How plants make copies of themselves – key gene identified in model plant
Hiroshima University
image:
Induction of gemma (clonal propagule) formation via the activation of GEMMIFER gene. (left) Whole plant image. (right) Magnified view of gemmae forming on the plant surface. (Yuki Hirakawa / Hiroshima University)
view moreCredit: Yuki Hirakawa / Hiroshima University
A Hiroshima-University-led research team has discovered a key gene responsible for the initiation of gemma development, acting as a "master switch" to start asexual reproduction (cloning) in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha (common liverwort).
Many plants possess the extraordinary ability to bypass seeds and reproduce through asexual reproduction. This flexibility allows plants to reproduce entire bodies from a specialized cell. However, the exact cellular and genetic “switches” behind this process have remained a mystery.
While such capacity is widespread across the plant kingdom, it remains a challenge to study. The primary reason is that standard model organisms, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, do not naturally reproduce in this manner. Consequently, a “scientific blind spot” has emerged, where the most advanced tools of molecular biology could not be applied to this fascinating phenomenon.
A Hiroshima-University-led research team was fortunate to uncover this hidden mechanism by shifting their focus to an emerging model organism, Marchantia polymorpha (common liverwort). Widely found in inhabited areas of the Northern Hemisphere, this plant has a flat, leaf-like body called a thallus and can reproduce by cloning itself through specialized structures known as “gemmae”.
Their research was published in the journal Current Biology on May 4, 2026.
“Marchantia polymorpha is a key to solving the mystery of asexual reproduction in plants,” says Yuki Hirakawa, professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life. “This is because this species spontaneously undergoes asexual reproduction by forming gemmae, and well-established methods for genetic analysis are already available."
In previous work, the research team found that the CLE peptide hormone suppresses asexual reproduction. Subsequent transcriptome analysis identified a set of genes that changed expression in response to the hormone, leading the team to suspect their involvement in asexual reproduction. In this study, the team conducted CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and artificial microRNA knockdown experiments to suppress the function of one of these genes. They found that the plant completely ceased gemma production, revealing that this gene, named GEMMIFER, is essential for asexual reproduction.
To further analyze the gene's function, the team created a transgenic line capable of controlling the activity of GEMMIFER via drug administration. When dexamethasone was applied to transiently activate GEMMIFER, it triggered the formation of stem cells, the starting point of gemma development. These newly formed cells continued to grow and successfully developed into mature gemmae. This confirmed that the activation of this single gene is sufficient to set the entire cloning process in motion.
Further analysis revealed that GEMMIFER functions by activating the gene GCAM1, which previous studies have shown is also required for gemma formation. This interaction provides key insights into the early stages of the genetic pathway that triggers the stem cell identity of gemma.
“The precise way this gene reprograms cell fate is still not fully understood. Furthermore, while many plants possess similar genes, it remains to be seen whether they share the same functional role.”
"However,” Hirakawa adds, “the fact that we couldn't observe this in traditional model plants didn't mean it wasn't happening elsewhere in nature. This discovery reminds us of the vast biological secrets still waiting to be uncovered.”
Go Takahashi & Masaki Shimamura at Hiroshima University; Tomohiro Kiyosue & Saori Yamaya at Gakushuin University; Facundo Romani, Ignacy Bonter & Jim Haseloff at the University of Cambridge; and Kimitsune Ishizaki at Kobe University co-authored this study.
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About Hiroshima University
Since its foundation in 1949, Hiroshima University has striven to become one of the most prominent and comprehensive universities in Japan for the promotion and development of scholarship and education. Consisting of 12 schools for undergraduate level and 5 graduate schools, ranging from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences, the university has grown into one of the most distinguished comprehensive research universities in Japan. English website: https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en
Journal
Current Biology
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Initiation of asexual reproduction by the AP2/ERF gene GEMMIFER in Marchantia polymorpha
Article Publication Date
4-May-2026
The Big Bang of plant life: Discovery sheds light on how cells form walls
PULLMAN, Wash. — Cell walls are a crucial structure of plant life, protecting cells from damage, giving plants shape, and containing energy-rich nutrients. And yet the process of how the walls begin to form remains mysterious.
