Pub Date : 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154712
Thomas D Sharkey, Manuel Bellucci, Francesco Loreto, Mohammad G Mostofa, Abira Sahu, Bianca M L Serda, Sarathi M Weraduwage, Yuan Xu
The emission of isoprene from plants was first discovered in the 1950s but was relatively unknown in the plant science community until the 1990s. Isoprene is the five-carbon branched molecule that is the root member of the extensive family of isoprenoids. The amount of isoprene from plants exceeds all other hydrocarbon inputs to the atmosphere. Plant-emitted isoprene can affect ozone formation and often increases (but can decrease) growth of aerosols (particles in the atmosphere). The rate of isoprene emission is estimated using empirical or mechanistic modeling has been used to predict global emissions. Beyond its atmospheric role, isoprene can improve plant resilience to biotic and abiotic stress, likely through interactions with transcriptional networks that regulate plant growth and defense. Isoprene has all the properties of the five compounds classically described as plant hormones. These and an additional four molecules are now called small molecule plant growth regulators, and we propose that isoprene also belongs to this group. Plants previously thought to lack the capacity for isoprene emission have now been found that make isoprene in response to leaf damage. This discovery suggests that many plants once classified as non-emitters likely have the capacity to emit isoprene under specific conditions. This review summarizes past and current understanding of the biosynthesis and regulatory mechanisms, atmospheric significance, and physiological roles of isoprene emitted from plants.
{"title":"Revisiting plant isoprene emission: From atmospheric chemistry to plant stress resilience.","authors":"Thomas D Sharkey, Manuel Bellucci, Francesco Loreto, Mohammad G Mostofa, Abira Sahu, Bianca M L Serda, Sarathi M Weraduwage, Yuan Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154712","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emission of isoprene from plants was first discovered in the 1950s but was relatively unknown in the plant science community until the 1990s. Isoprene is the five-carbon branched molecule that is the root member of the extensive family of isoprenoids. The amount of isoprene from plants exceeds all other hydrocarbon inputs to the atmosphere. Plant-emitted isoprene can affect ozone formation and often increases (but can decrease) growth of aerosols (particles in the atmosphere). The rate of isoprene emission is estimated using empirical or mechanistic modeling has been used to predict global emissions. Beyond its atmospheric role, isoprene can improve plant resilience to biotic and abiotic stress, likely through interactions with transcriptional networks that regulate plant growth and defense. Isoprene has all the properties of the five compounds classically described as plant hormones. These and an additional four molecules are now called small molecule plant growth regulators, and we propose that isoprene also belongs to this group. Plants previously thought to lack the capacity for isoprene emission have now been found that make isoprene in response to leaf damage. This discovery suggests that many plants once classified as non-emitters likely have the capacity to emit isoprene under specific conditions. This review summarizes past and current understanding of the biosynthesis and regulatory mechanisms, atmospheric significance, and physiological roles of isoprene emitted from plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"154712"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146125083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an important economic crop, which has widespread applications in medicine, food, and industry. Currently, the study of gene function regulating the synthesis of key medicinal components in safflower has always been a research hotspot. However, due to the fact that the tissue culture method is time-intensive and heavily genotype-dependent, the pollen tube pathway method has low repeatability, high environmental sensitivity, and significant differences in evolutionary pathways and genetic backgrounds between model plants and safflower, and there are still many genes whose functions are unknown. In this study, a one-step hairy root transformation system in safflower was established, and the RUBY reporter was used to observe the transformation efficiency in real time. The explants and dark culture time were optimized, and the transformation efficiency reached 76.66 %. Moreover, this study provides a technical path for improving the genetic transformation of other medicinal plants.
