Sad to read of the death of Steve Long who contributed a huge amount to #plantscience

This week in @science.org, a celebration of plant pangenomes. A pangenome analysis for massively polyploid sugarcane species, and one for Brassica rapa giving insight into subspeciation. What's all the fuss about pangenomes? Pamela and Douglas Soltis explore this in an insightful Perspective(1/4)

My pick this week: Picking Poison - Selection for rice with increased phosphate uptake appears to have inadvertently led to increased arsenic accumulation. In Other Journals | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Original paper here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #plantscience

🧬Appearing today @science.org a Review - From sequence to function: Bridging single-molecule kinetics and molecular diversity | Science 🔬https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv4503

Out in @science.org this week. Soils drive convergence in the regulation of vascular tension in land plants. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience #ecophysiology

Out in @science.org this week: A decline in epigenetic silencing of TEs in older plant organs but not in the shoot meristem. TCX5 and TCX6 help regulate DNA methylation in this context. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience

Come and work with us! Science is recruiting an editor in the area of next-generation medicine in the USA or UK. bit.ly/4bWOJfn 🧪

Out First Release in @science.org this week: A feedback loop allows two shoot stem cell populations to respond differently to environmental conditions: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience

Out in @science.org this week: SIPS binds to a conserved region of SRK to control interspecies incompatibility in Brassicaceae. This contrasts with SRK's variable region, which is involved in self-incompatibility interactions. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience

Dandelions living in downtown areas of Japan have adapted to life in the big city—perhaps a bit too much. Urban seeds have evolved to float shorter distances than rural ones, potentially leading to inbreeding problems that could threaten these metropolitan populations. https://scim.ag/49mV964

In @science.org this week: The interaction between flavonoids and rhizobial Nod factors during legume symbiosis www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience

My pick for In Other Journals this week: A flowering time regulator helps plants manage conflict between DNA replication and transcription Paper here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... And my summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

At the end of 2024 I did a chronological round up of all the #plantscience in @science.org that year. So how did 2025 pan out? This year, I’m grouping papers thematically instead of chronologically so read on to find out what exciting plant science came out over the last 12 months. (1/22)

Loving this beautiful cover image in this week's @science.org illustrating the paper which came out online late last year www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #Plantscience

The @science.org NOSTER microbiome prize is open for entries until 14th February. $25k top prize and essay published in Science. Open to researchers up to 10 years post PhD. See the website for further details www.science.org/content/page... 🧪

Very excited to highlight this week's issue of @science.org Firstly, the news team highlight some important breakthroughs (and breakdowns) of the year. Renewable energy takes the top spot: www.science.org/content/arti... (1/5)

Out First Release in @science.org Insight into how auxin and ethylene determine whether cucumbers make male or female flowers: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #Plantscience

Nice interdisciplinary #plantscience -related paper in Science handled by our neuroscience editor, @mattiamaroso.bsky.social Infrared heat from cycads as a pollination signal before flowers evolved. Paper here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Perspective here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

This week in @science.org Structural insight into the incorporation of far-red chlorophyll f in cyanobacterial photosystem I www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #cyanobacteria #plantscience

My pick for In Other Journals this week: Targeted gene induction to generate stem cells for regeneration of recalcitrant species My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience #PlantSci

Out in @science.org this week: PME5 is sequestered in the nucleus and released during cytokinesis allowing its activity to be timed with cell division. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience #PlantSci

Out First Release in @science.org A pollen ligand, SIPS, binds to the female receptor, SRK. SIPS binds to a conserved region of SRK, for interspecific incompatibility, unlike the self-incompatibility factor, which binds to a different, variable region www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience

And now we have Arabidopsis plants with 8 chromosomes instead of 10 and no obvious phenotypic differences, this week in @science.org #PlantScience Paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Out First Release in @science.org Exploring how MKK3 variation affects the balance between dormancy and preharvest sprouting in barley: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #plantscience

My pick for In Other Journals this week: A MYB transcription factor regulates lignin deposition on thorn tips: My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

New #plantscience Review article out in this week's @science.org looking at how technological advances are informing brassinosteroid research: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Thanks to authors @jennyrussinova.bsky.social @trevormnolan.bsky.social @nvukas.bsky.social

