Frontiers In Plant Science[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Growth history revealed by tree rings provides clues for the conservation of an endangered subtropical tree species.
Jia H, Yang Y, Hou X … +7 more , Li H, Li Q, Yang C, He X, Jiang Y, Luo Z, Qiu H
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382410 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: is an endangered relic conifer endemic to Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou Province, Southwest China. Its sparse population, limited regenerative capacity, and fragile habitat underscore the urgent need for evi...
INTRODUCTION: is an endangered relic conifer endemic to Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou Province, Southwest China. Its sparse population, limited regenerative capacity, and fragile habitat underscore the urgent need for evidence-based conservation strategies. METHODS: In this study, dendrochronological methods were applied to quantify radial growth dynamics, identify climatic constraints, and reconstruct disturbance history. RESULTS: The mean radial growth rate of was 1.439 mm yr-1. Tree growth exhibited a significant negative correlation with June temperature and a positive correlation with the drought index (scPDSI) from July to September ( < 0.05), indicating that both high summer temperature and water deficit constrain growth, with moisture availability as the dominant limiting factor during the growing season. Disturbance reconstruction revealed three major events, a pronounced growth release in the early 1960s, likely triggered by widespread canopy mortality following the extreme drought of the late 1950s, and two growth suppression periods occurred in the early 1970s and around the turn of the 20th century. DISCUSSION: Notably, radial growth has declined significantly over the past decade, accompanied by increased tree mortality, suggesting an emerging vulnerability of this species to ongoing climatic warming and drying. These findings highlight the critical role of hydroclimatic stress in regulating growth and survival of . Reconstructing its growth and disturbance history provides key insights into population health and resilience, and offers a robust scientific basis for developing targeted conservation and management strategies under future climate change.
Climate change reshapes habitat suitability of ancient tea trees in Yunnan: insights from an optimized MaxEnt model.
Li T, Yang K, Peng S … +3 more , Qi Y, Wen S, Yang Y
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382409 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Ancient tea trees, as important germplasm resources of tea plants worldwide and key carriers of tea domestication origins, possess irreplaceable ecological, economic, and cultural value. Under global warmin...
INTRODUCTION: Ancient tea trees, as important germplasm resources of tea plants worldwide and key carriers of tea domestication origins, possess irreplaceable ecological, economic, and cultural value. Under global warming, the distribution pattern of suitable habitats for ancient tea trees may face an increasing risk of fragmentation, which may in turn affect the conservation and management of ancient tea tree resources. Therefore, identifying the key environmental variables driving the potential suitable zones of ancient tea trees and their spatial distribution is of great significance for resource conservation and management. METHODS: As the most important reservoir of ancient tea tree resources in China, Yunnan Province contains 97.70% of the country's ancient tea trees. Therefore, this study adopted an optimized MaxEnt model for the simulation of the variation in the spatial pattern of potential suitable zones for ancient tea trees in Yunnan under contemporary and future climate scenarios, and for the assessment of how climate change shapes the distribution of these potential suitable zones. RESULTS: According to our findings, precipitation of the coldest quarter (bio19), precipitation of the warmest quarter (bio18), temperature seasonality (bio4), precipitation of the wettest month (bio13), min temperature of the coldest month (bio6), and elevation were confirmed as the key environmental variables that affected the potential suitable zones of ancient tea trees in Yunnan. Precipitation, temperature, and topography jointly constrained the distribution pattern of the potential suitable zones. The current potential suitable zone of ancient tea trees in Yunnan covers an area of 17.39×10km, of which the highly suitable zone accounts for 0.14×10km. Affected by the four future climate scenarios, the potential suitable zones of ancient tea trees in Yunnan are all projected to show a net expansion, and these potential suitable zones will shift toward higher latitudes and higher elevations in response to climate-change-induced environmental stress. DISCUSSION: The findings in the present study can provide a scientific basis and decision support for the conservation and management of ancient tea tree germplasm resources under climate change, and may also contribute to a better understanding of the environmental background associated with some forest-associated ancient tea tree habitats.
Different fungal and bacterial pathogen infections alter the grapevine microbiome and phenolic profiles in a localized and specific manner.
Castro C, Mekdara N, Harmon F … +2 more , Coleman-Derr D, Wallis CM
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382408 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Plant pathogens pose a critical threat to global agriculture by significantly reducing crop productivity through the negative impact on plant physiology and associated microbial communities. Grapevines (),...