{"title":"Establishing one-step hairy root transformation system in safflower using RUBY reporter.","authors":"Rong Guo, Xuerui Zhang, Xu Jiao, Chunfeng Zhu, Jian Wei, Yun Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154713","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an important economic crop, which has widespread applications in medicine, food, and industry. Currently, the study of gene function regulating the synthesis of key medicinal components in safflower has always been a research hotspot. However, due to the fact that the tissue culture method is time-intensive and heavily genotype-dependent, the pollen tube pathway method has low repeatability, high environmental sensitivity, and significant differences in evolutionary pathways and genetic backgrounds between model plants and safflower, and there are still many genes whose functions are unknown. In this study, a one-step hairy root transformation system in safflower was established, and the RUBY reporter was used to observe the transformation efficiency in real time. The explants and dark culture time were optimized, and the transformation efficiency reached 76.66 %. Moreover, this study provides a technical path for improving the genetic transformation of other medicinal plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"154713"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154709
Xi Chen , Jiageng Zhao , Chenchen Ji , Tinglei Du , Meiting Wang , Jingyi Shu , Jaime A. Teixeira da Silvai , Xiaonan Yu
Herbaceous peony is a famous traditional flower worldwide. However, the lack of a robust transgenic system has severely restricted its genetic improvement efforts. In this study, we established a tissue culture-free Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system using the rhizomes, stems, root segments, and seedlings of herbaceous peony. Soaking rhizomes and root segments in a resuspension solution containing acetosyringone and 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid induced more GFP-positive hairy roots than that in other tissues. Our study also revealed that colony smear was the optimal infection method for stems and seedlings, that one-year-old seedlings were most susceptible to infection, and that Agrobacterium strain K599 was more effective than MSU440 and C58C1. Among the 11 cultivars, even though all formed hairy roots, 'Dafugui' of the Lactiflora group showed the highest transgenic efficiency. This study provides a rapid and efficient tissue culture-free strategy for the genetic transformation of herbaceous peony, providing an important basis for its molecular breeding.
{"title":"Rapid genetic transformation of herbaceous peony without tissue culture via Agrobacterium rhizogenes: Optimization using rhizomes, stems, roots, and seedlings","authors":"Xi Chen , Jiageng Zhao , Chenchen Ji , Tinglei Du , Meiting Wang , Jingyi Shu , Jaime A. Teixeira da Silvai , Xiaonan Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154709","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154709","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Herbaceous peony is a famous traditional flower worldwide. However, the lack of a robust transgenic system has severely restricted its genetic improvement efforts. In this study, we established a tissue culture-free <em>Agrobacterium rhizogenes</em>-mediated transformation system using the rhizomes, stems, root segments, and seedlings of herbaceous peony. Soaking rhizomes and root segments in a resuspension solution containing acetosyringone and 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid induced more GFP-positive hairy roots than that in other tissues. Our study also revealed that colony smear was the optimal infection method for stems and seedlings, that one-year-old seedlings were most susceptible to infection, and that <em>Agrobacterium</em> strain K599 was more effective than MSU440 and C58C1. Among the 11 cultivars, even though all formed hairy roots, 'Dafugui' of the Lactiflora group showed the highest transgenic efficiency. This study provides a rapid and efficient tissue culture-free strategy for the genetic transformation of herbaceous peony, providing an important basis for its molecular breeding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 154709"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146026006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154711
Gayatri Mishra
Plants can experience individual stresses such as drought or heavy-metal exposure, yet in many environments these factors co-occur, imposing conflicting demands on water conservation, ion homeostasis, and metabolic detoxification. While biosynthetic pathways for stress-responsive metabolites are well studied, the regulation and engineering of metabolite transport remain largely overlooked. Transporters such as ABC, MATE, NPF, SWEET, and ALMT determine how osmolytes, antioxidants, and chelators are distributed across tissues and the rhizosphere, shaping physiological outcomes under stress. This Opinion highlights metabolite transport as a missing regulatory layer linking drought physiology and metal detoxification networks. I propose a Cross-stress Metabolite-Transport Engineering (CoMET) framework that treats these transporters as programmable valves to optimize metabolite fluxes under combined stress. CoMET integrates flux diagnostics, synthetic promoter logic, transporter editing, and field-based learning loops. Recognizing and engineering metabolite transport as a dynamic control system could redefine how crops maintain both water relations and detoxification capacity in increasingly contaminated and drought-prone soils.
