Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Worldwide, oak species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, pathogens, and changing fire regimes. Ex situ conservation through tissue culture may protect the remaining genetic diversity of Quercus dumosa , or the coastal sage scrub oak, from further loss. We designed three basal salt formulations based on the mineral composition of shoot tips and first leaves from mature Q. dumosa and explored carbohydrate source, stress-mitigating compounds, and plant growth regulator concentrations to develop a method of cultivating many Q...

Buddleja cordata cell suspension cultures could be used as a tool for investigating the capabilities of this species to tolerate heavy metals (HMs) and for assessing the effects of HMs on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in this species. It grows in a wide range of habitats in Mexico, including ultramafic soils, and mobilizes some HMs in the soil. The mobilization of these HMs has been associated with phenolic substances. In addition, this species is used in Mexican traditional medicine. In the present study, a B...

Plant acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) function in plant development and stress responses, with some ACBPs interacting with protein partners. This study tested the interaction between two Class II GmACBPs ( Glycine max ACBPs) and seven kinases, using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC). The results revealed that both GmACBP3.1 and GmACBP4.1 interact with two soybean kinases, a mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK2, and a serine/threonine-protein kinase SAPK2, highlighting the significance of the ankyrin-repeat (ANK) domain in facilitating protein-protein interactions...

In the circular economy framework, hydrosols, by-products of the essential oil industry, are gaining attention for their potential in waste reduction and resource reuse. This study analyzed hydrosols from six edible flowers, investigating their chemical composition (VOC-Hyd) and antibacterial properties alongside volatile organic compounds of fresh flowers (VOC-Fs) and essential oils (EOs). Antirrhinum majus exhibited ketones as major VOC-Fs (62.6%) and VOC-Hyd (41.4%), while apocarotenoids dominated its EOs (68...

Ecological records from before and after the creation of natural parks are valuable for informing conservation and management but are often unavailable. High-resolution paleoecological studies may bridge the gap and provide the required information. This paper presents a 20th-century subdecadal reconstruction of vegetation and landscape dynamics in a national park of the Pyrenean highlands. The park lands had traditionally been used for cultivation, extensive grazing, forest exploitation, and hydroelectricity generation following the damming of numerous glacial lakes...

Plants are often exposed to multiple stresses, including heavy metals (HM) and drought, which limit the plant growth and productivity. Though biochar or plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been widely used for alleviating HM or drought stress in plants, the study of the effects of combined treatment with biochar and PGPR under simultaneous HM and drought stress is limited. This study investigated individual and combined effects of groundnut shell biochar (GS-BC) and PGPR Bacillus pseudomycoides strain ARN7 on Zea mays growth, physiology, and HM accumulation, along with their impact on soil enzymes under HM (Ni and Zn), drought, or HM+drought stress...

Auxin is a crucial hormone that regulates various aspects of plant growth and development. It exerts its effects through multiple signaling pathways, including the TIR1/AFB-based transcriptional regulation in the nucleus. However, the specific role of auxin receptors in determining developmental features in the strawberry ( Fragaria vesca ) remains unclear. Our research has identified FveAFB5, a potential auxin receptor, as a key player in the development and auxin responses of woodland strawberry diploid variety Hawaii 4...

The decreased profitability of important apple cultivars, such as 'Honeycrisp', results from the poor red skin coloration and high fruit drop in the mid-Atlantic US. Apple red skin coloration is determined by the anthocyanin concentration. Reflective groundcovers promote red skin coloration, whereas aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) decreases the ethylene production and fruit drop, thus reducing the coloration. Although our previous study showed that combinations of these practices impact the fruit quality and color, research is lacking regarding their effects at the gene and metabolite levels...

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) has proven to be a green method in the agricultural field for the stimulation of germination, growth, and production of nutraceutical compounds in some cases. However, the process is far from being fully understood and depends on the targeted plant species and the NTP used. In this work, we focus on the production of alfalfa sprouts from NTP-treated seeds under different voltage conditions. A flexible electrode configuration was used to produce the NTP, which can also be placed on packages for in-package treatments...

Bromus japonicus is a common monocot weed that occurs in major winter wheat fields in the Huang-Huai-Hai region of China. Pyroxsulam is a highly efficient and safe acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicide that is widely used to control common weeds in wheat fields. However, B. japonicus populations in China have evolved resistance to pyroxsulam by different mutations in the ALS gene. To understand the resistance distribution, target-site resistance mechanisms, and cross-resistance patterns, 208 B. japonicus populations were collected from eight provinces...