INTRODUCTION: Plant pathogens pose a critical threat to global agriculture by significantly reducing crop productivity through the negative impact on plant physiology and associated microbial communities. Grapevines (), a high-value crop worldwide, are highly susceptible to a range of bacterial and fungal vascular pathogens. In this study, we investigated the effects of five major grapevine pathogens-, , , , and -on host microbiome composition and phenolic secondary metabolite profiles across multiple plant tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For grapevines infected with each of the five pathogens, a combination of 16S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequencing was performed alongside high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Generated data were compared to observe if changes in host chemistry caused by infection from one of the pathogens could be associated with shifts in microbial communities both around and away from the initial infection sites. RESULTS: We found that pathogen infection induced significant pathogen-specific alterations in both bacterial and fungal communities, predominantly at the inoculation site. Additionally, infections triggered localized changes in phenolic compounds, especially stilbenoids, consistent with host defense responses. Notably, fungal pathogens broadly disrupted bacterial communities, while had a more limited and distal effect. DISCUSSION: Our findings highlight distinct microbiome and metabolic signatures associated with each pathogen and underscore the importance of examining different host tissues in studying plant-microbiome-pathogen interactions. These insights contribute to a systems-level understanding of grapevine disease ecology and may inform future strategies for monitoring and controlling pathogen spread in perennial crops such as grapevines.
Correction: Biotechnological and genetic innovations to enhance sorghum adaptation under climate change.
Wang Z, Wang J, Cheng M … +5 more , Du Y, Godwin I, Wang L, Lv P, Liu G
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382407 · Full text
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1757792.].
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1757792.].
Structural classification, biosynthesis, metabolic engineering and ecological functions for the terpenes produced in tobacco.
Xu X, Li X, Liu D … +11 more , Hu J, Deng B, Yang C, He Y, Zhang W, Liu X, Li W, Qiao J, Liu S, Li X, Wang S
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382406 · Full text
Tobacco is a globally economic industrial crop due to its distinctive flavor and important commercial value. Diseases, pests and insufficient aroma of tobacco are not only limited to affecting their quantity and quality...
Tobacco is a globally economic industrial crop due to its distinctive flavor and important commercial value. Diseases, pests and insufficient aroma of tobacco are not only limited to affecting their quantity and quality but also affect their industrial availability. Terpenoid compounds are a large class of secondary metabolites present in tobacco ( genus), which can protect tobacco against biotic stress and influence the flavor and fragrance of tobacco products. This is the first systematic review of the chemical structures, biosynthesis, metabolic engineering and ecological functions of terpenes in tobacco. A total of 300 terpenes reported in tobacco were summarised and classified according to their chemical structure characteristics. A brief overview of the biosynthesis, key genes and metabolic strategies for terpenes in tobacco was carried out. Finally, the functions of terpenes in tobacco aroma and enhancing tobacco resistance against insect and disease have also been discussed.
Maize recruits beneficial microorganisms via rhizosphere metabolites as signals to construct a functional network for saline-alkaline stress resistance.
Han Y, Li X, Zhou C … +5 more , Xu T, Liu Y, Dou Y, Hu G, Wang J
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382405 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Carbonate-type saline-alkaline stress severely constrains maize production; however, the synergistic response mechanisms between rhizosphere microorganisms and metabolites remain unclear. METHODS: Through f...
INTRODUCTION: Carbonate-type saline-alkaline stress severely constrains maize production; however, the synergistic response mechanisms between rhizosphere microorganisms and metabolites remain unclear. METHODS: Through field experiments along with the integration of soil chemical factor analysis, microbial high-throughput sequencing, and non-targeted metabolomics, we systematically investigated the response mechanisms of the rhizosphere microecosystem to saline-alkaline stress in maize fields in the carbonate chernozem region of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Saline-alkaline stress significantly increased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) and decreased soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) content. However, the rhizosphere exhibited buffering capacity and maintained a high cation exchange capacity (CEC). Microbial community analysis revealed that bacterial alpha diversity increased under stressful conditions. Contrarily, fungal diversity significantly decreased, and the community structure shifted towards a pathogen-dominated community, primarily within Ascomycota, particularly in the genus . This indicates differential stress tolerance between the bacterial and fungal communities. Co-occurrence network analysis further indicated that saline-alkaline conditions enhanced bacterial network complexity and connectivity, whereas they resulted in the contraction and structural simplification of fungal networks. Metabolite analysis showed that saline-alkaline stress induced significant reprogramming of the rhizosphere metabolic profile. Organophosphorus compounds, nucleotides, and their analogs were significantly enriched, whereas defensive secondary metabolites, such as cajanol, specifically accumulated in the saline-alkaline rhizosphere. Pathway analysis indicated the activation of stress resistance and oxidative stress-mitigation-related pathways, including betalain biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and arginine metabolism. Multi-omics integration analysis identified soil EC and total potassium (TK) as key environmental factors driving the differentiation of microbial and metabolite communities. Key differential metabolites showed significant positive correlations with saline-alkaline-enriched microbial taxa (), revealing a metabolite-mediated microbial recruitment mechanism. Using multi-omics analysis, this study revealed that the maize rhizosphere responds to saline-alkaline stress through metabolic reprogramming (enriching defensive metabolites such as cajanol) to directionally recruit beneficial bacteria such as and maintain a higher bacterial network complexity, while also leading to the pathologization of the fungal community. Our findings highlight that maize recruits beneficial microbes through rhizosphere metabolic reprogramming, providing a mechanistic basis for microbiome-assisted saline-alkaline soil remediation.
