Across Cukurova, the alluvial plain in southern Turkey that lines the easternmost inlet of the Mediterranean Sea, farmers till land so fertile that it bears three harvests a year. Rivers feed cash crops of cotton, corn, wheat, sunflowers, rapeseed, and soybean; the muggy climate warms greenhouses filled with tomatoes, bananas, and avocados; and the mineral-rich soil supports a wide array of produce—citrus, peanuts, lemons, olives, pomegranates, watermelon, and more. It is also, however, a key node in a newly vital route for oil otherwise blocked by the wars in Ukraine and Iran. The Fertile Crescent’s last great expanse of farmland spared by centuries of drought, war, and mismanagement is now vulnerable as Turkey moves to accommodate some 850,000 extra barrels of oil per day, with plans for much more. Existing oil and industrial facilities have already displaced many of Cukurova’s farmers and fishers. But the expansion underway could complete the plain’s transition from an area that can still live off its arable land and abundant waters—now a luxury in the drought-strained region—to an energy shipping and petrochemical hub. Not only could these industries nearly replace farming; they could permanently alter the land and water that sustain it, making it unfeasible...

Two type IB DNA topoisomerases in rapeseed redundantly regulate floral organ development by directly activating floral meristem identity genes, which provi