Journal of Experimental Botany

@jxbotany.bsky.social

Founded in 1950, the Journal of Experimental Botany (JXB) is a top-ranking journal owned by the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) and dedicated to publishing advances in plant science.

https://academic.oup.com/jxb

j.exp.bo [email protected]

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 11:21 AM

🦠🧪 RESEARCH 🧪🦠

Wajn et al. engineered an E. coli-S. cerevisiae co-culture to produce the first microbial production of 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate, overcoming key bottlenecks to enable scalable glucosinolate biosynthesis.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Biosynthetic pathway of 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate in plants and the strategy utilized to engineer microbial production. (A) Schematic representation of the biosynthetic pathway of 2-phenylethyl glucosinolate (2PE). (B) Native orchestration of 2PE biosynthesis in plant cells, showing the synthesis located in plastids, association with the endoplasmic reticulum, and in the cytosol. (C) Engineering strategy implemented in E. coli and S. cerevisiae to reconstruct the 2PE pathway. Abbreviations: UDP-Glu, UDP glucose, ER, endoplasmic reticulum, PAPS, 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate, HPhe, homophenylalanine.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 6:50 PM

🧬 REVIEW 🧬

Plants have low methionine levels. Elevated methionine impacts metabolism, stress responses and epigenetic regulation. Understanding the regulation of methionine content may guide safe nutritional biofortification strategies- Amir et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
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Fig. 1.Metabolic networks regulate Met metabolism. The biosynthesis of Met includes the aspartate pathway, which, via OPH, provides the carbon-amino skeleton, and the sulfur pathway, via cysteine, which provides the thiol group. The catabolism of Met and the three recycling pathways that recycle moieties of Met are also shown: the Yang cycle, the methyl cycle, and the SMM cycle, as well as their associated metabolites. Only several of the enzymes and metabolites are specified. Full arrows represent one metabolic step, while dashed arrows represent several metabolic steps. Abbreviations: CGS, cystathionine-γ-synthase; GLS, glucosinolates; 5-METH, 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate; MGL, methionine γ-lyase; MS, Met synthase; OPH, O-phosphohomoserine; SAH, S-Adenosyl-L-homocysteine; SAM, S-adenosylmethionine; SAMS, SAM synthase; SMM, S-methylmethionine.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 9:00 AM

🌱💧 RESEARCH 💧🌱

Moderate water deficit amplifies molecular responses to sulfur deficiency in Pisum sativum, revealing synergistic responses at multiple layers of regulation under this stress combination - Bonnot et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Influence of water deficit (WD), sulfur deficiency (S–), and WD/S– on pea plant phenotypic variables. (A) Experimental design. Days 0 and 9 correspond to the beginning and end of WD, respectively. For the conditions WD and WD/S–, day 12 therefore corresponds to 3 d of rewatering for plant recovery. (B) Heatmap representing the effects of stresses on phenotypic variables, at day 9 and day 12. Variables with similar responses to stress are grouped using a hierarchical clustering method. Data are the log2 ratio (stress condition versus control) calculated from means of n=8 biological replicates (eight individual plants per condition). In (B) asterisks indicate significant differences between stress and control conditions (*P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001). (C) Profiles of selected phenotypic variables and of osmotic potential in leaves.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 2:33 PM

🌱⚗️ REVIEW ⚗️🌱

Sulfur acts as a central hub in redox homeostasis and metabolism coordinated with phosphorus, nitrogen, and iron signaling networks to enhance multi-nutrient use efficiency and plant resilience - Haque et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Integration of sulfur (S), phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and iron (Fe) signaling pathways into coordinated regulatory networks underlying nutrient-dependent phenotypes. The transcription factor PHR1/PHLs (PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE 1/PHR1-LIKE proteins) functions as a central regulator coordinating phosphorus (P) homeostasis with nitrogen (N), iron (Fe), and sulfur (S) signaling pathways. Under P deficiency, PHR1/PHLs induce the expression of SPX domain-containing proteins (SYG1/Pho81/XPR1 domain proteins), microRNAs (miRs) and nutrient transporters to maintain nutrient balance. In the P signaling module, PHR1/PHLs positively regulate miR399 and miR827.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 9:00 AM