Target-conditioned flow-matching policy for citrus harvesting robot pre-grasp approach behavior learning.
Lei L, Li H, Zuo Z
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382404 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Fruit harvesting in natural orchards remains challenging because target fruits are distributed in cluttered and unstructured environments. In the pre-grasp approach stage of multi-fruit citrus harvesting, t...
INTRODUCTION: Fruit harvesting in natural orchards remains challenging because target fruits are distributed in cluttered and unstructured environments. In the pre-grasp approach stage of multi-fruit citrus harvesting, three issues are particularly critical: limited demonstration data, target ambiguity, and the need for stable and precise local approach motions. METHODS: To address these issues, this study proposes a Target-Conditioned Flow-Matching Policy (TCFM Policy), which integrates image observations, robot state history, and explicit target geometric conditions, uses a dual-branch visual representation to encode both global scene context and local end-effector details, and predicts future multi-step TCP trajectories through conditional flow matching. To reduce overfitting to global appearance under small-sample conditions, a target-oriented visual augmentation strategy is further introduced for the global branch during training. RESULTS: A real-world dataset containing 160 valid demonstration episodes was collected on a UR5-based citrus harvesting platform using VR teleoperation. In 50 target-specified multi-fruit trials, the full model achieved a success rate of 76%, a target-picking error rate of 4%, and a picking-point offset rate of 20%. DISCUSSION: A fairness-aligned comparison with a target-conditioned diffusion-policy baseline further shows that the proposed method achieves lower offline trajectory error and better online target-specified approach performance under the same training setting. Ablation results indicate that the ROI branch mainly improves final alignment, while the target-oriented augmentation mainly improves target consistency. These results indicate that explicit target conditioning, dual-branch visual encoding, and conditional flow matching jointly support accurate target selection and relatively stable pre-grasp approach execution in small-sample multi-fruit citrus scenes.
Genome-wide identification of CAD and CCoAOMT gene families in soybean and analysis of expression patterns under () infection.
Xu B, Liu X, Li D … +5 more , Qi G, Yuan C, Wang Y, Dong Y, Zhao H
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382403 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) and caffeoyl-coenzyme A 3-O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) are key enzymes in lignin biosynthesis, playing important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses....
BACKGROUND: Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) and caffeoyl-coenzyme A 3-O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) are key enzymes in lignin biosynthesis, playing important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, the evolutionary relationships and functions of these two gene families in soybean remain poorly understood. METHODS: In this study, a genome-wide identification of the CAD and CCoAOMT gene families in soybean was conducted to analyze their physicochemical properties, gene structures, conserved motifs, and chromosomal distributions. Their phylogenetic relationships, collinearity, promoter cis-elements, miRNA targeting, protein interaction networks, and tissue-specific expression patterns were investigated. The expression profiles under infection were validated using qRT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 41 and 13 genes were identified in the soybean genome. proteins are predominantly hydrophobic and stable, while proteins are mainly hydrophilic; both are localized in the cytoplasm. genes are classified into three subgroups containing eight conserved motifs, whereas genes fall into four subgroups with seven motifs. Members within the same subgroup exhibit highly similar gene structures and motif compositions. Promoter analysis revealed core elements (CAAT-box, TATA-box) along with light-, hormone-, and stress-responsive cis-elements. A total of 161 miRNAs were predicted to target 13 genes and 39 miRNAs to target 13 genes, mostly in a one-miRNA-one-target manner. Extensive protein-protein interactions were observed among proteins, but none among proteins or between the two families. All genes underwent purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1) and showed closer evolutionary relationships with than with rice. Both gene families exhibited distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. Based on expression profiling, , , , , , , , and are proposed as candidate resistance genes against infection. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals the evolutionary characteristics and regulatory networks of the CAD and CCoAOMT gene families in soybean, laying a foundation for further research into their roles in disease resistance.
Microbial community in alfalfa rhizosphere in response to rhizobial inoculation under increased concentrations of potentially toxic elements.
Pešić M, Sikirić B, Mrvić V … +4 more , Buzurović U, Tošić Jojević S, Andjelković S, Stajković-Srbinović O
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382402 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: The rhizosphere is a very active region containing a large number of microorganisms involved in complex biological and ecological processes. The microorganisms can improve the soil conditions, promote plant...
