Nature Communications

Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74677-7 Rice root-knot nematode (RRKN) is one of the most destructive pathogenic nematodes threatening rice production worldwide. Here, the authors report the identification of RRKN susceptibility factor 1 (Rsf1) and show its usefulness in enhancing RRKN resistance without impacting yield in field conditions.

Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74532-9 A tip-enhanced nano-optical trapping spectroscopy enables deterministic trapping and dynamic control of single quantum emitters, including reversible switching between weak and strong light-matter coupling regimes.

Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74553-4 Aggarwal et al. develop OCaMP, an orange fluorescent calcium indicator optimised for imaging neural activity at wavelengths above 1000 nm, enabling improved deep tissue imaging and expanded compatibility with existing sensors.

Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74592-x The development of catalytic systems for the enantioselective epoxidation of sterically hindered trisubstituted alkenes and the oxidation of sulfilimines to sulfoximines using molecular oxygen (O₂) as the terminal oxidant remains a formidable challenge. Here, the authors report a biomimetic bifunctional photocat…

Nature Communications, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74794-3 Dynamic control of surface textures is limited by static or coarse-patterned approaches, restricting their application in programmable object manipulation and information encoding. This study achieved reversible, spatiotemporally programmable surface wrinkling on a photothermal liquid crystal elastomer bilayer, …

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74689-3 Detoxifying the immunogenic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) remains challenging. Here, the authors show that the Brassicaceae protein LORE binds LPS with high affinity and develop plant-derived nanovesicles displaying native LORE, combined with cerium-based nanozymes, to enable LPS hydrolysis.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74702-9 A genome wide screen reveals down-regulating the Wnt, Hippo, Tpr53, PIDDosome, ciliary biogenesis, or autophagy pathways overcomes inhibitory effects of PLK4-mediated centrosome amplification on cell proliferation. Depletion of tumor suppressor, ARHGAP15, activates autophagy to reduce centrosomes. ARHGAP15 is op…

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74462-6 Madar et al. show that neural representations of choice options predict how context shifts decisions. By leveraging the brain’s feature encoding, previously inaccessible to decision researchers, they improve predictions of well-known choice biases.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74504-z Here the authors report a pair of identical effector genes in different fungal pathogens that cause vascular wilt diseases to cause defoliation in crops. Removing these genes stops disease, and mobile DNA elements appear to spread this virulence trait between fungal pathogens.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74673-x Glutarimide-containing CRBN ligands are central to targeted protein degradation but remain synthetically challenging. Here, the authors report a unified organocatalytic platform enabling rapid, selective, and scalable assembly of diverse glutarimides, facilitating library synthesis and late-stage functionalisati…

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74481-3 Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation drives liver fibrosis. Here, the authors show that apoptosis-resistant E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (AREL1) is upregulated in HSCs of patients with metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and promotes fibrosis via the ILK–PI3K–AKT pathway. Targeting AREL1 with vitamin …

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74103-y Here authors use human iPSC-derived cerebral organoids to model the pathogenic m.3243 A > G mitochondrial mutation and reveal heteroplasmy-dependent, cell-type-specific vulnerability in human cortex neurons.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74450-w The work builds a sliding triboelectric generator using structural superlubricity between graphite and silicon oxide. Atomic-scale contact yields near-zero friction, suppresses air breakdown, eliminates wear, and delivers stable, enhanced charge output over long cycling.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74747-w People’s reward learning is shaped by context, but the cognitive origins of this bias remain poorly understood. Here, the authors provide evidence that attention may underlie these distortions by shaping how rewards are encoded during reinforcement learning.

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74716-3 Single-molecule fluorescence imaging struggles to distinguish signals from different molecular events when intensity profiles appear similar. Here, the authors introduce smDeepFLUOR, a deep learning framework that classifies spatiotemporal fluorescence signals with high accuracy across diverse molecular events, …

Nature Communications, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74406-0 Longitudinal antibody profiling in a Nicaraguan pediatric dengue cohort shows that cross-reactive IgG against the envelope protein rises, not wanes, over 18 months post-primary infection, with antibody kinetics differing by viral protein and domain.

Nature Communications, Published online: 20 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74634-4 It is possible to realize axion electrodynamics in a material with an isotropic and linear magnetoelectric response, however, such a material has thus far evaded experimental realization. Here, Mishra et al succeed in creating such a linear isotropic magnetoelectric response in powdered Chromia.

Nature Communications, Published online: 20 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74695-5 The study reveals how the 3D genome changes during germ cell formation across vertebrates that split over 350 million years ago, uncovering shared and species‑specific patterns and showing that genome size and chromosome shape drive DNA folding.

Nature Communications, Published online: 20 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73714-9 Brain networks are heritable, but their genetics remain incompletely understood. Here, authors show that the genetics of cortical similarity networks relate to cortical evolution, causally predict functional connectivity, and link to psychiatric risk.

Nature Communications, Published online: 20 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74654-0 Probing nanoscale light-matter interactions requires simultaneous access to optical anisotropy and ultrahigh spatial resolution. Here, authors develop torsional force microscopy-infrared imaging, enabling near-nanometer optical imaging and direction-resolved mapping of local optical responses.