@article{mishra_plant_2026,
	title = {Plant growth-promoting {Pseudomonas} strains modulate potato tuberization signalling and development},
	issn = {0022-0957},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erag237},
	doi = {10.1093/jxb/erag237},
	abstract = {Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can influence plant development through hormone signalling, nutrient mobilization, and activation of defence pathways. While individual bacterial strains can enhance plant performance, microbial consortia may generate complementary or synergistic effects that remain poorly understood, particularly with respect to crop developmental signalling. Potato (Solanum tuberosum), the most important dicot food crop globally, represents a suitable model for investigating how beneficial microbes influence tuber development. In this study, we investigated the effects of two well-characterized PGPR strains, Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 and P. simiae WCS417, applied individually or in combination, on two potato cultivars (‘Mandel’ and ‘Désirée’) under long-day conditions. Confocal microscopy confirmed rapid root colonization by both strains within 24 h of inoculation. Metabolomic profiling of bacterial exudates revealed distinct metabolic signatures for the two strains and non-additive metabolite patterns when cultured together, suggesting metabolic interactions within the bacterial consortium. Plant responses were cultivar dependent, with bacterial treatments influencing vegetative growth and selected tuber quality traits, including starch and ascorbic acid levels. Gene expression analyses revealed strong induction of the tuberization regulator StSP6A in roots, with up to 5-fold increased expression following P. protegens and combined inoculation, accompanied by activation of jasmonic acid-related signalling pathways. Together, these results indicate that interactions between beneficial Pseudomonas strains can influence potato development through coordinated effects on root architecture and signalling pathways associated with tuberization and defence.},
	urldate = {2026-06-26},
	journal = {Journal of Experimental Botany},
	author = {Mishra, Arti and Mahawar, Lovely and Tsitouri, Angeliki and Basheer, Jasim and Albrectsen, Benedicte Riber},
	month = may,
	year = {2026},
	pages = {erag237},
}

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can influence plant development through hormone signalling, nutrient mobilization, and activation of defence pathways. While individual bacterial strains can enhance plant performance, microbial consortia may generate complementary or synergistic effects that remain poorly understood, particularly with respect to crop developmental signalling. Potato (Solanum tuberosum), the most important dicot food crop globally, represents a suitable model for investigating how beneficial microbes influence tuber development. In this study, we investigated the effects of two well-characterized PGPR strains, Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 and P. simiae WCS417, applied individually or in combination, on two potato cultivars (‘Mandel’ and ‘Désirée’) under long-day conditions. Confocal microscopy confirmed rapid root colonization by both strains within 24 h of inoculation. Metabolomic profiling of bacterial exudates revealed distinct metabolic signatures for the two strains and non-additive metabolite patterns when cultured together, suggesting metabolic interactions within the bacterial consortium. Plant responses were cultivar dependent, with bacterial treatments influencing vegetative growth and selected tuber quality traits, including starch and ascorbic acid levels. Gene expression analyses revealed strong induction of the tuberization regulator StSP6A in roots, with up to 5-fold increased expression following P. protegens and combined inoculation, accompanied by activation of jasmonic acid-related signalling pathways. Together, these results indicate that interactions between beneficial Pseudomonas strains can influence potato development through coordinated effects on root architecture and signalling pathways associated with tuberization and defence.

@article{lu_epigenetic_2026,
	title = {Epigenetic regulation of fruit shape determination by the {JAGGED} gene in {Capsella} rubella},
	copyright = {2026 The Author(s)},
	issn = {2041-1723},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73180-3},
	doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-73180-3},
	abstract = {Fruits are a key feature defining angiosperms, yet how local growth is coordinated during development to generate diverse fruits remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the Capsella rubella C2H2-zinc finger transcription factor JAGGED (CrJAG) controls fruit shape determination by promoting both cell division and anisotropic growth. At the molecular level, CrJAG physically interacts with members of the Capsella rubella MULTICOPY SUPPRESSOR OF IRA1 (CrMSI)  histone chaperone family, increasing the chromatin accessibility and thereby sustaining the expression of genes involved in fruit morphogenesis. The resulting closed chromatin state in Crjag fruits is characterized by a reduction of the active histone marker (H3K18ac) and an increase of the repressive marker (H3K27me3). Further expression and pharmacological treatment analyses indicate that the developmental defects in Crjag fruits are largely attributable to down-regulation of the key cell-cycle regulator CrAUR2. Collectively, our findings therefore suggest that fine-tuning the cell cycle via epigenetic modification represents an additional, essential layer of regulation critical to organ development and diversification.},
	language = {en},
	urldate = {2026-06-26},
	journal = {Nature Communications},
	publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
	author = {Lü, Tian-Feng and Chen, Xiao-Yu and Trozzi, Nicola and He, Wen and Yuan, Quan and Han, Yu and Lu, Li-Min and Li, Chao-Bin and Cheng, Jie and Sicard, Adrien and Zhang, Yao and Su, Ya-Nan and Zan, Yan-Jun and Lenhard, Michael and Kong, Hong-Zhi and Majda, Mateusz and Østergaard, Lars and Dong, Yang},
	month = jun,
	year = {2026},
	keywords = {Cell division, Fruiting, Plant development},
}