INTRODUCTION: The rhizosphere is a very active region containing a large number of microorganisms involved in complex biological and ecological processes. The microorganisms can improve the soil conditions, promote plant growth, and alleviate stress in plants under heavy metal contamination. Rhizobial bacterium () forms endosymbiosis with alfalfa ( L.), providing nitrogen to the plant, and can mitigate the effects of different stress factors. METHODS: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of rhizobial inoculation on alfalfa growth and rhizosphere microbiological properties in soils with increased nickel (Ni) concentrations during 2 years and across seasons. Two locations with different heavy metal concentrations, lower and higher, mainly Ni concentrations, but also lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr); six different rhizobial inoculants; and three different sampling time points were tested. The abundance of different groups of culturable bacteria (total number of microorganisms, fungi, actinomycetes, oligonitrophiles, , and ammonifiers), as well as microbial activity, that is, basal soil respiration rates, was evaluated in the rhizosphere soil of each treatment, location, and season. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The inoculation in some treatments significantly increased alfalfa yield in particular cuts, depending on the location ( < 0.05) and treatment ( < 0.05), with up to 38% increase compared to the control non-inoculated plants. Inoculations also influenced the abundance of specific microbial groups and soil respiration rates. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between the tested factors [rhizobial inoculation ( < 0.05), heavy metal concentrations ( < 0.05), and seasons ( < 0.05)] on all evaluated soil microbiological properties. Generally, the total number of microorganisms was positively influenced by inoculation and varied among different rhizobial treatments within the same field and season. The increased number of rhizosphere bacteria was positively correlated with yield in some cuts. CONCLUSION: The results show the potential of inoculation with particular rhizobia in the improvement of alfalfa yield in Ni-contaminated soils and overall microbiological properties and indicate the complexity of the interactions of multiple factors in the environment.
Chromosome-level genome of from alpine ecotype provides insights into terpenoid biosynthesis and germplasm exploration.
Yu ZX, Wang HF, Lv R … +6 more , Liu SH, Zhang WB, Liu X, Zhang YH, Li P, Jin XJ
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42382401 · Full text
is a high-value medicinal plant with scarce genomic resources for precision breeding. Here, we present the first chromosome-scale genome of an alpine ecotype (Baiyunjian Reserve, 1,611 m above sea level) assembled via SM...
is a high-value medicinal plant with scarce genomic resources for precision breeding. Here, we present the first chromosome-scale genome of an alpine ecotype (Baiyunjian Reserve, 1,611 m above sea level) assembled via SMRT sequencing and Hi-C technologies. 93.46% of sequences were anchored to 9 pseudochromosomes with 99.99% accuracy, resulting in the assembly of the 444.26 Mb genome (contig N50 = 41.38 Mb; 98.7% BUSCO). High proportion of repetitive sequences (56.90%) and species-specific genome duplication revealed the species-specific adaptations of this ecotype. Multi-tissue metabolomics identified flowers and leaves as biosynthetic hotspots for terpenoids especially γ-terpinene, thymol and carvacrol. Integrated with transcriptomics pinpointed MchTPS4 as the plastid-localized γ-terpinene synthase, while phylogenetic mining identified cytochrome P450 MchCYPs (MCH03g18750) and dehydrogenases MchSDRs (MCH04g17930/14560) as potential downstream enzymes. Functional validation confirmed that MchTPS4 was a monoterpene synthase while MchTPS2, MchTPS7, MchTPS9-11 were sesquiterpene synthases. Furthermore, metabolic engineering boosted the yield of γ-terpinene 3.45-fold to 5.09 mg/L. Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) analyses uncovered 61 clusters with 11 associated with terpenoid metabolism. MchTPS2 co-localized in cluster 6 with two MchCYPs (MCH01g19200; MCH01g19220). Syntenic analysis revealed that MchTPS2 evolved as a single-copy, whereas MCH01g19200 underwent tandem duplication from to and . Phylogenomic analysis resolved as the sister species of (100% BS), diverging ~12.7 Mya in the mid-Miocene. Comparative genomics revealed a species-specific whole-genome duplication event post-dating divergence from , driving syntenic retention of specialized metabolic genes. This study decodes the genetic basis of terpenoid biosynthesis in an extremophyte, providing resources for molecular breeding of traditional Chinese medical plant "" and insights into Lamiaceae metabolic evolution.
A lightweight LBM detection transformer with multi-scale feature fusion for citrus-picking robots.
Gao K, Wu B, Gu J … +1 more , Yan G
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375804 · Full text
To address false positives and missed detections caused by complex orchard backgrounds and small target regions during citrus harvesting, this study proposes a lightweight LBM Detection Transformer for citrus recognition...
