Heterodera avenae (cereal cyst nematode, CCN) infects wheat and other cereal crops and causes severe losses in their yield. Research has shown that CCN infestations can be mitigated by organic fertilization in wheat fields, but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still largely unknown. In this study, the relationships among CCN, soil properties, and soil fungal communities with organic fertilizer

Detailed knowledge about plant chemical constituents and their distributions from organ level to sub-cellular level is of critical interest to basic and applied sciences. Spectral imaging techniques offer unparalleled advantages in that regard. The core advantage of these technologies is that they acquire spatially distributed semi-quantitative information of high specificity towards chemical constituents

Phosphorylation-mediated signaling cascades control plant growth and development or the response to stress conditions. One of the best studied signaling cascades is the one regulated by MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASEs (MAPKs). However, MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE KINASE KINASE KINASEs (MAP4Ks) are hardly explored. Here, we will give a comprehensive overview of what is known about plant MAP4Ks

Leaf temperature changes with incident light intensity, but it is unclear how the concurrent changes influence leaf photosynthesis. We examined the time courses of CO2 gas exchanges and chlorophyll fluorescence of seedling leaves in four tropical tree species in response to lightflecks under three different temperature conditions. The three conditions were two constant temperatures at 30°C (T30) and

Adjustable crop load primarily involves bud manipulation, and usually switches from vegetative to reproductive buds. While this switch is not fully understood, it is still controlled by the ratio of hormones, which promote or inhibit bud formation. To determine the reasons for biennial bearing, the effect of apple rootstock, scion cultivar, crop load, as well as metabolic changes of endogenous phytohormones

Immune responses in plants can be triggered by damage/microbe-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs/MAMPs) upon recognition by plant pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). DAMPs are signaling molecules synthesized by plants or released from host cellular structures (e.g., plant cell walls) upon pathogen infection or wounding. Despite the hypothesized important role of plant cell wall-derived DAMPs in

Fitness is one of the key parameters to evaluate the effects of transgenic plants on the ecological environment. To evaluate the ecological risk of transgenic Bt cotton plants growing in different habitats, we determined the expression of the exogenous Bt gene and the fitness of transgenic and non-transgenic cotton plants in three habitats (farmland, grassland, and shrub). We observed that the expression

The hydroxyproline-containing proteins (HCPs) among secretory and vacuolar proteins play important roles in growth and development of higher plants. Many hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs), including Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), extensins (EXTs), and proline-rich proteins (PRPs), are identified as HCPs by bioinformatics approaches. The experimental evidence for validation of novel proline

We propose a method for marker-based selection of cultivars of clonally-reproducing plant species which keeps the basic genetic architecture of a top-performing cultivar (usually a partly heterozygous genotype), with the addition of some agronomically relevant differences (such as production time, product appearance or quality), providing added value to the product or cultivation process. The method

Grapevine downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is one of the most important diseases in vineyards. Oospores that overwinter in the leaf litter above the soil are the sole source of inoculum for primary infections of P. viticola; in addition to triggering the first infections in the season, the oospores in leaf litter also contribute to disease development during the season. In the current study

In perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L), annual and seasonal dry matter yield (DMY) and nutritive quality of herbage are high-priority traits targeted for improvement through selective breeding. Genomic prediction (GP) has proven to be a valuable tool for improving complex traits and may be further enhanced through the use of multi-trait (MT) prediction models. In this study, we evaluated the relative

The discovery and deployment of new broad-spectrum resistance (R) genes from cultivated rice and its wild relatives is a strategy to broaden the genetic basis of modern rice cultivars to combat rice blast disease. Oryza glaberrima possessing many valuable traits for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, is an elite gene pool for improvement of Asian cultivated rice. An introgression line IL106

The gene tms5, which controls thermo-sensitive genic male sterility (TGMS), has been widely used in two-line hybrid rice breeding in China. The tms5 lines have two sources, namely, AnnongS-1 (AnS) and Zhu1S (ZhS) and, interestingly, are commonly subject to an alteration at cds.71. However, whether cds.71 acts as a mutation hotspot is unknown. Herein, another tms5 mutant named T98S (induced from T98B

Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C, genus Cilevirus, family Kitaviridae) is an atypical virus that does not spread systemically in its plant hosts. Upon its inoculation by Brevipalpus mites, only localized lesions occur, and the infection remains limited to cells around mite feeding sites. Here, we aimed to gain insights into the putative causes of viral unfitness in plants by expanding the limited knowledge

Plant-associated microbiota plays an important role in plant disease resistance. Bacterial wilt resistance of tomato is a function of the quantitative trait of tomato plants; however, the mechanism underlying quantitative resistance is unexplored. In this study, we hypothesized that rhizosphere microbiota affects the resistance of tomato plants against soil-borne bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia

Image-based phenotype data with high temporal resolution offers advantages over end-point measurements in plant quantitative genetics experiments, because growth dynamics can be assessed and analysed for genotype-phenotype association. Recently, network-based camera systems have been deployed as customizable, low-cost phenotyping solutions. Here, we implemented a large, automated image-capture system

The terrestrial flora of Antarctica’s frozen continent is restricted to sparse ice-free areas and dominated by lichens and bryophytes. These plants frequently battle sub-zero temperatures, extreme winds and reduced water availability; all influencing their ability to survive and grow. Antarctic mosses, however, can have canopy temperatures well above air temperature. At midday, canopy temperatures

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) have been reported to increase phosphate (P) content and plant growth. Their application in agricultural systems is an eco-friendly alternative strategy for limiting negative environmental impact of chemical fertilizers and increasing costs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate and characterize new putative PSB to use as inoculum to enhance plant growth

Saline stress is one of most important problems that agriculture must face in the context of climate change. In the Mediterranean basin, one of the regions most affected, persimmon production can be compromised by this effect, due to the limited availability of salt tolerant rootstocks. Seedlings coming from four populations from the Diospyros genus have been exposed to salt stress in order to identify

Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient for all living organisms but can lead to cytotoxicity when present in excess. Fe toxicity often occurs in rice grown in submerged paddy fields with low pH, leading dramatical increases in ferrous ion concentration, disrupting cell homeostasis and impairing growth and yield. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of Fe toxicity response and tolerance in plants

The effects of salt-induced stress in drug-type Cannabis sativa L. (C. sativa), a crop with increasing global importance, are almost entirely unknown. In an indoor controlled factorial experiment involving a type-II chemovar (i.e., one which produces Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid ~THCA and cannabidiolic acid ~ CBDA), the effects of increasing NaCl concentrations (1–40 mM) was tested in hydroponic

Understanding the molecular evolution and diversity changes of begomoviruses is crucial for predicting future outbreaks of the begomovirus disease in tomato crops. Thus, a molecular diversity study using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) was carried out on samples of infected tomato leaves collected between 2003 and 2016 from Central Brazil. DNA samples were subjected to rolling circle amplification

The nitrogen fixing ability of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in association with rhizobia is often characterized as poor compared to other legumes, and nitrogen fertilizers are commonly used in bean production to achieve high yields, which in general inhibits nitrogen fixation. In addition, plants cannot take up all the nitrogen applied to the soil as a fertilizer leading to runoff and groundwater

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are toxic by-products of aerobic metabolism. In plants, they also function as important signaling molecules that regulate biotic and abiotic stress responses as well as plant growth and development. Recent studies have implicated ROS in various aspects of plant reproduction. In male gametophytes, ROS are associated with germline development as well as the developmentally

Bisphenol A (BPA), an intermediate chemical used for synthesizing polycarbonate plastics, has now become a wide spread organic pollutant. It percolates from a variety of sources, and plants are among the first organisms to encounter, absorb, and metabolize it, while its toxic effects are not yet fully known. Therefore, we experimentally studied the effects of aqueous BPA solutions (50 and 100 mg L−1

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the worldwide most important nongrain crop after wheat, rice, and maize. The autotetraploidy of the modern commercial potato makes breeding of new resistant and high-yielding cultivars challenging due to complicated and time-consuming identification and selection processes of desired crop features. On the other hand, plant protection of existing cultivars using conventional

The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) states that a negative correlation exists between the growth rate and N:P and C:P ratios, because fast-growing organisms need relatively more phosphorus-rich RNA to support their high rates of protein synthesis. However, it is still uncertain whether the GRH is applicable in freshwater wetlands. Several studies have shown that water level and sediment type are key factors

DNMT2 is a DNA/tRNA cytosine methyltransferase that is highly conserved in structure and function in eukaryotes. In plants however, limited information is available on the function of this methyltransferase. We have previously reported that in the moss Physcomitrella patens, DNMT2 plays a crucial role in stress recovery and tRNAAsp transcription/stability under salt stress. To further investigate the

Oryza sativa L. is a worldwide food-crop frequently growing in cadmium (Cd)/arsenic (As) polluted soils, with its root-system as the first target of the pollutants. Root-system development involves the establishment of optimal indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels, also requiring the conversion of the IAA natural precursor indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) into IAA, causing nitric oxide (NO) formation. Nitric

Communities of microorganisms in the soil can affect plants’ growth and interactions with aboveground herbivores. Thus, there is growing interest in utilizing soil microbiomes to improve plant performance in agriculture (e.g., for pest control), but little is known about the phenotypic responses of various crop species to different microbiomes. In this study, we inoculated four crop species from different