{"title":"Routing resilience: Engineering metabolite transport for combined drought and heavy-metal tolerance in plants.","authors":"Gayatri Mishra","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants can experience individual stresses such as drought or heavy-metal exposure, yet in many environments these factors co-occur, imposing conflicting demands on water conservation, ion homeostasis, and metabolic detoxification. While biosynthetic pathways for stress-responsive metabolites are well studied, the regulation and engineering of metabolite transport remain largely overlooked. Transporters such as ABC, MATE, NPF, SWEET, and ALMT determine how osmolytes, antioxidants, and chelators are distributed across tissues and the rhizosphere, shaping physiological outcomes under stress. This Opinion highlights metabolite transport as a missing regulatory layer linking drought physiology and metal detoxification networks. I propose a Cross-stress Metabolite-Transport Engineering (CoMET) framework that treats these transporters as programmable valves to optimize metabolite fluxes under combined stress. CoMET integrates flux diagnostics, synthetic promoter logic, transporter editing, and field-based learning loops. Recognizing and engineering metabolite transport as a dynamic control system could redefine how crops maintain both water relations and detoxification capacity in increasingly contaminated and drought-prone soils.</p>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"154711"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154710
Ziyi Luo , Chen Tang , Liping Wang , Xiaoyu Sha , Yuhan Zhang , Wenjiang Liu , Jingye Fu , Qiang Wang
Against the backdrop of global climate change, water scarcity and food shortages, drought has emerged as a critical constraint on crop productivity, posing a severe threat to sustainable agricultural production. In this study, we identify the rice transcription factor OsERF74 as a key regulator of drought resistance. Overexpression of OsERF74 in Arabidopsis plants enhances drought tolerance, whereas rice knockout lines display increased drought sensitivity. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that OsERF74 modulates multiple pathways under drought stress. Mechanistically, OsERF74 directly binds to the promoters of ABA catabolic genes OsABA8ox1&2 to regulate their expression, thereby modulating ABA homeostasis and drought responses. Our findings demonstrate that OsERF74 positively regulates drought resistance by directly controlling ABA degradation, as well as regulating multiple signaling pathways. This study provides a critical scientific foundation for improving crop drought tolerance and ensuring food security.
{"title":"The transcription factor OsERF74 positively regulates drought resistance by modulating abscisic acid catabolism in rice","authors":"Ziyi Luo , Chen Tang , Liping Wang , Xiaoyu Sha , Yuhan Zhang , Wenjiang Liu , Jingye Fu , Qiang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Against the backdrop of global climate change, water scarcity and food shortages, drought has emerged as a critical constraint on crop productivity, posing a severe threat to sustainable agricultural production. In this study, we identify the rice transcription factor OsERF74 as a key regulator of drought resistance. Overexpression of <em>OsERF74</em> in Arabidopsis plants enhances drought tolerance, whereas rice knockout lines display increased drought sensitivity. Transcriptomic analysis reveals that OsERF74 modulates multiple pathways under drought stress. Mechanistically, OsERF74 directly binds to the promoters of ABA catabolic genes <em>OsABA8ox1&2</em> to regulate their expression, thereby modulating ABA homeostasis and drought responses. Our findings demonstrate that OsERF74 positively regulates drought resistance by directly controlling ABA degradation, as well as regulating multiple signaling pathways. This study provides a critical scientific foundation for improving crop drought tolerance and ensuring food security.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 154710"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146026005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154708
Yihan Su , Yuhui Li , Weicong Luo , Ying Liu , Zhenfei Guo , Shaoyun Lu
Calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs) are one of the Ca2+ sensors involving plant growth, development and adaptation to environmental stresses. The role of PpCML29 from a native Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) in regulating drought tolerance was investigated in the present study. PpCML29 is most similar to OsCML29 among all CML members in rice. PpCML29 protein locates in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. PpCML29 was expressed in roots, stems, leaves and spikes, with the highest level in leaves. PpCML29 expression was induced by 6–24 h of treatment with 23 % polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000. Overexpression of PpCML29 led to increased drought tolerance, with higher levels of survival rate and relative water content (RWC) and lower levels of ion leakage in transgenic rice than in the wild type (WT) after drought and osmotic stress. In addition, lower water loss rate was observed in PpCML29-overexpressing lines compared with WT. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities and proline concentrations increased after osmotic stress, and higher levels were observed in PpCML29-overexpressing lines than in WT. Consistently, relative expressions of SOD1, SOD2, CAT1, CAT2, APX1, APX2, P5CS1 and P5CS2 as well as drought responsive marker genes including OsDREB1A, OsDREB2A, OsDREB2B, OsNCED3, OsLEA3 and OsRAB16A were induced by osmotic stress, with higher levels in PpCML29-overexpressing lines than in WT under osmotic stress. The results suggest that PpCML29 confers drought tolerance through upregulating drought responsive genes and activating proline biosynthesis and antioxidant defense system to maintain reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis.