If you're less than 10 years post PhD and have translated your research commercially, you have until Nov 1st to apply for the Science and BII essay prize for bioinnovation. $10-25k prizes and your essay published in @science.org www.science.org/content/page... 🧪

My pick for In Other Journals: Engineering agricultural nitrogen fixation. Nishida et al bred soybean lines and modified rhizobial bacteria to enhance infection and reduce nitrous oxide emissions. My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1038/s414... #PlantScience

Out in @science.org this week: A new FRET sensor for salicylic acid gives insight into spatial dynamics of pathogen infection www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (1/2) #PlantScience

Out First Release in @science.org this week: The development of a directed evolution strategy with proof of concept in plant immune protein engineering. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Wonderful to see this beautiful image on the cover of Science this week highlighting a paper that uses high resolution imaging to show the spatial patterns of bacterial attraction to glutamine from roots. Paper here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Out First Release in @science.org this week: A large scale analysis of the epigenetics of transposable elements in Arabidopsis shows transgenerational stability www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience

My pick for In Other Journals this week- Tracking mutations to understand radial flower development My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1371/jour... #plantscience

Introducing a new metabolic cycle - the McG cycle - into Arabidopsis to convert 3PG to acetyl coA. This then feeds into endogenous lipid synthesis increasing plant lipids, seed yield and biomass. Out this week in @science.org! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience

Delighted that this enormous photosystem I complex from the coccolithophore E. huxleyi made it onto the cover of @science.org this week #PlantScience

Science @science.org is recruiting an editor with postdoctoral expertise in infectious diseases or microbiomes. Come and work with us in the UK or USA! bit.ly/3UHOiMf 🧪

My pick for In Other Journals this week: MSH1 suppresses organelle mutation - an investigation of how many plants maintain very low mitochondrial mutation rates My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1371/jour... @sloanevolab.bsky.social #PlantScience

Out in @science.org The crazy sequence of events from planting maize in dense fields. Density-dependent linalool release triggers release of compounds into the soil affecting microbes and plants. Article: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Perspective: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience

My pick for In Other Journals this week: Sequencing senescence in plants. Single nucleus RNA seq maps out the timing of nutrient allocation during senescence. My summary here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

I am looking forward to my first @aspbofficial.bsky.social #PlantBio2025 meeting next week in Milwaukee. If anyone there wants to chat about publishing in @science.org then do get in touch. My colleague @sarahlempriere.bsky.social who handles commentary articles will be there too! #PlantScience

I'll be at this meeting in Edinburgh in September. Happy to chat to anyone going about publishing in Science! #PlantScience

Two plant-related papers in @science.org this week handled by my colleagues: Genetic adaptation within ash tree populations offering possible avenues to explore to combat ash dieback. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (1/2) #PlantScience

My pick for In Other Journals this week Zooming in on light stress Water droplets focus light on the surface of a leaf leading to an increase in chloroplast Ca2+, probably coming from a store in the ER. @simonstael.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #PlantScience

Out First Release in @science.org today, nice work finding that redox regulates multimerisation of Aux/IAA proteins during root xerobranching: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I'm delighted to present this Science special issue on Plants and Heat! Through a series of Reviews and Perspective articles, covering topics from cell signalling to ecology there is something for everyone here. (1/8)

A whole special issue dedicated to FUNGI!!! Well worth a look 😍

The domestication of adzuki beans. #PlantScience in this week's @science.org magazine. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Food for thought. Field trials are undoubtedly valuable for assessing the real-world performance of crop lines and give confidence that findings are useful? In biomedical science, a paper would rarely have full clinical trials for new mechanistic drug discoveries. rdcu.be/enXn4 #plantscience

My pick for In Other Journals this week: Sugar signaling boosts wheat yields - field trials of a trehalose-6-phosphate spray that boosts yield, probably via upregulation of starch synthesis and CO2 fixation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Paper here: rdcu.be/enUzK #PlantScience

This paper, which was fortunately published in Science, is the fruits of more than 20 years of my scholarly pursuit in biology, and I believe that I have finally achieved one of the milestones, which I had envisioned in my mind, of my research. Below I would like to tell the story behind it.