🌸🧬 RESEARCH 🧬🌸

Arabidopsis flowers accumulate the sulfur by-product methylthioadenosine when methionine salvage is reduced, lowering methylation capacity and impairing fertility. Short-term spermidine treatment partly restores growth- Tremblay et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
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Fig. 2 (shortened, full legend in paper): Partial restoration of mtn1-1mtn2-1 phenotypes across developmental milestones. (A) Representative confocal images of 7-day-old Col-0 (WT), mtn1-1mtn2-1, and G3 roots obtained using the SR2200 cell wall stain, with the red asterisk indicating the end of the meristematic zone measuring from isodiametric cells of the QC to the first cell that doubles in length in the cortex cell layer. Scale bar=100 µm. (B) The length of the meristematic zone was measured, indicated by the red asterisk in (A). Statistical testing was performed using two-way Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn’s post-hoc test. Groups not sharing letters are significantly different (P<0.05; n=15). (C) After the WT, mtn1-1mtn2-1, and G3 plants reached ∼25 cm in height, the first 10 internodes between siliques were measured on the primary inflorescence branch for both Spd-treated and untreated plants and summarized in a PCA (n=15).

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 6:01 PM

🌾🌱 RESEARCH 🌱🌾

Under low-sulfur conditions in both upland and lowland rice, EIL4-mediated gene regulation plays a key role, with SULTR1;1 contributing to increased root elongation - Maruyama et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 8.Growth of rice plants overexpressing SULTR1;1 in low-sulfur (LS) soil. Overexpression lines (Stox1 and Stox2) and their transgenic controls (T-cont) were grown under LS and control soil conditions (A). SULTR1;1 expression levels (B), sulfur concentrations in shoots (C) and roots (D), shoot DW (E), root DW (F), and root length (G) are shown as bar graphs. Data represent means ±SD (n=4 biological replicates; Tukey’s HSD, P<0.05 and P<0.01).

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:39 PM

Andre Kuhn Petra Marhava Stéphanie Robert Rahul Puthan Valappil Lucia Strader @aabiologists.bsky.social SEBiology

Interested in submitting a manuscript? Contact JXB 👉 bit.ly/JXBissues

#PlantScience 🧪 #JXBspecialissues

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:39 PM

Check out some of the expected articles so far 📝

Dior Kelley Lars Østergaard Bas Bargmann Enric Bertran Garcia de Olalla Teva Vernoux KleineVehnLab (and the list continues! 👇)

#PlantScience 🧪 #JXBspecialissues

Rear side of a postcard to advertise an upcoming special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany titled 'The Many Faces of Auxin: From Molecular Mechanisms to Morphogenesis'. The list of expected review papers is given, along with an invitation to submit and the deadline of November 30 2026.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:39 PM

🌱 "The Many Faces of Auxin: From Molecular Mechanisms to Morphogenesis" is now open! 🌱

This special issue is linked to #Auxin2026 and edited by Dior Kelley, Lars Østergaard & Andrea Gallavotti 📝

📅 Deadline 30 Nov 2026

Got a manuscript? Contact the JXB office: bit.ly/JXBissues
#PlantScience 🧪

Front cover of a postcard to advertise an upcoming special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany titled 'The Many Faces of Auxin: From Molecular Mechanisms to Morphogenesis'. The editors are Dior Kelley, Lars Østergaard & Andrea Gallavotti. The image shows icons such as Arabidopsis, an auxin molecule, a ship, a microscope etc in the style of blue and white Portuguese tiles. Image by Anna Wójcik, University of Silesia, Poland.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 12:41 PM