{"title":"A calmodulin-like protein from Kentucky bluegrass PpCML29 confers drought tolerance through activating antioxidant defense to maintain ROS homeostasis","authors":"Yihan Su , Yuhui Li , Weicong Luo , Ying Liu , Zhenfei Guo , Shaoyun Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154708","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs) are one of the Ca<sup>2+</sup> sensors involving plant growth, development and adaptation to environmental stresses. The role of PpCML29 from a native Kentucky bluegrass (<em>Poa pratensis</em> L.) in regulating drought tolerance was investigated in the present study. PpCML29 is most similar to OsCML29 among all CML members in rice. PpCML29 protein locates in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. <em>PpCML29</em> was expressed in roots, stems, leaves and spikes, with the highest level in leaves. <em>PpCML29</em> expression was induced by 6–24 h of treatment with 23 % polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000. Overexpression of <em>PpCML29</em> led to increased drought tolerance, with higher levels of survival rate and relative water content (RWC) and lower levels of ion leakage in transgenic rice than in the wild type (WT) after drought and osmotic stress. In addition, lower water loss rate was observed in <em>PpCML29</em>-overexpressing lines compared with WT. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities and proline concentrations increased after osmotic stress, and higher levels were observed in <em>PpCML29</em>-overexpressing lines than in WT. Consistently, relative expressions of <em>SOD1</em>, <em>SOD2</em>, <em>CAT1</em>, <em>CAT2</em>, <em>APX1</em>, <em>APX2</em>, <em>P5CS1</em> and <em>P5CS2</em> as well as drought responsive marker genes including <em>OsDREB1A</em>, <em>OsDREB2A</em>, <em>OsDREB2B</em>, <em>OsNCED3</em>, <em>OsLEA3</em> and <em>OsRAB16A</em> were induced by osmotic stress, with higher levels in <em>PpCML29</em>-overexpressing lines than in WT under osmotic stress. The results suggest that PpCML29 confers drought tolerance through upregulating drought responsive genes and activating proline biosynthesis and antioxidant defense system to maintain reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"318 ","pages":"Article 154708"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146001673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154703
Stian Griebenow , Lida - Mari Groenewald , Nokwanda Makunga , Maik Veste , Paul Hills , Aleysia Kleinert , Alexander Valentine
Certain plant families have evolved cluster (or proteoid) roots, which facilitate their survival in nutrient-poor ecosystems, specifically related to phosphorus impoverished environments, such as in South Africa, South Western Australia and Chile. Most cluster (or proteoid) rooted studies have focused on their capacity for phosphate acquisition, while in nutrient-poor ecosystems along with phosphate, nitrogen is the most limiting for plant growth. The role of cluster (or proteoid) roots in nitrogen nutrition is poorly understood. Therefore, in a field based experiments two cluster/proteoid rooted species, Protea cynaroides (L.) L. and Aspalathus linearis (Burm. f.) R. Dahlgren, the cluster/proteoid root capacity for inorganic nitrogen assimilation and organic nitrogen recycling utilising was assessed utilising an enzymatic approach. It was shown that cluster/proteoid roots are able to assimilate both NH4+ and NO3− through the enzyme activities of Glutamine synthase (GS) (EC 6.3.1.2) and Nitrate reductase (NR) (EC 1.7.1.1). Additionally, cluster/proteoid roots were also able to recycle amino acids into other useable forms. The assimilation and recycling of inorganic - and organic nitrogen by cluster/proteoid roots along with their capacity for phosphorus mobilisation, provides insight into how cluster/proteoid roots form part of a larger system in which belowground organs are integrated to acquire scarce resources.
