Protein engineering fixes a major crop trade-off

Nature News · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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NEWS AND VIEWS 25 February 2026 Rational design of a regulatory protein decouples the ability to tolerate cold from the means to acquire phosphorus, effectively enhancing crop yield under cold stress. By Jie Liu Jie Liu is at Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572024, China. Jianbing Yan Jianbing Yan is at the National Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China, and also at Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China. To ensure stable yields, crops must adapt to many concurrent fluctuating stresses, such as low temperatures and limited availability of the nutrient phosphorus, which is present in the soil as inorganic phosphate (Pi). Both low temperature and limited Pi cause notable yield loss, a challenge that is aggravated by the fact that cold stress directly inhibits Pi uptake1. Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 € / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access 185,98 € per year only 3,65 € per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00293-6The authors used DeepSeek to help prepare this News & Views article. ReferencesBravo-F, P. & Uribe, E. G. Plant Physiol. 67, 815–819 (1981).Article PubMed Google Scholar Liao, H. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10142-1 (2026).Article Google Scholar Puga, M. I. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 14947–14952 (2014).Article PubMed Google Scholar Wang, Z. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 14953–14958 (2014).Article PubMed Google Scholar Paz-Ares, J. et al. Mol. Plant 15, 104–124 (2022).Article PubMed Google Scholar Ding, Y., Shi, Y. & Yang, S. Annu. Rev. Genet. 58, 43–65 (2024).Article PubMed Google Scholar Thines, B. et al. Nature 448, 661–665 (2007).Article PubMed Google Scholar Tian, M. Z. et al. Plant Biotechnol. J. 22, 3085–3098 (2024).Article PubMed Google Scholar Ma, Y. et al. Cell 160, 1209–1221 (2015).Article PubMed Google Scholar Liu, Q. et al. EMBO J. 40, e104559 (2020).Article PubMed Google Scholar Ming, Y. et al. Dev. Cell 60, 3222–3235 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Hu, C. C. et al. Nature Commun. 15, 6407 (2024).Article PubMed Google Scholar Peng, M., Hannam, C., Gu, H., Bi, Y. M. & Rothstein, S. J. Plant J. 50, 320–337 (2007).Article PubMed Google Scholar Download references Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests. Related Articles Read the paper: Rewiring an E3 ligase enhances cold resilience and phosphate use in maize Imaging reveals how plants cope with salt Missing steps uncovered in a pathway plants use to produce the defence molecule salicylic acid See all News & Views Subjects Latest on: Plant sciences Agriculture Rewiring an E3 ligase enhances cold resilience and phosphate use in maize Article 25 FEB 26 Echinoderm stereom gradient structures enable mechanoelectrical perception Article 25 FEB 26 Student dilemma: physical science or physical education? News & Views 17 FEB 26 Genetically engineered ‘stinkweed’ comes up roses for making seed oil Research Highlight 29 JAN 26 Pesticide cocktails negatively affect soil biodiversity News & Views 28 JAN 26 How to eat well and within Earth’s limits World View 27 JAN 26