🌿🔬 REVIEW 🔬🌿

The physiological roles of cysteine-dependent processes and enzymes in photosynthetic organisms are reviewed, with emphasis on cysteine desulfhydrases - Moseler et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 4.DES1 is a primary player in the regulation of stomatal movement. ABA promotes the (auto) persulfidation of Cys44 and Cys250 of DES1 (1). Using L-cysteine as substrate, DES1 catalyzes the release of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) (2) that induces the persulfidation of SnRK2.6 (Cys131 and 137), RBOHD (Cys825 and 890) and ABI4 (Cys250) (3). As persulfidated form, ABI4 favors the expression of DES1 that is positively regulated by ABA (4). In addition to DES1, cysteine is also the substrate of the cysteine desulfurase ABA3 that allows molybdenum cofactor insertion into aldehyde oxidases required for ABA synthesis (5).

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 12:45 PM

🍇 RESEARCH 🍇

Sulfur deficiency in grapevines induces nitrogen overflow and reduces water use efficiency. While simultaneous low nitrogen alleviates this deficiency, additive effects occur, highlighting the critical sulfur–nitrogen balance - Lehr et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
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Graphical Abstract (shortened, full abstract in paper):
Sulfur is an essential macronutrient, yet its role in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) physiology is poorly understood. Following reduced atmospheric sulfur deposition, sulfur fertilization is increasingly required to prevent deficiencies, which are difficult to diagnose before they impair grapevine—and subsequent wine—quality. Therefore, the metabolic responses of grapevines to isolated and combined sulfur and nitrogen deficiencies were investigated. Using a non-targeted metabolomics and ionomics approach under controlled sulfur and nitrogen supplies, it was shown that isolated sulfur deficiency led to a massive accumulation of nitrogen-rich amino acids and activation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid shunt.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 10:00 AM

🌿🧬 REVIEW 🧬🌿

Sun et al. explore emerging roles of the plant Cysteine Synthase Complex in sensing environmental signals and coordinating stress responses through sulfur-containing metabolites and ABA biosynthesis.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Fig. 3 (shortened, full legend in paper): Evolutionary relationship of OAS-TL-related proteins across alga and land plants. Polygenetic tree of OAS-TL-related proteins in alga and land plants. The amino acid sequences of representative OAS-TL proteins were aligned by MUSCLE method and the phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method in the MEGA12 software. The tree was further modified in tvBOT online tool (Xie et al., 2023). OAS-TL proteins from the following species are included in the analysis: Charophyceae alga stonewort, two bryophytes (moss and liverwort), four monocotyledons (rice, maize, sorghum and foxtail millet) and four dicotyledons (Arabidopsis, soybean, tomato and grapevine). Clades (CysA, CysB, CysC, CS26, monocot-CysD and dicot-CysD) are color-coded to indicate the evolutionary groupings of the OAS-TL proteins.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 4:51 PM

Check out some of expected articles so far 📝
Luciano Freschi

#PlantScience 🧪 #JXBspecialissues
SEBiology

Rear side of a postcard to advertise an upcoming special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany titled 'Reactive Species in Plants'. The list of expected review and research papers is given, along with an invitation to submit and the deadline of October 31 2026.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 4:51 PM

🚨 SPECIAL ISSUE - CLOSING SOON 🚨

🔬 Reactive Species in Plants

📝 Edited by Francisco J. Corpas, José M. Palma, Rosa Rivero & Ann Cuypers

📅 Closing date: 31 October

📇 Got a suitable manuscript? Contact the JXB office: bit.ly/JXBissues

#PlantScience 🧪 #JXBspecialissues

Front cover of a postcard to advertise an upcoming special issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany titled 'Reactive Species in Plants'. The editors are Francisco J. Corpas, José M. Palma, Rosa Rivero & Ann Cuypers. The image shows involvement of ROS, RNS, and other signaling and bioactive molecules in regulating plant physiological processes and responses to adverse environmental conditions. Image by Francisco J. Corpas & José M. Palma.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:24 AMReposted by @jxbotany.bsky.social

🌱 We are hiring! 🌱

Join our team as an Assistant Editor (12-month FTC) where you will support peer review, journal meetings, content promotion and editorial development.

