Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42175571›Full record

ArticlePlant physiology2026

Conserved 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase/ascorbate peroxidase bifunctionality coordinates lignin deposition and plant growth in Brachypodium and Populus.

Weiwei Zhu, Harmeet Singh-Bakala, Bo Liu, William Bewg, Max Bentelspacher, Rachel Weber, María Ángeles Peláez-Vico, Margot S S Chen, Chung-Jui Tsai, Ron Mittler and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Plant physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Decoding plant metabolism.Plant physiology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Weiwei ZhuDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0009-0008-2974-2186
Harmeet Singh-BakalaDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0009-0009-8685-9556
Bo LiuDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3129-8367
William BewgSchool of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-3493-3496
Max BentelspacherDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0009-0004-7357-917X
Rachel WeberDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0009-0002-8813-2632
María Ángeles Peláez-VicoDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-9739-9932
Margot S S ChenSchool of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
Chung-Jui TsaiSchool of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-9282-7704
Ron MittlerDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3192-7450
Bing YangDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2293-3384
Jaime BarrosDivision of Plant Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources and Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-9545-312X

Funding

Biorefining and Biomanufacturing program 2026-67021-45696Center for Bioenergy InnovationFoundational Knowledge of Plant Products program 2026-67013-45667Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science ERKP886University of MissouriUS Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and AgricultureUS Department of Energy
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cytosolic ascorbate peroxidases (APXs) have been proposed to have bifunctional 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) activity, linking redox regulation to lignin biosynthesis in plants. Although this dual role has been shown in vitro, in vivo validation remains limited. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to knock out cytosolic C3H/APX genes in Brachypodium distachyon and poplar (Populus tremula × Populus alba). In Brachypodium, BdC3H/APX1 catalyzed the ascorbate-dependent hydroxylation of 4-coumarate to caffeate in vitro. Loss of BdC3H/APX1 function led to reduced lignin content, altered monomer composition, elevated H2O2 levels, and impaired growth, while double monoallelic knockouts of BdC3H/APX1 combined with a biallelic BdC3H/APX2 mutation (Bdc3h/apx1&2) exhibited severe developmental defects. Exogenous caffeate and ferulate rescued the growth and lignin phenotype of the Bdc3h/apx1 knockout mutants, whereas catalase reduced H2O2 without restoring plant growth. Similarly, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated PtC3H/APX1 knockout in poplar resulted in stunted growth and altered lignin composition, while the double Ptc3h/apx1&2 mutants were unable to regenerate from tissue culture. These results provide in vivo evidence of C3H/APX bifunctionality, suggesting that perturbed lignin biosynthesis is the primary cause of the growth defects typically observed in C3H/APX-deficient plants.

Indexed as

Ascorbate PeroxidasesBrachypodiumLigninMixed Function OxygenasesPlant ProteinsPopulusCoumaric AcidsHydrogen PeroxideAscorbate PeroxidasesCoumaric AcidsHydrogen PeroxideLigninMixed Function OxygenasesPlant Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42175571
PMCPMC13273577

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.