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Long distance dispersal (LDD) is considered particularly important for plant range expansion (1). Such events are rare, however, and for wind-dispersed species updrafts or extreme weather events are required (1–3). Despite the importance of LDD for plant population dynamics, dispersing long distances is risky to the survival of individual seeds and the majority of seeds disperse short distances. The extent to which most wind dispersed plants can manipulate dispersal ranges of individual seeds is debatable as wind speeds are generally more variable than seed traits (4–9). Here, we present a dynamic mechanism by which dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ) seeds can regulate their dispersal in response to environmental conditions. We used time lapse imaging to observe shape changes in dandelion pappi. We also analysed diaspore fluid mechanics in two wind tunnels and used particle image velocimetry (PIV) to understand flight characteristics of the morphing structure. We have found that by changing the shape of the pappus when wet, detachment from the parent plant is greatly reduced and seed falling velocities are increased with a significant change in velocity deficit behind the seed. We suggest that this may be a form of informed dispersal maintaining LDD in dry conditions, while spatiotemporally directing short-range dispersal toward beneficial wetter environments.

Dear authors, reviewers, and editors, Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, we, the Editors-in-Chief and publishers of multiple plant-focused journals, have had questions from members of our community about our flexibility in these troubled times. Like many of you, we and our colleagues on our

ABA-driven stomatal regulation reportedly evolved after the divergence of ferns, during the early evolution of seed plants approximately 360 Mya. This hypothesis is based on the observation that the stomata of certain fern species are unresponsive to ABA, but exhibit passive hydraulic control. However, ABA-induced stomatal closure was detected in some mosses and lycophytes. Here, we observed that a number of ABA signaling and membrane transporter protein families diversified over the evolutionary history of land plants. The aquatic ferns Azolla filiculoides and Salvinia cucullata have representatives of 23 families of proteins orthologous to those of Arabidopsis thaliana and all other land plant species studied. Phylogenetic analysis of the key ABA signaling proteins indicates an evolutionarily conserved stomatal response to ABA. Moreover, comparative transcriptomic analysis has identified a suite of ABA responsive genes that differentially expressed in a terrestrial fern species, Polystichum proliferum. These genes encode proteins associated with ABA biosynthesis, transport, reception, transcription, signaling, and ion and sugar transport, which fit the general ABA signaling pathway constructed from Arabidopsis thaliana and Hordeum vulgare. The retention of these key ABA-responsive genes could have had a profound effect on the adaptation of ferns to dry conditions. Furthermore, stomatal assays have shown the primary evidence for ABA-induced closure of stomata in two terrestrial fern species P. proliferum and Nephrolepis exaltata. In summary, we report new molecular and physiological evidence for the presence of active stomatal control in ferns.

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins play a major role in membrane fusion and contribute to cell expansion, signaling, and polar growth in plants. The SNARE SYP121 of Arabidopsis thaliana that facilitates vesicle fusion at the plasma membrane also binds with, and regulates, K+ channels already present at the plasma membrane to affect K+ uptake and K+-dependent growth. Here, we report that its cognate partner VAMP721, which assembles with SYP121 to drive membrane fusion, binds to the KAT1 K+ channel via two sites on the protein, only one of which contributes to channel-gating control. Binding to the VAMP721 SNARE domain suppressed channel gating. By contrast, interaction with the amino-terminal longin domain conferred specificity on VAMP721 binding without influencing gating. Channel binding was defined by a linear motif within the longin domain. The SNARE domain is thought to wrap around this structure when not assembled with SYP121 in the SNARE complex. Fluorescence lifetime analysis showed that mutations within this motif, which suppressed channel binding and its effects on gating, also altered the conformational displacement between the VAMP721 SNARE and longin domains. The presence of these two channel-binding sites on VAMP721, one also required for SNARE complex assembly, implies a well-defined sequence of events coordinating K+ uptake and the final stages of vesicle traffic. It suggests that binding begins with VAMP721, and subsequently with SYP121, thereby coordinating K+ channel gating during SNARE assembly and vesicle fusion. Thus, our findings also are consistent with the idea that the K+ channels are nucleation points for SNARE complex assembly.

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is the third biological gasotransmitter and, in animals, affects many physiological processes by modulating ion channels. H2S has been reported to protect plants from oxidative stress in diverse physiological responses. H2S closes stomata, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we report the selective inactivation of current carried by inward-rectifying K+ channels (IKIN) of tobacco guard cells and demonstrate its close parallel with stomatal closure evoked by submicromolar concentrations of H2S. Experiments to scavenge H2S suggested an effect that is separable from that of abscisic acid, which is associated with water stress. Thus, H2S appears to associate with a new and as yet unresolved signalling pathway that selectively targets IKIN.

Achieving global food security for the estimated 9 billion people by 2050 is a major scientific challenge. Crop productivity is fundamentally restricted by the rate of fixation of atmospheric carbon. The dedicated enzyme, RubisCO, has a low turnover and poor specificity for CO2. This limitation of C3 photosynthesis (the basic carbon-assimilation pathway present in all plants) is alleviated in some lineages by use of carbon-concentrating-mechanisms, such as the C4 cycle-a biochemical pump that concentrates CO2 near RubisCO increasing assimilation efficacy. Most crops use only C3 photosynthesis, so one promising research strategy to boost their productivity focuses on introducing a C4 cycle. The simplest proposal is to use the cycle to concentrate CO2 inside individual chloroplasts. The photosynthetic efficiency would then depend on the leakage of CO2 out of a chloroplast. We examine this proposal with a 3D spatial model of carbon and oxygen diffusion and C4 photosynthetic biochemistry inside a typical C3-plant mesophyll cell geometry. We find that the cost-efficiency of C4 photosynthesis depends on the gas permeability of the chloroplast envelope, the C4 pathway having higher quantum efficiency than C3 for permeabilities below 300 μm/s. However, at higher permeabilities the C4 pathway still provides a substantial boost to carbon assimilation with only a moderate decrease in efficiency. The gains would be capped by the ability of chloroplasts to harvest light, but even under realistic light regimes a 100% boost to carbon assimilation is possible. This could be achieved in conjunction with lower investment in chloroplasts if their cell surface coverage is also reduced. Incorporation of this C4 cycle into C3 crops could thus promote higher growth rates and better drought resistance in dry, high-sunlight climates.