Frontiers in Plant Science

Introduction Paris polyphylla is an endangered medicinal herb valued for its steroidal saponins, yet the phenotypic stability, genetic diversity, and quality differentiation of cultivated populations remain insufficiently understood. Methods In this study, 28 representative populations from Yunnan Province were evaluated under common-garden conditions using morphological, molecular, cytogenetic, …

Rain‑induced fruit cracking during sweet cherry ripening severely restricts industry development, but whether calcium signaling regulates cracking through CML genes remains unclear. Using the crack‑prone cultivar ‘Brooks’, we investigated the physiological and molecular mechanisms of calcium‑mediated regulation through exogenous CaCl 2 spraying, physiological index measurements, transcriptome ana…

Supplemental far-red (FR) light can enhance tomato yield and fruit soluble sugar content, yet its effects across genotypes remain poorly understood. The aims of this study were to determine whether genotypic differences in yield response to FR light are driven by dry matter production or partitioning and to identify an early predictive indicator (seed or seedling stage) of FR responsiveness in dw…

Introduction Siderophore-producing bacteria and their metabolites represent promising components of next-generation biofertilizers, yet their effects on plant physiology and soil microbiome structure remain insufficiently understood. Methods We developed a liquid biofertilizer based on siderophores and siderophore-accompanying metabolites (SSAM) produced by Pseudomonas sp. ANT_H12B and formulated…

Sesame is an important oilseed crop, and floral development is a key biological process that lays the foundation for pollination, fertilization, and seed formation, which are closely associated with final yield potential. However, the dynamic transcriptional and metabolic regulatory mechanisms during floral development remain unclear. Here, we performed an integrated transcriptomic and metabolomi…

Drip-irrigated and plastic-mulched (DIPM) cotton systems are widely adopted in the arid oases of Xinjiang, where water scarcity poses significant challenges to crop production. Despite the widespread use of these systems, the impact of agricultural management practices, crop development, and environmental factors on carbon fluxes and budget in these arid regions remains insufficiently quantified.…

In the context of global warming and aridification, the Taihang Mountains, recognized as a climate-sensitive transitional zone, necessitate a thorough investigation into the adaptive mechanisms of their forest ecosystems. This study investigates the 60-year variations and climate responses of tree-ring stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C), intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE), and basal area increment …

Okra, an economically important vegetable in tropical and subtropical regions, faces severe yield constraints due to sap-sucking pests, particularly jassids ( Amrasca spp.). These insects cause hopper burn, leaf curling, and chlorosis, leading to estimated yield losses of 30-100% under severe infestation. Farmers’ heavy reliance on chemical control to manage these insects poses environmental, eco…

Against the backdrop of global environmental change, plant growth and development face multiple challenges, and a range of abiotic stresses seriously affect their normal growth. In recent years, plant small peptides (SPs)-widely defined as peptides of fewer than 100 amino acids-have emerged as important signaling molecules at the forefront of stress response strategies, playing a key role in regu…

Arid ecosystems are highly sensitive to climate change, yet it remains unclear whether regional greening is accompanied by consistent changes in vegetation greenness throughout the growing season. Using SPOT/VEGETATION NDVI and meteorological data from 1999 to 2018, we applied a month-to-month NDVI difference metric (V NDVI ) to characterize intra-seasonal variation in satellite-observed vegetati…

Sustainable wheat farming is challenging. Real-time information on crop health, disease transmission, and anticipated yields is essential for farmers. However, they frequently use slow, expensive, or non-communicative tools. This project develops a workable solution. There is no need for massive server farms because the entire system operates on a single graphics card. It incorporates images of w…

Introduction Prioritizing genes associated with agronomic traits remains challenging because relevant evidence is distributed across heterogeneous biological resources and curated gene-trait associations are incomplete. Methods We formulate multi-trait crop gene prioritization as gene-trait link prediction on a rice-centered heterogeneous knowledge graph, where each candidate pair represents a gr…

Urticaceae is an ecologically diverse family, yet comparative studies on plastome structure and codon usage remain limited. To investigate the structural evolution and codon usage patterns in Urticaceae, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of Urtica cannabina and performed comparative analyses of plastome structure, codon usage bias, simple sequence repeats (SSRs), selective pressure, an…

Introduction Cotton fiber development is a critical biological process underlying fiber quality, and its regulation involves multiple molecular layers, including transcription, translation, and metabolism. Methods To systematically elucidate the molecular basis of fiber development in Gossypium hirsutum , we selected two cultivars with contrasting fiber quality, Sumian 11 (SM11) and Yumian 5 (YM5…

Tobacco root rot (TRR), caused by Fusarium oxysporum , poses a significant threat to tobacco production. Synthetic fungicides widely used to control this soil-borne pathogen frequently cause fungicide resistance and environmental contamination. Limonene, a natural terpene with potent antifungal activity, features low residue and high biosafety, rendering it a promising natural substitute for chem…

Introduction Fine root functional diversity can help explain and predict ecosystem functioning by integrating multiple fine root traits. However, because different functional diversity metrics emphasize distinct aspects of trait variation, their explanatory and predictive power may vary. Under ongoing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, the responses of fine root functional diversity to N inputs…

Cotton ( Gossypium spp.) is highly susceptible to abiotic stresses, including temperature extremes, drought, and salinity. The diploid species Gossypium arboreum retains stress adaptive traits that are poorly represented in modern tetraploid cultivars, yet the evolutionary and regulatory bases of these ploidy associated differences remain insufficiently understood. Here, we performed a comparativ…

Soil microbial community and function play a key role in root nutrient acquisition and growth. Yet, the combined effects of O 3 stress and straw return on soil microbial composition and network complexity remain unclear. Here, a pot experiment was conducted in open-top chambers to monitor the responses of soil microbial diversity, composition, and network complexity at branching and podding stage…

The olive tree ( Olea europaea L.) is a cornerstone of Mediterranean biocultural heritage, yet the shift toward intensive monoculture threatens its vast genetic diversity. This study presents a comprehensive molecular characterization of 347 olive accessions, including 172 monumental trees, from the Calabria and Basilicata regions of Southern Italy. Utilizing 10 nuclear SSR markers and chloroplas…

Oat ( Avena sativa L.) is an important dual-purpose crop used for both food and feed; however, drought stress severely restricts its growth and productivity. Growth-regulating factors ( GRFs ) are key regulators of plant growth and development and are also involved in plant responses to abiotic stresses. Nevertheless, the GRF gene family in oat and its potential role in drought tolerance remain l…