Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154670
Meixiang Yang , Xinlei Wang , Xiaoqian Zhang , Xin Wei , Jianrong Guo
Rubisco activase (RCA) is the key regulatory enzyme in photosynthetic carbon assimilation that governs the activation state of Rubisco, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in CO2 fixation. While salinity generally inhibits photosynthesis and yield in glycophytic crops, it paradoxically enhances photosynthetic efficiency in halophytes, such as Suaeda salsa. However, the potential mechanism still remains unknown. We cloned and characterized the SsRCA gene from S. salsa, and generated SsRCA-overexpressing Arabidopsis lines. We then examined the salt tolerance and photosynthetic traits of the transgenic plants. Results showed that RCA activity in the transgenic lines was 64 % higher, and that the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) was 41 % higher, as was the Fv/Fm, in SsRCA-overexpressing Arabidopsis under a 100 mM NaCl stress condition than in the wide type (WT). Meanwhile, under NaCl stress, the transgenic plants displayed increased growth and seed yield, lower Na+ and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, enhanced K+ and proline accumulation, and reduced oxidative damage compared to WT. These results suggested that SsRCA overexpression enhanced plant salt tolerance by optimizing Rubisco activation efficiency. Our findings will provide a novel halophyte-derived genetic resource for engineering crops with improved photosynthetic resilience in saline environments.
Rubisco激活酶（Rubisco activase， RCA）是光合碳同化的关键调控酶，控制着二氧化碳固定的限速酶Rubisco的激活状态。虽然盐度通常会抑制糖生植物的光合作用和产量，但它却矛盾地提高了盐生植物的光合效率，如沙特阿拉伯。然而，潜在的机制仍然未知。从salsa中克隆并鉴定了SsRCA基因，获得了过表达SsRCA的拟南芥品系。然后我们检测了转基因植株的耐盐性和光合特性。结果表明，在100 mM NaCl胁迫条件下，过表达ssrca的转基因拟南芥植株的RCA活性比普通品种高64%，净光合速率（Pn）和Fv/Fm比高41%。同时，在NaCl胁迫下，与WT相比，转基因植株的生长和种子产量增加，Na+和丙二醛（MDA）含量降低，K+和脯氨酸积累增加，氧化损伤减少。这些结果表明，SsRCA过表达通过优化Rubisco激活效率提高了植株的耐盐性。我们的研究结果将为盐生植物衍生的工程作物提供一种新的遗传资源，使其在盐环境中具有更好的光合恢复能力。
{"title":"Overexpression of the halophyte Suaeda salsa Rubisco activase gene SsRCA in Arabidopsis improves plant photosynthesis under salt-stressed conditions","authors":"Meixiang Yang , Xinlei Wang , Xiaoqian Zhang , Xin Wei , Jianrong Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rubisco activase (RCA) is the key regulatory enzyme in photosynthetic carbon assimilation that governs the activation state of Rubisco, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in CO<sub>2</sub> fixation. While salinity generally inhibits photosynthesis and yield in glycophytic crops, it paradoxically enhances photosynthetic efficiency in halophytes, such as <em>Suaeda salsa</em>. However, the potential mechanism still remains unknown. We cloned and characterized the <em>SsRCA</em> gene from <em>S. salsa</em>, and generated <em>SsRCA</em>-overexpressing <em>Arabidopsis</em> lines. We then examined the salt tolerance and photosynthetic traits of the transgenic plants. Results showed that RCA activity in the transgenic lines was 64 % higher, and that the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) was 41 % higher, as was the Fv/Fm, in <em>SsRCA</em>-overexpressing <em>Arabidopsis</em> under a 100 mM NaCl stress condition than in the wide type (WT). Meanwhile, under NaCl stress, the transgenic plants displayed increased growth and seed yield, lower Na<sup>+</sup> and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, enhanced K<sup>+</sup> and proline accumulation, and reduced oxidative damage compared to WT. These results suggested that <em>SsRCA</em> overexpression enhanced plant salt tolerance by optimizing Rubisco activation efficiency. Our findings will provide a novel halophyte-derived genetic resource for engineering crops with improved photosynthetic resilience in saline environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154670"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145701141","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}
Rice, a staple food crop, is consumed by most of the world's population. Micronutrient malnutrition is a severe health issue, leading to diseases such as cancer, anemia, diabetes, heart disease, and disorders in physical and psychological development. We aimed to create rice with low cadmium in the grain but having high cadmium in shoots, safe biofortified protein, high iron, and zinc using CRISPR/Cas9 and breeding technologies instead of adding drugs. The triple gene Knockout rice lines for two iron sensors and one negative regulator gene for cadmium were created to offer high Fe/Zn and low Cd content for breeders. Multiplexed gene editing mediated biolistic transformation of rice callus, and genotyping was used to check the genetic stability of the edited rice lines. Rice lines were found to have enhanced iron, zinc, and protein content, with concentrations varying based on growth conditions. These lines can be