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Hong-Xuan Lin, Ji-Ping Gao, Jun-Xiang Shan and colleagues show that natural variation in a proteasome α2 subunit gene contributes to thermotolerance in African rice. Their follow-up studies suggest that the variant allele protects cells from heat stress by enhancing the elimination of cytotoxic denatured proteins and maintaining heat-response processes.

A single-cell multiomic immune cell atlas from 235 Japanese, including patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals, linked with host genetics including germline and somatic mutation, plasma proteomics and metagenomics data reveals that immune cells are dynamically regulated in a cell state-dependent manner.

A synthetic protein ligand enables the recognition of surface proteins on unwanted cells, targeting them for engulfment and elimination in vivo.

Fang et al. demonstrate that OsHSFA4d enhances thermotolerance by activating HSP101 and promoting CslF6 expression, which suppresses disease resistance. It is phosphorylated by OsCDPK24/28, increasing its DNA binding ability under heat stress. This trade-off mechanism of abiotic/biotic stress may broadly exist in plant kingdom.

Thed orbitals of transition metal compounds influence their crystallographic and physical properties. This study reports a unique structural transition in single crystals of the S=1/2 kagomé antiferromagnet, volborthite, whereby an unpaired electron 'switches' from one dorbital to another upon cooling.

Protecting-group-free synthesis has received significant attention, but organolithium species react rapidly with ketones necessitating protection of the ketone carbonyl. Here, a flow-microreactor approach is described that allows protecting-group-free organolithium reactions in the presence of ketones.

An essential gene may become non-essential when another gene is mutated. Here, the authors investigate this type of digenic interaction, termed ‘bypass of essentiality’, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and show that bypassable essential genes are common and share certain features.

Genetic mechanisms influencing COVID-19 susceptibility are not well understood. Here, the authors analyzed whole blood RNA-seq data of 465 Japanese individuals with COVID-19, highlighting thousands of fine-mapped variants affecting expression and splicing of genes, as well as the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

The discovery of 2023 KQ₁₄, a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au, fills a gap in the known population. Its orbit does not align with other Sedna-like objects, shedding light on the diversity and dynamical history of the outer Solar System.

Analysis of the blood DNA virome in patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune disease associates endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and high anellovirus load with increased disease risk, most notably for systemic lupus erythematosus. eHHV-6 carriers show a distinct immune response.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) with complex manifestations and genetic associations. Here the author profile the transcriptome of 951 skin samples from patients with AD to link skin phenotypes, clinical severity, and efficacy of dupilumab treatment to specific types of immune responses and gene features to serve clues for personalized medicine.

Precise regulation of the phytohormone gibberellin to optimal levels may not only confer alkali–thermal tolerance to Green Revolution rice varieties but may also further enhance their yield, and ATT2, by enabling the fine-tuning of gibberellins, is expected to be a potential new post-Green Revolution gene.

Increasing grain yield needs to be put in the context of environmental stress. Here, the authors reveal that a UDP-glucosyltransferase is associated with regulation of rice grain size, abiotic stress tolerance, flavonoid-mediated auxin signaling, and redirection of carbon flux to flavonoid glycosides synthesis.

The high stability of THF and rapid cleavage of α-anionic THF make the direct generation and use of α-anionic THF challenging. Now, a flow synthetic method is used to control the metallation of unstable α-anionic THF, allowing a range of functionalization reactions to be carried out directly on THF.

The marine natural product girolline is an inhibitor of protein synthesis. Here, the authors show that girolline is a sequence-selective modulator of eIF5A that can cause ribosome stalling and activate ribosome-associated quality control.

Via structural and mutational-functional analyses, the BEC toxin from C. perfringens is shown to use a unique serine-lined pore structure critical for toxicity, distinguishing it from other binary toxins that rely on conserved phenylalanine residues.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 73 Japanese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 75 healthy controls were analyzed using single-cell transcriptomics. Combining these data with genotyping data highlights the interplay between host genetics and the immune response in modulating disease severity.

Japonica rice generally has greater capacity for low temperatures germination (LTG) than indica rice. Here, the authors report an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme-encoding gene OsUBC12 can increase LTG in japonica rice by negatively regulate ABA signaling via promoting the proteasomal degradation of OsSnRK1.1.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

DNA damage in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells may lead to impaired kidney function but the biological processes contributing to this functional decline are incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that DNA double-strand breaks in these renal epithelial cells alter the epigenetic landscape of myeloid cells in the kidney and peripheral blood, which in turn induces systemic metabolic changes and reinforces the metabolic vicious circle.

How cancer cells develop and emerge has long been a matter of debate. Here, the authors reveal a crucial role of ATR-PrimPol in enabling precancerous cells to survive KRASinduced replication stress and expand clonally with genomic instability.

Only a few genetic variants have been identified to mediate salt tolerance in major crops and their molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, the authors identify WRKY53 as a negative regulator of salt tolerance in rice, and show that it directly trans-regulates expression of MKK10.2 and HKT1;5 to meditate salt tolerance.

EGFR mutations in lung adenocarcinoma are more frequent in East Asians compared to other populations. Here, the authors carry out a genome-wide association study in EGFRmutant cancers and identify loci that are associated with risk of developing this molecular subtype of cancer.

After transplantation into the brain of patients with Parkinson’s disease, allogeneic dopaminergic progenitors derived from induced pluripotent stem cells survived, produced dopamine and did not form tumours, therefore suggesting safety and potential clinical benefits for Parkinson’s disease.

This study identifies TTTCA- and TTTTA-repeat expansions in benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy. Cortical neurons from affected people exhibit RNA foci containing these expanded repeats, suggesting RNA toxicity as the mechanism underlying disease pathogenesis.

Kim and colleagues perform a phase 2 clinical trial (ELM-2) of odronextamab monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma and report on the primary analyses of the efficacy and safety profile.

Balance between growth and stress response is critical for plants to adapt to high salinity. This study shows that receptor-like kinase FERONIA takes advantage of phyB-mediated light signalling pathway to coordinate plant growth and salt tolerance.

Comprehensive investigation of proteome changes in old-age across mammalian tissues was missing. Here, the authors provide proteome and transcriptome data of major tissues of 6, 15, 24, and 30-month-old mice. Age-related post-transcriptional dysregulation most affects ECM and OXPHOS proteins.