Fruits are a key feature defining angiosperms, yet how local growth is coordinated during development to generate diverse fruits remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the Capsella rubella C2H2-zinc finger transcription factor JAGGED (CrJAG) controls fruit shape determination by promoting both cell division and anisotropic growth. At the molecular level, CrJAG physically interacts with members of the Capsella rubella MULTICOPY SUPPRESSOR OF IRA1 (CrMSI)  histone chaperone family, increasing the chromatin accessibility and thereby sustaining the expression of genes involved in fruit morphogenesis. The resulting closed chromatin state in Crjag fruits is characterized by a reduction of the active histone marker (H3K18ac) and an increase of the repressive marker (H3K27me3). Further expression and pharmacological treatment analyses indicate that the developmental defects in Crjag fruits are largely attributable to down-regulation of the key cell-cycle regulator CrAUR2. Collectively, our findings therefore suggest that fine-tuning the cell cycle via epigenetic modification represents an additional, essential layer of regulation critical to organ development and diversification.

@article{hodek_rapid_2026,
	title = {Rapid and targeted {HILIC}-{MS}/{MS} quantification of urinary metabolites reveals metabolic alterations in {COVID}-19 patients},
	issn = {1759-9679},
	url = {https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d6ay00400h},
	doi = {10.1039/D6AY00400H},
	abstract = {Urinary metabolites and their concentrations serve as biomarkers for identification of metabolic pathways that relate to specific diseases; therefore, fast and accurate quantification of the metabolites in urine is essential in health assessment and diagnosis. As many urinary metabolites are of polar nature, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) has been used over the last several years because it offers faster and more reproducible analyses compared to traditional techniques such as reversed-phase chromatography or capillary electrophoresis. In our study, we developed a HILIC method by using a 3 cm analytical column in connection with tandem mass spectrometry detection for quantification of 10 urinary metabolites including creatinine as the reference for normalization. As all tested metabolites contain ionizable functional groups, pH of the mobile phase was optimized to achieve baseline separation of 2 isomeric pairs (1-methyl-4-imidazoleacetic acid/1-methyl-5-imidazoleacetic acid and 1-methylhistidine/3-methylhistidine) and to obtain overall better separation efficiency resulting in a 7 min analysis. The developed method was validated in terms of sensitivity, carry-over, linearity, matrix effects, accuracy, and precision. The metabolite concentrations in healthy subjects determined by the developed method correspond well with the normal reference values found in the literature. Moreover, the method was tested on a small cohort of COVID-19 patients, where it enabled identification of differences in metabolite levels. Thus, the developed method has potential to be used routinely in a diagnostic field for high-throughput analysis of urine samples.},
	language = {en},
	urldate = {2026-06-26},
	journal = {Analytical Methods},
	publisher = {The Royal Society of Chemistry},
	author = {Hodek, Ondrej and Edman, Anna and Granvik, Christoffer and Lind, Alicia and Överby, Anna K. and Gutensohn, Mareike and Johansson, Annika I.},
	month = jun,
	year = {2026},
}

Urinary metabolites and their concentrations serve as biomarkers for identification of metabolic pathways that relate to specific diseases; therefore, fast and accurate quantification of the metabolites in urine is essential in health assessment and diagnosis. As many urinary metabolites are of polar nature, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) has been used over the last several years because it offers faster and more reproducible analyses compared to traditional techniques such as reversed-phase chromatography or capillary electrophoresis. In our study, we developed a HILIC method by using a 3 cm analytical column in connection with tandem mass spectrometry detection for quantification of 10 urinary metabolites including creatinine as the reference for normalization. As all tested metabolites contain ionizable functional groups, pH of the mobile phase was optimized to achieve baseline separation of 2 isomeric pairs (1-methyl-4-imidazoleacetic acid/1-methyl-5-imidazoleacetic acid and 1-methylhistidine/3-methylhistidine) and to obtain overall better separation efficiency resulting in a 7 min analysis. The developed method was validated in terms of sensitivity, carry-over, linearity, matrix effects, accuracy, and precision. The metabolite concentrations in healthy subjects determined by the developed method correspond well with the normal reference values found in the literature. Moreover, the method was tested on a small cohort of COVID-19 patients, where it enabled identification of differences in metabolite levels. Thus, the developed method has potential to be used routinely in a diagnostic field for high-throughput analysis of urine samples.