To address false positives and missed detections caused by complex orchard backgrounds and small target regions during citrus harvesting, this study proposes a lightweight LBM Detection Transformer for citrus recognition in citrus-picking robots, integrating cross-scale feature fusion. Firstly, a large-kernel attention module (LKAM) is introduced for feature extraction, where multi-scale large-kernel convolutions are employed to comprehensively capture global, local, and texture information while maintaining the lightweight nature of the model. Secondly, a multi-scale linear attention (MSLA) Transformer encoder is incorporated to further enhance feature discrimination, thereby enabling the network to focus more accurately on citrus targets and effectively suppress background interference. Finally, a bidirectional feature pyramid neck (BFPN) is designed to achieve efficient cross-layer feature fusion by integrating deep and shallow representations, which compensates for target information loss caused by occlusion. Experimental results on citrus orchard scenes demonstrate that, compared with the baseline model, the proposed LBM Detection Transformer reduces the parameter count by 5.54 M while improving mAP by 4.69%, mmAP by 5.14%, and R by 3.66%. These results indicate that the proposed method provides an accurate and lightweight solution for intelligent citrus management and automated harvesting applications.
Genome-wide identification and characterization of the gene family in and their response to abiotic stresses.
Su Y, Liu L, Zhang D … +2 more , Jing Y, Lu X
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375803 · Full text
TIFY proteins are plant‑specific transcription factors characterized by a conserved TIFY domain (TIF[F/Y]XG) and are widely involved in responses to abiotic stresses. In this study, 57 members were identified at the who...
TIFY proteins are plant‑specific transcription factors characterized by a conserved TIFY domain (TIF[F/Y]XG) and are widely involved in responses to abiotic stresses. In this study, 57 members were identified at the whole‑genome level in . Their coding sequence (CDS) lengths and protein physicochemical properties (protein length, pI, GRAVY, and molecular weight) were compiled. Phylogenetic analysis, motif organization, and conserved domains were examined to characterize the TIFY, JAZ, PPD, and ZIM subfamilies. Secondary structures (random coils, alpha helices, beta turns, extended strands) and subcellular localization were predicted. Chromosomal localization and collinearity analysis were performed to assess duplication events. Collinearity with four other plant species () was analyzed. Promoter sequence analysis and Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation were conducted. Expression patterns under abiotic stresses were investigated using transcriptome and quantitative real‑time PCR (qRT‑PCR), and subcellular localization of and proteins was confirmed experimentally. genes were classified into TIFY, JAZ, PPD, and ZIM subfamilies. The secondary structures of proteins were primarily composed of random coils and alpha helices. Subcellular localization predictions indicated that members are mainly expressed in the nucleus, which was experimentally confirmed for and . Whole‑genome duplication and tandem duplication play significant roles in driving the evolution of genes. Collinearity analysis suggested that TIFY genes are widely conserved between gymnosperms and angiosperms. Promoter analysis and GO annotation revealed potential functions. Expression analysis showed that members exhibit broad responses to different abiotic stresses: 14 genes showed significantly altered expression under cold stress, four under salt stress, and 12 under drought stress. The findings of this study provide insight into the role of genes in the stress response of and in apple molecular breeding.
Transcriptome analysis and functional validation reveal that VvMYB1 is a positive regulator of drought tolerance in grape.
Wu Z, Duan M, Li G … +1 more , Zhao Y
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375802 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Drought stress severely constrains grape growth and productivity, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying drought adaptation remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to identify key transcriptional...
INTRODUCTION: Drought stress severely constrains grape growth and productivity, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying drought adaptation remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to identify key transcriptional regulators involved in grape drought responses and to evaluate their functional roles. METHODS: To address this, callus tissues derived from were subjected to PEG-simulated drought stress, and samples were collected at 0, 5, and 10 days for transcriptome sequencing. Differential expression analysis was performed to identify drought-responsive genes and transcription factor families. Based on expression patterns, VvMYB1 was selected for further functional characterization. Transgenic callus overexpressing was generated to assess its role under drought stress. RESULTS: Transcriptome analysis identified 48 transcription factor families involved in drought response, among which the MYB family was the most abundant. Functional analyses showed that OE- callus exhibited enhanced drought tolerance compared with WT, as evidenced by significantly increased activities of SOD, POD, and CAT, as well as higher Pro accumulation. In contrast, MDA and HO levels were reduced. Moreover, the expression levels of several stress-responsive genes were significantly upregulated in OE- lines. DISCUSSION: These results indicate that VvMYB1 functions as a positive regulator in grape drought response. This study provides new insights into the transcriptional regulation of drought tolerance in grape and identifies VvMYB1 as a promising candidate gene for improving stress resilience.