{"title":"The assimilation of inorganic nitrogen by cluster and proteoid roots of Aspalathus linearis (Burm. f.) R. Dahlgren and Protea cynaroides (L.) L. in nutrient-poor ecosystems","authors":"Stian Griebenow , Lida - Mari Groenewald , Nokwanda Makunga , Maik Veste , Paul Hills , Aleysia Kleinert , Alexander Valentine","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Certain plant families have evolved cluster (or proteoid) roots, which facilitate their survival in nutrient-poor ecosystems, specifically related to phosphorus impoverished environments, such as in South Africa, South Western Australia and Chile. Most cluster (or proteoid) rooted studies have focused on their capacity for phosphate acquisition, while in nutrient-poor ecosystems along with phosphate, nitrogen is the most limiting for plant growth. The role of cluster (or proteoid) roots in nitrogen nutrition is poorly understood. Therefore, in a field based experiments two cluster/proteoid rooted species, <em>Protea cynaroides</em> (L.) L. and <em>Aspalathus linearis</em> (Burm. f.) R. Dahlgren, the cluster/proteoid root capacity for inorganic nitrogen assimilation and organic nitrogen recycling utilising was assessed utilising an enzymatic approach. It was shown that cluster/proteoid roots are able to assimilate both NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> through the enzyme activities of Glutamine synthase (GS) (EC 6.3.1.2) and Nitrate reductase (NR) (EC 1.7.1.1). Additionally, cluster/proteoid roots were also able to recycle amino acids into other useable forms. The assimilation and recycling of inorganic - and organic nitrogen by cluster/proteoid roots along with their capacity for phosphorus mobilisation, provides insight into how cluster/proteoid roots form part of a larger system in which belowground organs are integrated to acquire scarce resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 154703"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154704
Mengistu F. Mekureyaw , Chandana Pandey , Ajay Madhusudan Sorty , Rosanna C. Hennessy , Mette H. Nicolaisen , Fulai Liu , Ole Nybroe , Thomas Roitsch
Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), known to enhance tolerance to pathogen infection, but its role in drought stress mitigation remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to assess whether inoculation with KT2440 improves tomato tolerance to drought. Inoculation with the KT2440 wild type (WT) significantly improved ecophysiological drought stress responses by increasing leaf water potential and photosynthetic rate. It also resulted in an impact on the holobiont cell physiology through modulation of the activity signature of key enzymes of carbohydrate (e.g., PGM and vacInv) and antioxidant (e.g., GR, MDHAR, and cwPOX) metabolism under drought conditions. To functionally assess the role of biofilm formation in drought response, biofilm-deficient mutants KT2440 Alg, with only one gene cluster for the exopolysaccharide alginate deleted, and KT2440 Q, with four exopolysaccharide gene clusters (alg, bcs, pea and peb) deleted, were used. Inoculation with these two mutants led to reduced drought resilience, with partial or complete loss of protective effects in the Alg and Q mutants, respectively. This was reflected in lowered leaf water potential, photosynthetic rate, and reduced antioxidant and carbohydrate metabolism enzyme activities compared to inoculation with the corresponding wild type. Global RNA sequencing revealed that under drought conditions 360 % more genes were differentially regulated in the presence of KT2440 WT compared to the mock inoculated control, whereas this value decreased again to only 140 % more differentially regulated genes after recovery from the drought stress. Thus, KT2440 specifically primes the plant for a much more pronounced transcriptional response only during the impact of drought, thus providing resilience protection on demand. This priming for enhanced abiotic stress responsiveness was partially dependent on the ability to form biofilm. Both under well-watered and drought stress the number of differentially regulated genes was strongly reduced in plants inoculated with KT2440 Q compared to WT. Gene ontology and expression analyses showed significant upregulation of pathways involved in photosynthesis, phytohormone signaling, antioxidant metabolism, and drought resilience in KT2440-inoculated plants. Although KT2440 WT showed higher biofilm formation compared to the Alg and Q mutants, the strains did not differ in their ability for root colonization. These findings provide novel insights into the contribution of biofilm formation to PGPR-mediated drought tolerance and protection on demand via priming for enhanced transcriptional regulation under stress, supporting the potential of KT2440 for environmentally friendly mitigating of drought stress responses in crops.
