systemic communication systems through signaling molecules that trigger long-distance defense signaling events when encountered with environmental challenges. Here, our genetic screening of the previously constructed hairpin RNA-based Arabidopsis library identifies a glutathione (GSH)-deficient mutant that has high accumulation of glutamate (Glu), a previously defined wound signal essential for activating plant defense, but disharmoniously exhibits attenuation of defense signaling events. We further uncover GSH as a critical signaling molecule that relies on GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE 3.

Analyzes of pan-genome and resequencing atlas unveil the genetic basis of jujube domestication.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.), belonging to the Rhamnaceae family, is gaining increasing prominence as a perennial fruit crop with significant economic and medicinal values. Here, we conduct de novo assembly of four reference-grade genomes, encompassing one wild and three cultivated jujube accessions.

Amentoflavone maintaining extracellular matrix homeostasis and inhibiting subchondral bone loss in osteoarthritis by inhibiting ERK, JNK and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Amentoflavone (AF), a plant biflavone isolated from Selaginella sinensis ethanol extract, is characterized by anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. According to previous studies, inflammation and oxidative stress are closely related to the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the effects and mechanisms of AF on OA have not been elucidated.

Mercaptoimidazole-capped gold nanoparticles as a potent agent against plant pathogenic fungi.

Plant pathogenic fungi pose a substantial challenge to agricultural production, but the conventional fungicide-based approaches are losing importance. As agents with broad-spectrum antibacterial effects, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) are found to have antifungal effects; however, no study has examined their application in agriculture as fungicides. Accordingly, this study investigates the activity of 2-mercaptoimidazole-capped Au NPs (MI-Au NPs) against the 'top' plant pathogenic fungi, finding that they could inhibit , , and by inducing cytoplasmic leakage.

Genomes of autotetraploid wild and cultivated Ziziphus mauritiana reveal polyploid evolution and crop domestication.

Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) holds a prominent position in the global fruit and pharmaceutical markets. Here, we report the assemblies of haplotype-resolved, telomere-to-telomere genomes of autotetraploid wild and cultivated Indian jujube plants using a 2-stage assembly strategy. The generation of these genomes permitted in-depth investigations into the divergence and evolutionary history of this important fruit crop.

Heterologous synthesis of poly-γ-glutamic acid enhanced drought resistance in maize (Zea mays L.).

Drought stress is the main factor restricting maize yield. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA), as a water-retaining agent and fertilizer synergist, could significantly improve the drought resistance and yield of many crops. However, its high production costs and unclear long-term impact on soil ecology limit its large-scale application.

Designing a synthetic moss genome using GenoDesigner.

The de novo synthesis of genomes has made unprecedented progress and achieved milestones, particularly in bacteria and yeast. However, the process of synthesizing a multicellular plant genome has not progressed at the same pace, due to the complexity of multicellular plant genomes, technical difficulties associated with large genome size and structure, and the intricacies of gene regulation and expression in plants. Here we outline the bottom-up design principles for the de novo synthesis of the Physcomitrium patens (that is, earthmoss) genome.

The high-quality genome of uncovers the genomic mechanism of high levels of schaftoside, a promising drug candidate for treatment of COVID-19.

Recent study has evidenced that traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) plant-derived schaftoside shows promise as a potential drug candidate for COVID-19 treatment. However, the biosynthetic pathway of schaftoside in TCM plants remains unknown. In this study, the genome of the TCM herb (Osbeck) H.

Near telomere-to-telomere genome of the model plant Physcomitrium patens.

The model plant Physcomitrium patens has played a pivotal role in enhancing our comprehension of plant evolution and development. However, the current genome harbours numerous regions that remain unfinished and erroneous. To address these issues, we generated an assembly using Oxford Nanopore reads and Hi-C mapping.

Characterization and heterologous reconstitution of biosynthetic enzymes leading to baccatin III.

Paclitaxel is a well known anticancer compound. Its biosynthesis involves the formation of a highly functionalized diterpenoid core skeleton (baccatin III) and the subsequent assembly of a phenylisoserinoyl side chain. Despite intensive investigation for half a century, the complete biosynthetic pathway of baccatin III remains unknown.

ORPA: a fast and efficient phylogenetic analysis method for constructing genome-wide alignments of organelle genomes.

Creating a multi-gene alignment matrix for phylogenetic analysis using organelle genomes involves aligning single-gene datasets manually, a process that can be time-consuming and prone to errors. The HomBlocks pipeline has been created to eliminate the inaccuracies arising from manual operations. The processing of a large number of sequences, however, remains a time-consuming task.

Jasmonate-based warfare between the pathogenic intruder and host plant: who wins?

Plants and microbial pathogens often engage in a fierce war that determines their survival. Host plants have evolved sophisticated regulatory mechanisms to fine-tune defense responses to counter attacks from pathogens, while pathogens often hijack the lipid-derived phytohormone jasmonate to cause hormonal signaling imbalances for efficient infection. This review focuses on the jasmonate-based warfare between host plants and pathogenic intruders, and further discusses approaches to uncouple plant growth and defense tradeoffs in crop breeding.

Jasmonate perception: Ligand-receptor interaction, regulation, and evolution.

Phytohormones integrate external environmental and developmental signals with internal cellular responses for plant survival and multiplication in changing surroundings. Jasmonate (JA), which might originate from prokaryotes and benefit plant terrestrial adaptation, is a vital phytohormone that regulates diverse developmental processes and defense responses against various environmental stresses. In this review, we first provide an overview of ligand-receptor binding techniques used for the characterization of phytohormone-receptor interactions, then introduce the identification of the receptor COI1 and active JA molecules, and finally summarize recent advances on the regulation of JA perception and its evolution.