Researchers from Washington State University have now identified the first known signaling pathway that prompts internal cell components to form exterior walls, as well as discovering the unique routes of energy-dense “cargo” transported into the walls — a discovery that suggests possibilities for designing cell walls to boost nutrition or produce biofuels.
“To form a cell wall, the cell has to recognize that something internal must become external,” said Andrei Smertenko, a professor in the Institute of Biological Chemistry in the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, and corresponding author of the new paper. “This, in a nutshell, is what we’ve discovered: the first pathway that allows cells to determine that this intracellular compartment becomes extracellular — part of the cell wall.”
The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, also reveal new insights into how plant life evolved and sustained human civilization.
Cell walls are vital to the formation of all plant life on earth. They give cells their shape and structure. They contain all the nutrition in the plant foods we eat, as well as the materials needed to produce biofuels.
Animal cells do not have a wall structure. For plants, Smertenko said, the formation of walls through a cellular structure known as the cell plate is akin to the Big Bang: a burst of creation that produces the structures, conditions and materials for that plant’s existence. The cell plate is like a sorting hub, directing materials and processes that produce the wall during the process of cell division.
“If you look out the window, everything that is not man-made that stands out above the ground comes from the cell plate,” Smertenko said. “The cell plate is a Big Bang of plant nature, because it allows plants to create all the sophisticated shapes and forms we see around us.”
But the early stages of that process are not well-understood. Smertenko’s new work sheds light on it by identifying the mechanism by which a cell comes to “perceive” or “understand” that it needs to begin the chain reaction to build the cell wall.
Using a combination of gene editing and live cell imaging, researchers identified a previously uncharacterized signaling module in the cell, comprised of two proteins involved in cell signaling: inflorescence meristem receptor-like kinase 2, IMK2, and IMK3. The IMK2-IMK3 module promotes several functions that lead to the creation of a cell wall.
The receptors are key to the process of cell division as plants grow. When a cell splits into daughter cells, many signals within the cell work together to begin sending proteins and other building blocks in tiny sacs known as vesicles to various spots in the cell plate to drive its development. This includes depositing carbohydrates known as polysaccharides that make the backbone of the cell plate.
The IMK2-IMK3 module is like a communications center for this complex process. Smertenko’s discovery lays the groundwork to pursue further research into the signaling process and regulation of cell wall creation.
Co-authors on the publication included Tetyana Smertenko, a postdoctoral research associate; scientific assistant Deirdre Fahy; and research associate Glenn Turner. The work was funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation.
As spring arrives, the results of the cellular processes that Smertenko has been exploring are showing up everywhere you look.
“Right now, we have new leaves emerging from buds. The buds contain all cells necessary to make the leaf, produced through these multiple billions of cell plates synthetized sequentially, even before you notice the bud opening,” he said. “From my point of view, it’s just a beautiful process: billions of cells behaving in exactly the right way to produce leaves for each plant.”
Journal
Science Advances
Method of Research
Imaging analysis
Subject of Research
Human embryos
Article Title
IMK2-IMK3 module regulates biogenesis of nascent cell walls and post-cytokinetic differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Article Publication Date
1-May-2026
How plants rebalance their energy under stress
image:
Confocal microscopy of Arabidopsis plants expressing NAC53 fused to GFP.
view more
Credit: © Suayb Üstün
When proteins become unbalanced
Thousands of proteins have to be correctly produced, folded, and regulated in each cell. Under stress conditions, this balance (known as proteostasis) becomes unstable. Misfolded or damaged proteins accumulate and can harm the cell. In order to counteract this, cells use a sort of molecular recycling system called proteasome to break down the defective proteins. However, it was previously unclear how cells adapt this activity to different stress situations within the cell.
A control center in the endoplasmic reticulum
The researchers demonstrated that two central regulators control this adjustment: transcription factors NAC53 and NAC78. These are found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an important hub of protein production. “We discovered that these factors act like a control panel,” explains Gautier Langin, first author of the study. “They integrate stress signals from different areas of the cell and decide how the cell will respond.” Under normal conditions, NAC53 and NAC78 are quickly broken down. When the cell is under stress, however, they are activated, migrate to the nucleus, and activate genes that strengthen the breakdown of proteins.