{"title":"Biofilm formation by Pseudomonas putida KT2440 contributes to improve tomato drought stress resilience and priming for enhanced gene regulation","authors":"Mengistu F. Mekureyaw , Chandana Pandey , Ajay Madhusudan Sorty , Rosanna C. Hennessy , Mette H. Nicolaisen , Fulai Liu , Ole Nybroe , Thomas Roitsch","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154704","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Pseudomonas putida</em> KT2440 is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), known to enhance tolerance to pathogen infection, but its role in drought stress mitigation remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to assess whether inoculation with KT2440 improves tomato tolerance to drought. Inoculation with the KT2440 wild type (WT) significantly improved ecophysiological drought stress responses by increasing leaf water potential and photosynthetic rate. It also resulted in an impact on the holobiont cell physiology through modulation of the activity signature of key enzymes of carbohydrate (e.g., PGM and vacInv) and antioxidant (e.g., GR, MDHAR, and cwPOX) metabolism under drought conditions. To functionally assess the role of biofilm formation in drought response, biofilm-deficient mutants KT2440 Alg, with only one gene cluster for the exopolysaccharide alginate deleted, and KT2440 Q, with four exopolysaccharide gene clusters (<em>alg, bcs, pea</em> and <em>peb</em>) deleted, were used. Inoculation with these two mutants led to reduced drought resilience, with partial or complete loss of protective effects in the Alg and Q mutants, respectively. This was reflected in lowered leaf water potential, photosynthetic rate, and reduced antioxidant and carbohydrate metabolism enzyme activities compared to inoculation with the corresponding wild type. Global RNA sequencing revealed that under drought conditions 360 % more genes were differentially regulated in the presence of KT2440 WT compared to the mock inoculated control, whereas this value decreased again to only 140 % more differentially regulated genes after recovery from the drought stress. Thus, KT2440 specifically primes the plant for a much more pronounced transcriptional response only during the impact of drought, thus providing resilience protection on demand. This priming for enhanced abiotic stress responsiveness was partially dependent on the ability to form biofilm. Both under well-watered and drought stress the number of differentially regulated genes was strongly reduced in plants inoculated with KT2440 Q compared to WT. Gene ontology and expression analyses showed significant upregulation of pathways involved in photosynthesis, phytohormone signaling, antioxidant metabolism, and drought resilience in KT2440-inoculated plants. Although KT2440 WT showed higher biofilm formation compared to the Alg and Q mutants, the strains did not differ in their ability for root colonization. These findings provide novel insights into the contribution of biofilm formation to PGPR-mediated drought tolerance and protection on demand via priming for enhanced transcriptional regulation under stress, supporting the potential of KT2440 for environmentally friendly mitigating of drought stress responses in crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 154704"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146003652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154702
Afroz Naznin , Yuanyuan Wang , Jing He , Md Mazadul Islam , Asad Abbas , Jay Bose , Oula Ghannoum , Zhong-Hua Chen
Elevated global temperatures threaten crop yield and quality by impairing plant hydraulic efficiency and photosynthetic stability, hence highlighting the significance of vascular architectural plasticity in heat stress tolerance. Leaf vein architecture, the principal conduit for water, nutrients, and photosynthates, provides structural support and controls gas exchange, which are critical for sustaining growth and productivity under heat stress. Increasing evidence shows that vascular plasticity, including adjustments in vein density and patterning, underpins plant resilience by maintaining physiological homeostasis. This review summarizes the current knowledge of how heat stress influences leaf and vein structure, with an emphasis on the molecular regulatory networks that drive vascular structural adaptation. We highlight the central role of auxin in coordinating vascular differentiation through its regulation of biosynthesis, polar transport, and signalling transduction, and discuss how auxin integrates with other hormonal pathways to fine-tune vascular traits in response to environmental cues. Particularly, we focus on the unique vein patterning strategies and physiological function in the grass family, including species of many major food and cash crops with agricultural and ecological significance. By integrating these insights, we propose a framework that links vascular plasticity with plant development and yield, offering research insights and practical guidance for breeding heat-resilient crop varieties.