used as phytoremediators for cadmium by storing Cd on plant shoots. The rice-edited plants possessed excellent agro-morphological traits, photosynthetic, and physiological performance. The developed edited indica rice lines have crucial agronomic traits with more nutritional value. Compared to the other lines and the wild wildtype, the genome-edited free Cas9 line 2 showed better traits: 13.48 μg/g (iron), 22.9 μg/g (zinc), and a high protein content, which depends on how bioavailable metals and nutrients are in the soil. The line also had 20.60 g of seeds per 1000 g of plant, a total plant yield of 102.76 g, and 101 days of 50 % flowering. This work offers efficient and precise multiple gene-editing in rice with an effective, sustainable strategy for multi-trait enhancement. The developed lines could be used in breeding programs for sustainable solutions for malnutrition worldwide. The experimental results can provide reference and support for the safe use of edited crops as a diet.
{"title":"Triumphing over hidden hunger: Redesigning rice (Oryza sativa L.) for enhanced nutraceutical grain composition utilizing multiplexed genome editing","authors":"Khaled Fathy , Jyotsna Bharti , Sonia Khan Sony , Mamta Nehra , Rashmi Kaul , Bhupendra Rawat , Sudhir K. Sopory , Pawan Kumar Agrawal , Arul Prakash , Tanushri Kaul","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rice, a staple food crop, is consumed by most of the world's population. Micronutrient malnutrition is a severe health issue, leading to diseases such as cancer, anemia, diabetes, heart disease, and disorders in physical and psychological development. We aimed to create rice with low cadmium in the grain but having high cadmium in shoots, safe biofortified protein, high iron, and zinc using CRISPR/Cas9 and breeding technologies instead of adding drugs. The triple gene Knockout rice lines for two iron sensors and one negative regulator gene for cadmium were created to offer high Fe/Zn and low Cd content for breeders. Multiplexed gene editing mediated biolistic transformation of rice callus, and genotyping was used to check the genetic stability of the edited rice lines. Rice lines were found to have enhanced iron, zinc, and protein content, with concentrations varying based on growth conditions. These lines can be used as phytoremediators for cadmium by storing Cd on plant shoots. The rice-edited plants possessed excellent agro-morphological traits, photosynthetic, and physiological performance. The developed edited indica rice lines have crucial agronomic traits with more nutritional value. Compared to the other lines and the wild wildtype, the genome-edited free Cas9 line 2 showed better traits: 13.48 μg/g (iron), 22.9 μg/g (zinc), and a high protein content, which depends on how bioavailable metals and nutrients are in the soil. The line also had 20.60 g of seeds per 1000 g of plant, a total plant yield of 102.76 g, and 101 days of 50 % flowering. This work offers efficient and precise multiple gene-editing in rice with an effective, sustainable strategy for multi-trait enhancement. The developed lines could be used in breeding programs for sustainable solutions for malnutrition worldwide. The experimental results can provide reference and support for the safe use of edited crops as a diet.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154667"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733575","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 : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154669
Alexei Solovchenko , Anatoly Gitelson
Mature non-stressed plants often contain a lot more chlorophyll than they need to efficiently capture light energy in the PAR range. In this situation, some pigment molecules apparently become physiologically redundant because they remain shaded and cannot participate efficiently in light harvesting. As a result of the build-up of chlorophyll, strong absorption of these pigments extends well beyond 700 nm, the conventional border of PAR, into far red (FR) region of the spectrum (to 750 nm and beyond) contributing significantly to the budget of the absorbed light energy. It is also well known that FR light, when supplemented to conventional PAR spectrum, harmonizes energy flow in the photosynthetic apparatus, reduces risk of photodamage boosting plant productivity. We argue that a possible functional role of the “redundant chlorophyll” accumulated in plants is ensuring the capture of FR photons. The latter is among important acclimations to fluctuating light fluxes as well as to permanently low-light environments ensuring efficient operation of complex plant canopies. We discuss the opportunity to harness the “FR boost” of productivity by leveraging inherent optical properties of green plants without sophisticated approaches such as engineering of long-wave chlorophylls into the plant photosynthetic apparatus.