A new mechanism: ERAS
A key breakthrough in the work is the discovery of a new regulation mechanism known as ER-associated sorting (ERAS). This process determines whether NAC53 or NAC78 will be broken down or activated. “This is a fundamental mechanism of cell regulation,” says Üstün, last author of the study. “The cell uses a single control point to decide between breaking down or activating these factors.”
Surprisingly, the study showed that NAC53 and NAC78 not only activate the breakdown of proteins, but simultaneously suppress photosynthesis – the process plants use to produce energy. This highlights a central conflict of aims: Under stress, the cell pulls back on growth and energy production to ensure its own stability.
“When damaged proteins accumulate, the cell specifically reduces energy-intensive processes like photosynthesis,” explains Langin. “This helps prevent further harm.”
Communication within the cell
The results also show that this mechanism connects various cell compartments together, in particular the nucleus and the chloroplasts, where photosynthesis occurs. This facilitates a coordinated stress response throughout the entire cell.
Possibilities for more robust plants
The study provides a new understanding of how cells maintain their equilibrium under stress. Because similar mechanisms also exist in other organisms, the results could be relevant beyond the field of plant biology. “This type of regulation is probably evolutionarily conserved,” says Üstün. “It opens up perspectives of how cells interlink protein control and metabolism.” Better understanding of these processes could aid in making crops more durable against environmental stress like heat, drought, or pathogens. “If we can understand these correlations, we can take a targeted approach and make plants more robust,” says Üstün.
Journal
Molecular Cell
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Proteotoxic Stress Response is Governed by ER-associated Sorting of Proteasome Transcriptional Activators
Evolutionary history shapes fruit volume while climate modulates its strength
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
image:
RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY, PLANT TRAITS, AND CLIMATE TO FRUIT VOLUME VARIATION ACROSS CHINESE FLOWERING PLANTS.
view moreCredit: FENG ET AL., 2026, PLANT DIVERSITY
Why do some plants produce tiny, dry fruits while others invest in large, fleshy ones? Fruit volume plays a key role in seed dispersal, survival, and the establishment of new plants, yet its large-scale drivers remain poorly understood.
In a study published in Plant Diversity, a team of researchers from China analyzed 2,668 angiosperm species from 22 ecological stations across China, covering forests, grasslands, wetlands, and deserts. By combining evolutionary relationships, plant traits, and climate data, they examined what determines variation in fruit volume across species.
"We found that closely related species tend to produce similar-sized fruits, indicating a strong influence of evolutionary history," shares corresponding author Bo Wang. "Across all species, evolutionary relationships explained the largest share of explained variation in fruit volume (64.71%), making them the dominant factor shaping this trait."
However, this influence varies across environments. The contribution of evolutionary history declines with increasing temperature—particularly the maximum temperature of the warmest month.
"This pattern indicates that climate modulates the strength of phylogenetic constraints rather than overriding them entirely," explains Wang. "In other words, evolutionary history sets the baseline for fruit volume, while environmental conditions influence how closely species follow that baseline through environmental filtering and species turnover during community assembly."
The response also differs among plant groups. Dry-fruited species show a clearer decline in the influence of evolutionary history under warmer conditions, whereas fleshy-fruited species exhibit a contrasting pattern—tend to retain or even strengthening phylogenetic constraints in warmer regions. This suggests that different ecological strategies may shape how plant traits respond to environmental gradients.
"Evolutionary history plays a central role in shaping fruit volume, but its influence is not fixed," adds Wang. "Our results show that climate can change how strongly this evolutionary pattern is expressed across environments."
The study provides new insight into how plant traits are shaped by both long-term evolutionary history and present-day environmental conditions. Understanding this balance will help better predict how plant communities may respond to ongoing environmental change.
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Contact the author: Bo Wang, yangblue@ahu.edu.cn
The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 200 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
Journal
Plant Diversity
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Climate modulation of phylogenetic and functional constraints on fruit volume: A case study of Chinese angiosperms