Conferring crops with resistance to multiple diseases is crucial for stable food production. Genetic engineering is an effective means of achieving this. The rice receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BSR1 mediates microbe-associated molecular pattern-induced immunity. In our previous study, we demonstrated that rice lines overexpressing BSR1 under the control of the maize ubiquitin promoter exhibited broad-spectrum resistance to rice blast, brown spot, leaf blight, and bacterial seedling rot. However, unfavorable phenotypes were observed, such as a decreased seed germination rate and a partial darkening of husked rice...

Generally, lncPEPs (peptides encoded by long non-coding RNAs) have been identified in many plant species of several families and in some animal species. Importantly, molecular mechanisms of the miPEPs (peptides encoded by primary microRNAs, pri-miRNAs) are often poorly understood in different flowering plants. Requirement for the additional studies in these directions is highlighted by alternative findings concerning positive regulation of pri-miRNA/miRNA expression by synthetic miPEPs in plants. Further extensive studies are also needed to understand the full set of their roles in eukaryotic organisms...

The application of natural polymer-based coatings presents a viable approach to prolong the longevity of fruits and tissue damage. This study investigates the impact of treatments involving glycine betaine (GB), chitosan (CTS), and chitosan-coated glycine betaine nanoparticles (CTS-GB NPs) on preserving the quality and reducing decay in strawberry fruits. The fruits were subjected to treatments with GB (1 mM), CTS (0.1%), CTS-GB NPs (0.1%), or distilled water at 20 °C for 5 min, followed by storage at 4 °C for 12 days...

The economic impact of phytopathogenic bacteria on agriculture is staggering, costing billions of US dollars globally. Pseudomonas syringae is the top most phytopathogenic bacteria, having more than 60 pathovars, which cause bacteria speck in tomatoes, halo blight in beans, and so on. Although antibiotics or a combination of antibiotics are used to manage infectious diseases in plants, they are employed far less in agriculture compared to human and animal populations. Moreover, the majority of antibiotics used in plants are immediately washed away, leading to environmental damage to ecosystems and food chains...

Leaf morphology plays a crucial role in plant classification and provides a significant model for studying plant diversity while directly impacting photosynthetic efficiency. In the case of melons, leaf shape not only influences production and classification but also represents a key genetic trait that requires further exploration. In this study, we utilized forward genetics to pinpoint a recessive locus, dubbed Cmrl ( Round leaf ), which is responsible for regulating melon leaf shape. Through bulked segregant analysis sequencing and extensive evaluation of a two-year F2 population, we successfully mapped the Cmrl locus to a 537...

Traditional plant breeding has helped to increase food production dramatically over the past five decades, and many countries have managed to produce enough food for the growing population, particularly in the developing world [...].

Being sessile organisms that need to effectively explore space (above and below ground) and acquire resources through growth, plants must simultaneously consider multiple possibilities and wisely balance the energy they spend on growth with the benefits for survival [...].

Anther length is the critical floral trait determining hybrid rice seed production and is controlled by many quantitative trait loci (QTL). However, the cloning of genes specifically controlling anther size has yet to be reported. Here, we report the fine mapping of qAL5.2 for anther size using backcross inbred lines (BILs) in the genetic background of Oryza sativa indica Huazhan (HZ). Gene chip analysis on the BC4 F2 and BC5 F1 population identified effective loci on Chr1, Chr5, and Chr8 and two genomic regions on Chr5, named qAL5...

Chili is a globally significant spice used fresh or dried for culinary, condiment, and medicinal purposes. Growing concerns about food safety have increased the demand for high-quality products and non-invasive tools for quality control like origin tracing and safety assurance. Volatile analysis offers a rapid, comprehensive, and safe method for characterizing various food products. Thus, this study aims to assess the impact of the drying process on the aromatic composition of various Capsicum species and to identify key compounds driving the aromatic complexity of each genetic makeup...

Artemisia afra is a plant that grows in the northern, central, and coastal regions of South Africa, as well as in neighboring countries such as Eswatini and Lesotho. These phytochemicals can be used as active compounds in plant-based medicine. Therefore, it is important to determine how plant minerals and phytochemicals, particularly bioactive compounds, are affected by the geolocation in which they grow. This study aimed to evaluate the mineral and phytochemical properties of A. afra genotypes in the southern regions of Africa...