Deficit irrigation combined with straw mulching maintains maize yield and improves soil quality in semi-arid environments.
Lu S, Xu B, Tian D … +2 more , Wang G, Liu Y
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375801 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Water scarcity severely limits maize production in semi-arid environments, making it essential to develop water saving management strategies that maintain soil quality and crop productivity. METHODS: A fiel...
INTRODUCTION: Water scarcity severely limits maize production in semi-arid environments, making it essential to develop water saving management strategies that maintain soil quality and crop productivity. METHODS: A field experiment was conducted from May to October 2024 in West Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, using three deficit irrigation levels (W1: 2625, W2: 2400, and W3: 2175 m³ ha⁻¹) and two straw mulching treatments (F1: 9000 kg ha⁻¹ and F2: no mulching) arranged in a randomized block design. Soil nutrients, enzyme activities, soil organic carbon fractions, soil quality index (SQI), maize yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were evaluated. RESULTS: Increasing deficit irrigation intensity reduced soil nutrients, several enzyme activities, labile organic carbon fractions, and maize yield, whereas straw mulching partly alleviated these negative effects and improved integrated soil quality. Straw mulching improved SQI across deficit irrigation levels, and W2F1 maintained a grain yield comparable to W1F1 while achieving the highest WUE and IWUE. Correlation analysis showed that maize yield was positively correlated with key soil quality indicators, including phosphatase, coarse particulate organic carbon, sucrase, and SQI. Structural equation modeling showed good model fit and explained 72.6% of the variation in maize yield, suggesting that yield responses were associated with both the direct effects of deficit irrigation and mulching management and changes in enzyme activity and organic carbon fractions. DISCUSSION: W1F1 showed the highest integrated soil quality, whereas W2F1 provided the best balance between yield maintenance, water saving, and soil quality preservation, indicating that moderate deficit irrigation combined with straw mulching is a feasible strategy for sustainable maize production in semi-arid agroecosystems.
Integrated transcriptomics and WGCNA reveal candidate hub genes associated with terpenoid biosynthesis in .
Xiao L, Lv C, Li H … +6 more , Yang L, Li X, Yang Q, Chen P, Su J, Duan H
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375800 · Full text
Terpenoids are the key bioactive constituents of , a valuable medicinal plant. The rising economic and pharmaceutical values of have necessitated elucidating the metabolic pathways governing terpenoid metabolism. Herein...
Terpenoids are the key bioactive constituents of , a valuable medicinal plant. The rising economic and pharmaceutical values of have necessitated elucidating the metabolic pathways governing terpenoid metabolism. Herein, we integrated transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify co-expression modules and hub genes closely linked to terpenoid biosynthesis in tuberous roots of cultivar 'Wen85-5' across eight developmental stages. A total of 20996 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, with GO/KEGG annotation analysis confirming enrichment in various metabolic and cellular processes. Further, we screened 16 terpenoid biosynthesis-related DEGs, mapping to the MVA (6 genes) and MEP (10 genes) pathways. WGCNA clustered 19957 DEGs into 16 modules, of which 9 modules (containing 28 hub genes) were potentially participated in the regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis. Functional annotation of these 9 modules revealed enrichment in secondary metabolic processes, as well as the biosynthetic pathways of terpenoids and polyketides, secondary metabolites, sesquiterpenes, and triterpenes. Among the 28 hub genes, 11 and 17 were mapped to the MVA and MEP pathways, respectively. Co-expression network analysis revealed intricate interactions between hub genes and between hub genes and key transcription factors. Notably, 11 of these hub genes exhibited conserved co-expression patterns across multiple modules and served as candidate genes potentially associated with terpenoid biosynthesis. The expression profiles of these 11 hub genes, inferred from FPKM values, were further validated by RT-qPCR, demonstrating consistent expression trends. This study provides the first systematic characterization of terpenoid biosynthetic network in , offering critical insights and a valuable genetic resource for metabolic engineering to enhance terpenoid production.
Genome-wide characterization of the PPR gene family and its potential roles in stress responses and chloroplast RNA editing in .
Zhang J, Chen M, Zhang J … +10 more , Hu F, Su K, Zhi Y, Huang Y, Hu J, Tian Z, Yang Q, Li W, Xu K, Zhou F
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375799 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Pentatricopeptide repeat proteins are a large family of RNA-binding proteins that play essential roles in post-transcriptional regulation within plant organelles. However, a systematic understanding of thei...