📅 Apply by 23 October 2026

Please share with your network!

@sebiology.bsky.social @plantpostdocs.bsky.social #PlantScience 🧪

A sketch of a person reclined in a chair editing a paper.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 8:23 AM

🌱🔬 REVIEW 🔬🌱

This review focuses on two families of genes described as sulfur deficiency markers, SDI and LSU, and describes different strategies plant utilize to cope with sulfur shortage - Sirko et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 2.LSU proteins as regulatory hubs of stress and metabolism in plants. LSU protein partners from various metabolic pathways are shown. Abbreviations: ABA, abscisic acid; ACO2, ACC Oxidase; APR, APS Reductase; ATPS, ATP Sulfurylase; CAT, catalase; FSD2, Fe Superoxide Dismutase 2; GAPC1, Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase C Subunit; JA, jasmonic acid; JAZ, Jasmonate-Zim Domain; LSU, Response to Low Sulfur; NBR1, Neighbor of BRCA1 gene 1; NPR4, Nonexpresser of PR Genes 4; PYL9, Pyrabactin Resistance 1-Like 9; RAF2/SDIRIP1, Rubisco Assembly Factor 2, also known as SDIR1-Interacting Protein 1; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SA, salicylic acid; SiR, Sulfite Reductase.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 4:07 PM

🛡️ REVIEW 🛡️

This review underscores the key role of H2S in enhancing plant resilience against abiotic stress prevalent in the current climate change scenario. Endogenous sources of H2S and its mechanisms of action are also discussed- Aroca et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
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Fig. 3.Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) signaling pathways in plants. The diagram highlights three initially proposed mechanisms by which H2S mediates its biological effects: (i) protein persulfidation, (ii) metal binding interactions involving zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe), and (iii) reducing oxidative stress by targeting reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, including superoxide radical (O2•⁻), peroxide ion (O22⁻), hydroxyl radical (•OH), and nitric oxide (NO). Created in BioRender. Romero, L. (2026) https://BioRender.com/mehykp9.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:53 AM

📣 New Special Issue 📣

📘 Issue 18 📘

🔬 Sulfur Signaling: From Molecules to Physiological Responses 🔬

✍️ Guest edited by Stanislav Kopriva, Hideki Takahashi & Markus Wirtz

Issue 🔗 academic.oup.com/jxb...

Editorial 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 1.Schematic overview of primary and secondary sulfur metabolism, highlighting key metabolites that act as either signals (blue circles) or defense metabolites (gray diamonds) upon environmental stimuli (dark gray circles) or stresses (red boxes). Sulfur metabolism-derived signals can either control specific response pathways (yellow boxes) or indicate environmental stress, which is regulated by those signals. Invited reviews and articles addressing the diverse interactions between the environment and the sulfur metabolism are indicated by numbers in gray circles. 1, Maruyama et al. (2026); 2, Aroca et al. (2026); 3, Tremblay et al. (2026); 4, Sirko et al. (2026); 5, Payet et al. (2026); 6, Haque et al. (2026); 7, Lehr et al. (2026); 8, Amir et al. (2026); 9, Wang and Zhao, 2026, 10, Elkatmis et al. (2026); 11, Sun et al. (2026); 12, Wajn et al. (2026); 13, Khin et al. (2026); 14, Moseler et al. (2026a); 15, Garcia-Godos et al. (2026); 16, Furbank et al. (2026); 17, Moseler et al.

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:24 AM

Apply here: societyforexperimentalbiology.peoplehr.net/Pages/JobBoa...

@jxbotany.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:24 AM

🌱 We are hiring! 🌱

Join our team as an Assistant Editor (12-month FTC) where you will support peer review, journal meetings, content promotion and editorial development.

📅 Apply by 23 October 2026

Please share with your network!

@sebiology.bsky.social @plantpostdocs.bsky.social #PlantScience 🧪

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