{"title":"The far-red light absorption and “Redundant chlorophyll” in plants: A waste of resource or an important booster of photosynthesis?","authors":"Alexei Solovchenko , Anatoly Gitelson","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mature non-stressed plants often contain a lot more chlorophyll than they need to efficiently capture light energy in the PAR range. <em>In this situation, some pigment molecules apparently become physiologically redundant because they remain shaded and cannot participate efficiently in light harvesting</em>. As a result of the build-up of chlorophyll, strong absorption of these pigments extends well beyond 700 nm, the conventional border of PAR, into far red (FR) region of the spectrum (to 750 nm and beyond) contributing significantly to the budget of the absorbed light energy. It is also well known that FR light, when supplemented to conventional PAR spectrum, harmonizes energy flow in the photosynthetic apparatus, reduces risk of photodamage boosting plant productivity. <em>We argue that a possible functional role of the “redundant chlorophyll” accumulated in plants is ensuring the capture of FR photons. The latter is among important acclimations to fluctuating light fluxes as well as to permanently low-light environments ensuring efficient operation of complex plant canopies</em>. We discuss the opportunity to harness the “FR boost” of productivity by <em>leveraging inherent optical properties of green plants without sophisticated approaches</em> such as engineering of long-wave chlorophylls into the plant photosynthetic apparatus.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154669"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682408","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 : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154671
Chi Zhang , Song-Qi Li , Pengwei Jing , Run-Xin Wu , Yu-Qing Ma , Ji-Xiao Wu , Ru-Feng Song , Wen-Cheng Liu
In ever-changing natural environments, plants have evolved precise and intricate regulatory networks to combat energy deprivation. Under limited energy supply, plants use autophagy to recycle cellular components and sustain vital processes. Autophagy represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism operating at the subcellular level in eukaryotes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), traditionally viewed as metabolic byproducts, exert concentration-dependent effects in plants: lower ROS in a controllable concentration range serve as signaling molecules modulating various aspects of plant growth, development and stress responses, whereas over-accumulating ROS induce oxidative damages, threatening plant growth and survival. Although the classification, metabolic dynamics, and multifaceted roles of ROS in plants have been extensively studied, the reciprocal regulatory interplay between ROS signaling and autophagy remains inadequately explored, particularly in plants. This review summarizes recent progress of plant ROS, autophagy, and their interplay, and also provides predictions and perspectives on the potential regulatory mechanisms between ROS and autophagy.