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide and is considered an essential source of proteins, fibers, and minerals in the daily diet of several countries. Nitrogen (N) is considered the most important nutrient for common bean crop. On the other hand, the reduction of chemical fertilizers is a global challenge, and the development of cultivars with more N use efficiency

A layer of cuticular wax is deposited on the surface of terrestrial plants, which reduces the damage caused by environmental stress and maintains growth in a relatively stable internal environment. Apple cuticular wax is an important part of the fruit epidermis that plays an essential role in apple development, storage, and adaptation to environmental stress. The formation of cuticular wax has been

Annexin 1 (ANN1) is the most abundant member of the evolutionary conserved multigene protein superfamily of annexins in plants. Generally, annexins participate in diverse cellular processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, vesicle trafficking, and stress responses. The expression of annexins is developmentally regulated, and it is sensitive to the external environment. ANN1 is expressed in almost

The low level of methionine, an essential sulfur-containing amino acid, limits the nutritional quality of seeds. Two main factors can control the level of protein-bound methionine: the level of free methionine that limits protein accumulation and the methionine residues inside the storage proteins. To reveal the main limiting factor, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana seed-specific plants

The need for plants to defend themselves, communicate, and somehow contribute to the social life in their ecosystems has triggered the evolution of an astonishing number of diverse chemicals, some of which involved in plant–plant interactions. In the present study, specific aspects of allelopathy are investigated. A combination of bioassays and metabolomics was used in order to study the chemical interactions

When cultivated rice seed fall into fields, they may overwinter and spontaneously germinate the next spring. Such germinated plants are termed “volunteer rice.” Volunteer grains originating from feed rice varieties may differ in certain traits, such as quality and taste, as compared with those of rice cultivated for human consumption, which may reduce the overall quality of the final harvested grain

This work describes the application of clearing on vibratome sections to study the embryo formation in cassava. This procedure provides high-resolution images and reduces significantly the number of sections that need to be analyzed per ovule. This methodology was instrumental for the development of the protocol for embryo rescue in cassava. It has been also applied to monitor the embryo formation

Trichoderma strains used in biological control products usually exhibit high efficiency in the control of plant diseases. However, their behavior under field conditions is difficult to predict. In addition, the potential of indigenous strains has been poorly assayed as well as their possible behavior as endophytes. Hence, niche colonization is a key feature for an effective protection. In this study

Although plant organ shapes are defined by spatio-temporal variations of directional tissue expansion, this is a little characterized aspect of organ growth regulation. Although it is well known that the plant hormone gibberellin increases the leaf length/with ratio, its effects on cell expansion in the growing leaf are largely unknown. To understand how variations in rate and anisotropy of growth

Rice is the most important food crop worldwide and sustainable rice production is important for ensuring global food security. Biotic stresses limit rice production significantly and among them, bacterial blight (BB) disease caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is very important. BB reduces rice yields severely in the highly productive irrigated and rainfed lowland ecosystems and in recent

There is a need to increase wheat productivity to meet the food demands of the ever-growing human population. However, accelerated development of high yielding varieties is hindered by drought, which is worsening due to climate change. In this context, germplasm diversity is central to the development of drought-tolerant wheat. Extensive collections of these genetic resources are conserved in national

The annual cost of lost crop production from exposure to salinity has major impacts on food security in all parts of the world. Salinity stress disturbs energy metabolism and knowledge of the impacts on critical processes controlling plant energy production is key to successfully breeding salt tolerant crops. To date, little progress has been achieved using classic breeding approaches to develop salt

Plants can produce and emit nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, and several field-based studies have concluded that this gas is emitted at substantial amounts. However, the exact mechanisms of N2O production in plant cells are unknown. Several studies have hypothesised that plants might act as a medium to transport N2O produced by soil-inhabiting microorganisms. Contrarily

A warming Arctic has been associated with increases in aboveground plant biomass, specifically shrubs, and changes in vegetation cover. However, the magnitude and direction of changes in NDVI have not been consistent across different tundra types. Here we examine the responsiveness of fine-scale NDVI values to experimental warming at eight sites in northern Alaska, United States. Warming in our eight

The discovery of Mariam, a wheat-unique miniature transposable element family, was reported in our previous study. We have also shown the possible impact of Mariam insertions on the expression of wheat genes. However, the evolutionary dynamics of Mariam was not studied in detail. In this study, we have assessed the insertion sites of Mariam family in different wheat species. In-silico analysis of Mariam