{"title":"Auxin-mediated regulation and functional adaptation of leaf veins under heat stress","authors":"Afroz Naznin , Yuanyuan Wang , Jing He , Md Mazadul Islam , Asad Abbas , Jay Bose , Oula Ghannoum , Zhong-Hua Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154702","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154702","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Elevated global temperatures threaten crop yield and quality by impairing plant hydraulic efficiency and photosynthetic stability, hence highlighting the significance of vascular architectural plasticity in heat stress tolerance. Leaf vein architecture, the principal conduit for water, nutrients, and photosynthates, provides structural support and controls gas exchange, which are critical for sustaining growth and productivity under heat stress. Increasing evidence shows that vascular plasticity, including adjustments in vein density and patterning, underpins plant resilience by maintaining physiological homeostasis. This review summarizes the current knowledge of how heat stress influences leaf and vein structure, with an emphasis on the molecular regulatory networks that drive vascular structural adaptation. We highlight the central role of auxin in coordinating vascular differentiation through its regulation of biosynthesis, polar transport, and signalling transduction, and discuss how auxin integrates with other hormonal pathways to fine-tune vascular traits in response to environmental cues. Particularly, we focus on the unique vein patterning strategies and physiological function in the grass family, including species of many major food and cash crops with agricultural and ecological significance. By integrating these insights, we propose a framework that links vascular plasticity with plant development and yield, offering research insights and practical guidance for breeding heat-resilient crop varieties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 154702"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154694
Genzhong Liu , Xiaofang Liu , Jiaojiao Fan, Chaoyu Li, Wang Zheng, Fangfang Ma, Zhilong Bao
Plant height and fruit shape are significant traits affecting plant yield and appearance quality. Kip-related protein (KRP) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that plays a critical role in the inhibition of cell cycle progression during plant development. However, the mechanism by which SlKRP3 regulates tomato plant height and fruit shape through cell cycle progression remains unclear. Here, we unveil functional characterization of SlKRP3, which is responsible for plant height and fruit shape in tomato. As expected, overexpression of SlKRP3 resulted in shorter cell elongation and decreased endoreduplication in the tomato stem. VIGS assay was performed to obtain SlKRP3-silenced plants and demonstrated that silencing of SlKRP3 increased plant height. Transcriptome analysis showed that the xyloglucosyl transferase genes are also dysregulated in SlKRP3 overexpression lines, as are cell elongation and cell cycle-related genes. This argues that SlKRP3 negatively regulates cell expansion via inhibiting endoreduplication in tomato. Notably, we uncover that SlKRP3 physically interacted with cyclin D3.1 by AlphaFold3, yeast two-hybrid, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. These findings shed light on the functional regulation of SlKRP3 and offer potential strategies for the genetic improvement of plant architecture and fruit shape in tomato.
{"title":"The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor SlKRP3 negatively regulates plant height and fruit shape in tomato via inhibiting cell elongation","authors":"Genzhong Liu , Xiaofang Liu , Jiaojiao Fan, Chaoyu Li, Wang Zheng, Fangfang Ma, Zhilong Bao","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154694","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2026.154694","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant height and fruit shape are significant traits affecting plant yield and appearance quality. Kip-related protein (KRP) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that plays a critical role in the inhibition of cell cycle progression during plant development. However, the mechanism by which SlKRP3 regulates tomato plant height and fruit shape through cell cycle progression remains unclear. Here, we unveil functional characterization of <em>SlKRP3</em>, which is responsible for plant height and fruit shape in tomato. As expected, overexpression of <em>SlKRP3</em> resulted in shorter cell elongation and decreased endoreduplication in the tomato stem. VIGS assay was performed to obtain <em>SlKRP3</em>-silenced plants and demonstrated that silencing of <em>SlKRP3</em> increased plant height. Transcriptome analysis showed that the <em>xyloglucosyl transferase</em> genes are also dysregulated in <em>SlKRP3</em> overexpression lines, as are cell elongation and cell cycle-related genes. This argues that <em>SlKRP3</em> negatively regulates cell expansion via inhibiting endoreduplication in tomato. Notably, we uncover that SlKRP3 physically interacted with cyclin D3.1 by AlphaFold3, yeast two-hybrid, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. These findings shed light on the functional regulation of <em>SlKRP3</em> and offer potential strategies for the genetic improvement of plant architecture and fruit shape in tomato.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 154694"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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