{"title":"Autophagy, ROS, and their interplay in plant adaptive responses","authors":"Chi Zhang , Song-Qi Li , Pengwei Jing , Run-Xin Wu , Yu-Qing Ma , Ji-Xiao Wu , Ru-Feng Song , Wen-Cheng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154671","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In ever-changing natural environments, plants have evolved precise and intricate regulatory networks to combat energy deprivation. Under limited energy supply, plants use autophagy to recycle cellular components and sustain vital processes. Autophagy represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism operating at the subcellular level in eukaryotes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), traditionally viewed as metabolic byproducts, exert concentration-dependent effects in plants: lower ROS in a controllable concentration range serve as signaling molecules modulating various aspects of plant growth, development and stress responses, whereas over-accumulating ROS induce oxidative damages, threatening plant growth and survival. Although the classification, metabolic dynamics, and multifaceted roles of ROS in plants have been extensively studied, the reciprocal regulatory interplay between ROS signaling and autophagy remains inadequately explored, particularly in plants. This review summarizes recent progress of plant ROS, autophagy, and their interplay, and also provides predictions and perspectives on the potential regulatory mechanisms between ROS and autophagy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154671"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682371","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 : 2025-12-02DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154668
Uwe Sonnewald , Quan-Sheng Qiu , Herbert J. Kronzucker
{"title":"Editorial: Squaring the circle: Challenges and breakthroughs in plant sciences","authors":"Uwe Sonnewald , Quan-Sheng Qiu , Herbert J. Kronzucker","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154668","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154668","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154668"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682372","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 : 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154666
Anton Milyaev , Andrej Frolov , Janne Lempe , Alexander Hilo , Eike Luedeling , Ludger A. Wessjohann , Henryk Flachowsky , Jens-Norbert Wünsche
Biennial bearing is one of the major challenges in the commercial production of apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.). Unless a considerable portion of flowers in apple orchards is removed every year, naturally occurring high crop load (ON-year) strongly suppresses flowering in the following year, leading to low yields (OFF-year). This ON-OFF bearing cycle significantly diminishes the profitability of apple orchards. This phenomenon generally occurs in all apple varieties, but is much more pronounced in some genotypes (biennial-bearing) than in others (regular-bearing). Although apple fruits of the current season and flower buds for the next season develop simultaneously, it remains unclear whether biennial bearing is triggered by signaling compounds from the fruits or results from carbohydrate competition between growing fruits and buds. To test the carbohydrate competition hypothesis, we analyzed nine carbohydrates in bourse buds of the biennial-bearing cultivar ‘Fuji’ and the regular-bearing cultivar ‘Gala’. Bud samples were collected from high-cropping (ON) and non-cropping (OFF) trees during the period of flower bud formation. Our results showed no evidence of carbohydrate deficiency in buds from ON-trees compared to those from OFF-trees. Contrary to the hypothesis, the concentrations of glucose and fructose in ‘Gala’ were higher in buds from ON-trees. Furthermore, we analyzed 15 carbohydrates in the leaves of nine regular-bearing and eight strongly biennial-bearing apple cultivars and found no clear connections between carbohydrates in leaves and bearing behavior of these cultivars. Our data therefore do not support the hypothesis that carbohydrate competition between fruits and buds is the primary trigger of biennial bearing in apple.
