Xiangxiang Zhao

TL;DR: A previously unknown role of the plant hormone jasmonic acid (JA) in determining rice (Oryza sativa) spikelet morphogenesis is reported and the role of JA in reproduction has diversified during the flowering plant evolution.

TL;DR: Findings provide important insights into metabolic adaptation in rice subgroups, bridging the gap between genome and phenome, and facilitating the identification of genetic control of metabolic properties that can serve as a basis for the future improvement of rice quality via metabolic engineering.

TL;DR: The results reveal that OsMADS1 has diversified regulatory functions in specifying rice floral organ and meristem identity, probably through its genetic and physical interactions with different floral homeotic regulators.

TL;DR: New insights are provided into the maize kernel metabolome that would be useful for metabolic engineering and/or molecular breeding to improve maize kernel quality and yield.

TL;DR: It is shown that OsACOS12, an orthologue of Arabidopsis ACOS5 in rice, is crucial for rice fertility and an ancient enzyme participating in a conserved metabolic pathway for diversified biochemical functions to secure male reproduction in plants.