Plants interact with microorganisms in the environment during all stages of their development and in most of their organs. These interactions can be either beneficial or detrimental for the plant and may be transient or long-term. In extreme cases, microorganisms become endoparastic or endophytic and permanently reside within a plant, while the host plant undergoes developmental reprogramming and produces

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt disease on a wide range of plant species. Besides the numerous bacterial activities required for host invasion, those involved in the adaptation to the plant environment are key for the success of infection. R. solanacearum ability to cope with the oxidative burst produced by the plant is likely one of the activities required to grow parasitically

The genome of bipartite geminiviruses in the genus Begomovirus comprises two circular DNAs: DNA-A and DNA-B. The DNA-B component encodes a nuclear shuttle protein (NSP) and a movement protein (MP), which cooperate for systemic spread of infectious nucleic acids within host plants and affect pathogenicity. MP mediates multiple functions during intra- and intercellular trafficking, such as binding of

Currently, a global analysis of the information available on the relative composition of the floral scents of a very diverse variety of plant species is missing. Such analysis may reveal general patterns on the distribution and dominance of the volatile compounds that form these mixtures, and may also allow measuring the effects of factors such as the phylogeny, pollination vectors, and climatic conditions

Small increases in temperature result in enhanced elongation of the hypocotyl and petioles and hyponastic growth, in an adaptive response directed to the cooling of the leaves and to protect the shoot meristem from the warm soil. This response, collectively termed as thermomorphogenesis, relies on the faster reversion of phyB Pfr at warmer temperatures, which leads to enhanced activity of the basic-helix-loop-helix

Leaf shape is an important agronomic trait for constructing an ideal plant type in rice, and high-density genetic map is facilitative in improving accuracy and efficiency for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of leaf trait. In this study, a high-density genetic map contained 10,760 specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF) markers was established based on 149 recombinant inbred lines

Phenology—the timing of life-history events—is a key trait for understanding responses of organisms to climate. The digitization and online mobilization of herbarium specimens is rapidly advancing our understanding of plant phenological response to climate and climatic change. The current practice of manually harvesting data from individual specimens, however, greatly restricts our ability to scale-up

The emergence of new technologies to synthesize and analyze big data with high-performance computing has increased our capacity to more accurately predict crop yields. Recent research has shown that machine learning (ML) can provide reasonable predictions faster and with higher flexibility compared to simulation crop modeling. However, a single machine learning model can be outperformed by a “committee”

In wheat breeding, improved quality traits, including grain quality and dough rheological properties, have long been a critical goal. To understand the genetic basis of key quality traits of wheat, two single-locus and five multi-locus GWAS models were performed for six grain quality traits and three dough rheological properties based on 19, 254 SNPs in 267 bread wheat accessions. As a result, 299

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is a highly conserved signaling transduction module that transduces extracellular stimuli into intracellular responses in plants. Early studies of plant MAPKs focused on their functions in model plants. Based on the results of whole-genome sequencing, many MAPKs have been identified in horticultural plants, such as tomato and apple. Recent studies

Fusarium graminearum, the major causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in the U.S., can produce mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), during infection. Contamination of wheat grain with DON is a major concern for wheat producers and millers, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set advisory levels for DON in finished wheat products for human and animal

The present study aimed to scrutinize the effect of different cow dung bacterial treatments on the nutritional value of Capsicum annuum L. Among all treatments, seeds inoculated with Bacillus megaterium (CDK25) showed significant enhancement in various proximate constituents viz., crude fiber (3.31%), crude protein (3.84%), and ash (2.53%) as compared to control. Likewise, significant increase in different

Aphid herbivory elicits plant defense-related networks that are influenced by host genetics. Plants of the upland switchgrass (Panicumvirgatum) cultivar Summer can be a suitable host for greenbug aphids (Schizaphis graminum; GB), and yellow sugarcane aphids (Sipha flava, YSA), whereas the lowland cultivar Kanlow exhibited multi-species resistance that curtails aphid reproduction. However, stabilized

The fungal pathogen, Leptosphaeria maculans causes a severe and economically important disease to Brassica crops globally, well-known as blackleg. Besides, the anti-oxidative defense response of glucosinolates to fungal pathogens is widely established. Despite notable importance of glucosinolates in blackleg disease resistance the association of glucosinolate pathway genes in glucosinolate mediated

HKT Na+ transporters correspond to major salt tolerance QTLs in different plant species and are targets of great interest for breeders. In rice, the HKT family is composed of seven or eight functional genes depending on cultivars. Three rice HKT genes, OsHKT1;1, OsHKT1;4 and OsHKT1;5, are known to contribute to salt tolerance by reducing Na+ accumulation in shoots upon salt stress. Here, we further