@article{sharathkumar_trehalose_2026,
	title = {Trehalose 6-phosphate: {A} master regulator of plant development},
	issn = {1360-1385},
	shorttitle = {Trehalose 6-phosphate},
	url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360138526001378},
	doi = {10.1016/j.tplants.2026.05.001},
	abstract = {Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P), a trehalose synthesis intermediate and sugar phosphate, serves as a signaling molecule coordinating sucrose status with plant growth and development. Beyond its metabolic role, the T6P pathway integrates exogenous and other endogenous cues to regulate key developmental transitions, including embryogenesis, seed maturation and filling, shoot branching, vegetative and reproductive phase transitions, and tuber and lateral root formation. Dynamic spatiotemporal expression patterns of T6P-pathway genes correlate with developmental stages, though their specific contributions to the initiation and progression of these transitions remain under investigation. Here, we provide recent insights and future perspectives on the T6P pathway, emphasizing its role in orchestrating diverse plant developmental programs across model and crop species and highlighting emerging mechanistic insights into its functions.},
	urldate = {2026-06-26},
	journal = {Trends in Plant Science},
	author = {SharathKumar, Malleshaiah and Zacharaki, Vasiliki and Muniz Nardeli, Sarah and Seibert, Tanja and Wahl, Vanessa},
	month = jun,
	year = {2026},
	keywords = {T6P–SnRK1 axis, crop improvement, crop resilience, energy management, trehalose 6-phosphate synthase genes, trehalose6-phosphate phosphatase genes},
}

Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P), a trehalose synthesis intermediate and sugar phosphate, serves as a signaling molecule coordinating sucrose status with plant growth and development. Beyond its metabolic role, the T6P pathway integrates exogenous and other endogenous cues to regulate key developmental transitions, including embryogenesis, seed maturation and filling, shoot branching, vegetative and reproductive phase transitions, and tuber and lateral root formation. Dynamic spatiotemporal expression patterns of T6P-pathway genes correlate with developmental stages, though their specific contributions to the initiation and progression of these transitions remain under investigation. Here, we provide recent insights and future perspectives on the T6P pathway, emphasizing its role in orchestrating diverse plant developmental programs across model and crop species and highlighting emerging mechanistic insights into its functions.

@article{turco_comparative_2026,
	title = {Comparative {Metabarcoding} of {ITS1}, {ITS2}, and {Full}-{Length} {ITS} {Reveals} {Marker}- and {Tissue}-{Specific} {Variation} in {Fungal} {Community} {Profiling} in {Potato}},
	volume = {7},
	copyright = {© 2026 The Author(s). Plant-Environment Interactions published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd and New Phytologist Foundation.},
	issn = {2575-6265},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pei3.70168},
	doi = {10.1002/pei3.70168},
	abstract = {Accurate profiling of plant-associated fungal and oomycete communities depends critically on the choice of ITS marker. Using Illumina sequencing for ITS1/ITS2 and PacBio HiFi sequencing for full-length ITS (ITSf), we compared read recovery, taxonomic assignment depth, and diversity patterns across potato leaf and root tissues. ITS2 generally recovered more diverse and even community profiles in leaves, whereas ITSf recovered comparatively more even and taxonomically broad profiles in roots. In contrast, ITS1 showed high read recovery but produced strongly skewed compositional profiles and was frequently dominated by host-derived sequences. Beta-diversity analyses indicated that ITS marker choice was associated with substantial variation in observed community composition, while functional annotation highlighted communities composed of taxa associated with multiple ecological guilds, including endophytes and opportunistic pathogens such as Cladosporium and Ilyonectria. Overall, the results demonstrate that ITS marker choice strongly influences the observed structure and diversity of plant-associated communities. ITS2 was generally more suitable for phyllosphere-associated communities, whereas ITSf provided broader recovery of root-associated taxa. Combining complementary markers therefore offers a more comprehensive representation of potato-associated microbial eukaryotic communities than single-marker approaches alone.},
	language = {en},
	number = {3},
	urldate = {2026-06-05},
	journal = {Plant-Environment Interactions},
	author = {Turco, Silvia and Giubilei, Irene and Mahawar, Lovely and Mazzaglia, Angelo and Albrectsen, Benedicte Riber},
	year = {2026},
	note = {\_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/pei3.70168},
	keywords = {ITS markers, Solanum tuberosum L., amplicon sequencing, metabarcoding, mycobiome},
	pages = {e70168},
}

Accurate profiling of plant-associated fungal and oomycete communities depends critically on the choice of ITS marker. Using Illumina sequencing for ITS1/ITS2 and PacBio HiFi sequencing for full-length ITS (ITSf), we compared read recovery, taxonomic assignment depth, and diversity patterns across potato leaf and root tissues. ITS2 generally recovered more diverse and even community profiles in leaves, whereas ITSf recovered comparatively more even and taxonomically broad profiles in roots. In contrast, ITS1 showed high read recovery but produced strongly skewed compositional profiles and was frequently dominated by host-derived sequences. Beta-diversity analyses indicated that ITS marker choice was associated with substantial variation in observed community composition, while functional annotation highlighted communities composed of taxa associated with multiple ecological guilds, including endophytes and opportunistic pathogens such as Cladosporium and Ilyonectria. Overall, the results demonstrate that ITS marker choice strongly influences the observed structure and diversity of plant-associated communities. ITS2 was generally more suitable for phyllosphere-associated communities, whereas ITSf provided broader recovery of root-associated taxa. Combining complementary markers therefore offers a more comprehensive representation of potato-associated microbial eukaryotic communities than single-marker approaches alone.