INTRODUCTION: Pentatricopeptide repeat proteins are a large family of RNA-binding proteins that play essential roles in post-transcriptional regulation within plant organelles. However, a systematic understanding of their evolutionary expansion and functional relevance in remains limited. This study identified and characterized the PPR gene family in and investigated their potential roles in stress responses and chloroplast RNA editing. METHODS: Using the Chiifu v4.0 genome assembly, we performed a genome-wide identification and characterization of PPR genes. Phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, duplication patterns, chromosomal distribution, subcellular localization, and cis-regulatory elements were analyzed. Tissue-specific expression patterns were investigated using publicly available RNA-seq datasets and qRT-PCR validation, while stress-associated transcriptional responses and organellar RNA editing profiles were analyzed using public RNA-seq datasets. RESULTS: A genome-wide analysis identified 493 PPR genes, classified into P and PLS subfamilies, with uneven chromosomal distribution and expansion mainly driven by dispersed and whole-genome duplication events. Furthermore, subcellular localization prediction indicated that most PPR proteins are targeted to mitochondria and chloroplasts, consistent with their roles in organellar gene regulation. In addition, Gene Ontology enrichment analysis suggested potential associations of PPR proteins with RNA processing and RNA editing pathways. Moreover, promoter analysis identified numerous stress-responsive cis-acting elements, indicating that PPR genes may participate in transcriptional responses under environmental stress conditions. Meanwhile, expression profiling based on publicly available RNA-seq datasets revealed tissue-preferential expression patterns and stress-associated transcriptional changes under drought, heat, and immune elicitor treatments, with some PPR genes showing altered expression across multiple stress conditions. Chloroplast RNA editing analysis based on heat-stress RNA-seq datasets revealed dynamic and site-specific changes in editing efficiency. Several editing sites, including , , and , showed relatively higher editing levels in the heat-tolerant line than in the heat-sensitive line. In contrast, prolonged heat stress was associated with reduced editing efficiency at multiple sites such as , , , and . DISCUSSION: Collectively, this study provides a comprehensive overview of PPR genes in and identifies candidate PPR genes and stress-associated RNA editing events that may be relevant to stress-responsive regulation.
Uncovering yield-related traits loci in Chinese wheat landraces using GWAS.
Guo Y, Zhang Z, He R … +7 more , Ma R, Yang F, Zhang L, Zhan Z, Liu N, Lan C, Bai B
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375798 · Full text
The genetic basis of wheat yield is highly complex, being collectively influenced by key traits such as plant morphology, spike structure, and grain morphology. Therefore, exploring the genetic regulatory mechanisms unde...
The genetic basis of wheat yield is highly complex, being collectively influenced by key traits such as plant morphology, spike structure, and grain morphology. Therefore, exploring the genetic regulatory mechanisms underlying yield-related traits is crucial for breeding high-yield wheat varieties. In the present study, a panel of 372 wheat landraces from Gansu province, China, was phenotyped four yield-related traits: spike length (SL), spikelet number per spike (SNS), grain number per spike (GNS), and thousand-kernel weight (TKW) over four years across five field environments at two locations (Qingshui and Lanzhou) in Gansu province. Genotyping was performed using a 16K SNP array, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted on the multi-environment phenotypic data employing the Bayesian-information and Linkage-disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway (BLINK), Compressed Mixed Linear Model (CMLM), Fixed and Random Model Circulating Probability Unification (FarmCPU), Mixed Linear Model (MLM) and Multi-Locus Mixed Model (MLMM) models. In total, we identified nine loci for SL, four loci for GNS, one loci for SNS, and five loci for TKW. The phenotypic variation explained (PVE) by these loci ranged from 2.0% to 22.0%. Each locus exhibits 2-4 haplotypes and showed significant differences between haplotypes. Furthermore, 16 candidate genes associated with panicle traits were predicted and they encoded proteins such as squamosa promoter-binding protein, F-box family protein, ferredoxin-NADP-oxidoreductase 2, aspartic proteinase Asp1, Pre-mRNA splicing factor and so on. These results provide novel genetic loci for wheat yield improvement, offering valuable resources for future breeding programs.
Spicy genes: mapping quantitative genomic regions and candidate genes for capsaicinoid and capsinoid biosynthesis in pepper.
Vergnano E, Martina M, Poláček P … +5 more , Tikunov Y, Gaccione L, Barchi L, Bovy A, Portis E
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375797 · Full text
Capsaicinoids, the molecules responsible for pungency in pepper ( spp.), and their non-pungent analogs, capsinoids, are synthesized through the interaction of two distinct metabolic pathways: the branched chain fatty aci...
