2026 vol67 (10)

Plant & Cell Physiology

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Understanding how medicinal plants coordinate stress adaptation and specialized metabolism is important for improving stress resilience and plant quality. Li et al. investigated the AP2/ERF transcription factor family in the high-altitude medicinal plant Herpetospermum pedunculosum and identified HpERF144 as a positive regulator of salt tolerance. Silencing HpERF144 increased salt sensitivity, whereas overexpression enhanced salt tolerance and promoted total lignin and lignan accumulation. DAP-seq and dual-luciferase assays further revealed potential regulatory connections between HpERF144 and phenylpropanoid-related genes. These findings provide new insights into the coordination of stress responses and phenylpropanoid metabolism in medicinal plants.

The cover image shows flowering H. pedunculosum plants cultivated at a high-altitude site in Linzhi, Xizang, China, against a backdrop of mist-covered mountains. The photograph captures the distinctive alpine environment and flowering characteristics of this medicinal cucurbit.
Photo credit: Mr. Benyi Tan (Tibet Rhodiola Pharmaceutical Holding Company, China).

Research Highlight: First authors

Shogo Takatani

Jiahui Liang

Ryo Tachibana

Microtubule control of plant floral development

Microtubules (MTs) are fundamental for eukaryotic cell growth and division, yet their roles in plant development have not been fully explored. Takatani et al. have comprehensively analysed the NIMA-related kinase (NEK) family in Arabidopsis, which phosphorylate and eliminate excess MTs. They found that the NEK family not only regulates organ growth but also modulates flowering by phosphorylating the master floral regulator FT protein. Thus, MT-associated proteins may not function solely for cell growth but also participate in various developmental processes by controlling specific signaling molecules. See also companion Commentary article by Mariko Asaoka.

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Shogo Takatani

Shogo Takatani holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Japan. He subsequently held roles as a Researcher (Laboratory of Plant Reproduction and Development, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France), a Research Associate (Department of Biological Science, School of Science, Nagoya University, Japan) and Coordinator (Center for International Affairs, Nagoya University of Economics, Japan). Currently his interests lie in the conservation of local oligotrophic environments, including semi-natural grasslands and spring-fed wetlands. In his spare time, Shogo enjoys creating and exhibiting watercolor paintings (see https://www.shogotakatani.com/)

Isoleucine-enhanced plant immunity

Although the involvement of isoleucine (Ile) in plant immunity is widely known, precise knowledge of the pathway in which it operates has not been fully elucidated. Here, Liang et al. demonstrate that exogenous Ile enhances plant pattern triggered immunity (PTI) and resistance against both B. cinerea and Pto DC3000 depending on the MAP Kinase Kinase 7 (MKK7) pathway in Arabidopsis. These results implicate MKK7 for the precise modulation of plant immunity, as well as the potential of Ile to induce PTI through the MKK7 pathway.

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Jiahui Liang

Jiahui Liang received her B.Sc. from Lingnan Normal University (2018), M.Sc. from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (2021), and Ph.D. from Sun Yat-sen University (2026). During her master's research with Prof. Dingzhong Tang, she revealed how the receptor-like kinases OsRLK902-1 and OsRLK902-2 form immune complexes with OsRLCK185 to regulate rice blast resistance. During her Ph.D. with Assoc. Prof. Bing Liu, she demonstrated that the STY8/STY17/STY46–MKK7 module mediates isoleucine-enhanced pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Zhenbiao Yang's group, under the joint postdoctoral program between the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. Her current work focuses on haploid breeding technology in strawberry and duckweed, aiming to establish efficient crop breeding systems.

Safe cotyledon greening following de-etiolation

When plants germinate in the dark, chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis must be tightly controlled such that, upon light illumination, rapid greening may occur in the absence of photooxidative stress. Tachibana et al. show that brassinosteroid (BR) signalling prevents potentially harmful Chl precursors accumulating to support cotyledon greening. Further, they reveal the mechanism by which this process occurs: the BIL1/BZR1 master regulator of BR signalling activates a critical downstream component of the pathway that is essential for light adaptation and restricts BGH2-GLK-module-dependent Chl biosynthesis. This process enables safe cotyledon greening as seedlings transition from darkness to light.

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Ryo Tachibana

Ryo Tachibana is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by a JSPS Overseas Research Fellowship. He received his PhD from Kyoto University, Japan, in 2025, where he studied the regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis and plastid development by light and hormonal signalling. His research focuses on how plants respond to environmental changes, with particular interest in photosynthesis and chloroplast development. He also serves as a PCP Budding Editor and is involved in activities supporting early-career plant scientists.

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