Capsaicinoids, the molecules responsible for pungency in pepper ( spp.), and their non-pungent analogs, capsinoids, are synthesized through the interaction of two distinct metabolic pathways: the branched chain fatty acid pathway and the phenylpropanoid pathway. These two families of bioactive compounds are unique to the genus Capsicum and, besides their importance for pepper taste, are associated with several beneficial effects, such as weight management, antioxidant activity and prevention of various diseases. Although QTLs associated with capsaicinoid and capsinoid accumulation have been reported in several studies, these findings remain dispersed across different populations, limiting their direct comparison and practical use in breeding. In this study, we aim to collect, compare, integrate, and synthesize the available literature on capsaicinoid and capsinoid QTLs. A total of 155 QTLs associated with these traits were physically mapped onto the reference pepper genome (CM334 -v1.6) and analyzed within a common genomic framework. The physical integration of the selected regions allowed us to identify 23 Quantitative Genomic Regions (QGRs) and prioritize potential candidate genes located within them. This genome-based integration advances beyond previous descriptive summaries, providing a unified physical framework for comparing QTLs across studies and genetic backgrounds. This review provides a comprehensive resource for researchers aiming to understand the genetic mechanisms behind capsaicinoid and capsinoid biosynthesis and for breeders focused on improving the levels of these bioactive compounds in pepper. It enables the identification of key QTL regions through the integration of data from diverse populations, highlights potential donor genotypes reported in the literature for specific traits, and facilitates the discovery of candidate genes for future functional validation and marker-assisted breeding. Overall, this study provides a consolidated genomic framework for understanding the genetic architecture of capsaicinoid and capsinoid biosynthesis and for accelerating the development of pepper cultivars with improved profiles of these bioactive compounds.
Real-time detection of plant leaf diseases based on improved YOLOv13-LM in complex field environments.
Li T, Su J, Li S
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375796 · Full text
Plant leaf diseases are a major factor leading to crop yield reduction, seriously threatening food security and sustainable agricultural development. Timely and accurate detection is crucial for scientific prevention and...
Plant leaf diseases are a major factor leading to crop yield reduction, seriously threatening food security and sustainable agricultural development. Timely and accurate detection is crucial for scientific prevention and control. Traditional manual detection is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and highly subjective. Existing deep learning detection models still have significant shortcomings in complex field scenarios, struggling to balance detection accuracy, real-time performance, and stability. They are easily affected by background interference, differences in lesion scale, and sample imbalance, and some models are not lightweight enough to meet the needs of real-time field detection. Therefore, this paper uses YOLOv13 as the baseline model and constructs a YOLOv13-LM model through multi-module collaborative optimization. The optimization directions cover the backbone, neck, detection head, and loss function, strengthening lesion feature extraction and multi-scale fusion, reducing task interference, and improving localization accuracy. Model validation was completed in a complex farmland environment. The results show that the model's mAP@0.5 is improved by 5.4 percentage points to 87.9% compared to the original YOLOv13, the FPS is improved by 21.1% to 46 frames/second, and the number of parameters and computational cost are reduced by 27.3% and 25.7% respectively. The overall performance is better than the mainstream YOLO models of the same scale. However, the lightweight nature of the model is still not as good as that of the ultra-lightweight model, and its generalization and interpretability need to be improved. In the future, we will focus on ultra-lightweight design, expanding the generalization ability of multiple crops and diseases, and studying the interpretability of the model to further adapt to the actual needs of field applications.
Antioxidant defense network and toxicity risk assessment in species under heavy metals stress.
Yang Z, Xu K, Deng C … +2 more , Li X, Gao H
Front Plant Sci · 2026 · PMID 42375795 · Full text
The continuous accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in soil poses a serious threat to the quality and safety of medicinal plants. However, a systematic assessment of the responses of the antioxidant defense system in medi...
The continuous accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in soil poses a serious threat to the quality and safety of medicinal plants. However, a systematic assessment of the responses of the antioxidant defense system in medicinal plants under HM stress is still lacking. In this study, we integrated 641 pairs of control-observation data from global sources and systematically analyzed the response characteristics of medicinal plants under HM stress using meta-analysis and machine learning modeling. The results showed that HM exposure significantly promoted catalase activity (11.63%, < 0.05), gene expression levels (56.10%, < 0.01), and heavy metal accumulation (218.55%, < 0.001) in medicinal plants, ultimately leading to irreversible biomass loss (-29.62%, < 0.001). The full RF model exhibited good fit (R = 0.66, RMSE = 0.44), while a reduced model with only environmental predictors showed low predictive performance (R = 0.18). Therefore, the analysis is more appropriate for identifying the relative importance of modulating factors than for robust toxicity prediction. SHAP analysis and PLS-PM revealed that HM concentration (12.33%), geographical characteristics (11.93%), and duration of metal pollution exposure (5.53%) are key factors regulating the antioxidant defense system of medicinal plants. This study elucidates the response mechanisms of the antioxidant defense system in medicinal plants under HM stress, providing a scientific basis for toxicity risk assessment, resistant variety screening, and the development of field regulation strategies.
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