{"title":"Carbohydrate analyses indicate that fruit-bud competition for assimilates is not the primary trigger of biennial bearing in apple","authors":"Anton Milyaev , Andrej Frolov , Janne Lempe , Alexander Hilo , Eike Luedeling , Ludger A. Wessjohann , Henryk Flachowsky , Jens-Norbert Wünsche","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biennial bearing is one of the major challenges in the commercial production of apples (<em>Malus</em> × <em>domestica</em> Borkh.). Unless a considerable portion of flowers in apple orchards is removed every year, naturally occurring high crop load (ON-year) strongly suppresses flowering in the following year, leading to low yields (OFF-year). This ON-OFF bearing cycle significantly diminishes the profitability of apple orchards. This phenomenon generally occurs in all apple varieties, but is much more pronounced in some genotypes (biennial-bearing) than in others (regular-bearing). Although apple fruits of the current season and flower buds for the next season develop simultaneously, it remains unclear whether biennial bearing is triggered by signaling compounds from the fruits or results from carbohydrate competition between growing fruits and buds. To test the carbohydrate competition hypothesis, we analyzed nine carbohydrates in bourse buds of the biennial-bearing cultivar ‘Fuji’ and the regular-bearing cultivar ‘Gala’. Bud samples were collected from high-cropping (ON) and non-cropping (OFF) trees during the period of flower bud formation. Our results showed no evidence of carbohydrate deficiency in buds from ON-trees compared to those from OFF-trees. Contrary to the hypothesis, the concentrations of glucose and fructose in ‘Gala’ were higher in buds from ON-trees. Furthermore, we analyzed 15 carbohydrates in the leaves of nine regular-bearing and eight strongly biennial-bearing apple cultivars and found no clear connections between carbohydrates in leaves and bearing behavior of these cultivars. Our data therefore do not support the hypothesis that carbohydrate competition between fruits and buds is the primary trigger of biennial bearing in apple.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154666"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682409","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 : 2025-11-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154665
Jacinta Santos, Marta Nunes da Silva, Carla S. Santos
The transition toward sustainable agriculture requires fertilisation strategies that improve nutrient use efficiency, enhance resilience to abiotic and biotic stress, and minimise environmental impacts. Bio-based fertilisers, biostimulants, and novel delivery systems have emerged as promising alternatives or complements to conventional agrochemicals, yet their physiological bases remain only partially understood. This review examines current knowledge on the mechanistic pathways through which these products act and identifies research gaps to enable predictive use in diverse cropping systems.
Evidence indicates that bio-based inputs influence plant performance by modulating nutrient uptake and assimilation, hormonal and redox signalling, stress perception and defence priming, and biomass allocation. Protein hydrolysates, humic substances, and seaweed extracts alter root morphology, ion transport, and stress signalling, while microbial inoculants such as rhizobia, phosphate-solubilising bacteria, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi provide nutrient mobilisation and immune priming. Novel delivery systems, including clays and encapsulation systems, extend these effects by improving the stability and targeted release of bioactive compounds. Despite these advances, the lack of standardised protocols, incomplete dose-response characterisation, and strong context dependence of plant responses remain major obstacles to reproducibility and scalability. Progress in this field requires a mechanistically anchored approach that links molecular events (such as transporter activation, hormone dynamics, and antioxidant activity) to agronomic outcomes under variable environments. Embedding mechanistic descriptors into both experimental design and regulatory frameworks could accelerate the translation of bio-based inputs into reliable tools for sustainable crop production, supported by environmental impact assessments.
{"title":"Mechanistic insights into bio-based fertilisers, biostimulants, and novel delivery systems in plant physiology","authors":"Jacinta Santos, Marta Nunes da Silva, Carla S. Santos","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition toward sustainable agriculture requires fertilisation strategies that improve nutrient use efficiency, enhance resilience to abiotic and biotic stress, and minimise environmental impacts. Bio-based fertilisers, biostimulants, and novel delivery systems have emerged as promising alternatives or complements to conventional agrochemicals, yet their physiological bases remain only partially understood. This review examines current knowledge on the mechanistic pathways through which these products act and identifies research gaps to enable predictive use in diverse cropping systems.</div><div>Evidence indicates that bio-based inputs influence plant performance by modulating nutrient uptake and assimilation, hormonal and redox signalling, stress perception and defence priming, and biomass allocation. Protein hydrolysates, humic substances, and seaweed extracts alter root morphology, ion transport, and stress signalling, while microbial inoculants such as rhizobia, phosphate-solubilising bacteria, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi provide nutrient mobilisation and immune priming. Novel delivery systems, including clays and encapsulation systems, extend these effects by improving the stability and targeted release of bioactive compounds. Despite these advances, the lack of standardised protocols, incomplete dose-response characterisation, and strong context dependence of plant responses remain major obstacles to reproducibility and scalability. Progress in this field requires a mechanistically anchored approach that links molecular events (such as transporter activation, hormone dynamics, and antioxidant activity) to agronomic outcomes under variable environments. Embedding mechanistic descriptors into both experimental design and regulatory frameworks could accelerate the translation of bio-based inputs into reliable tools for sustainable crop production, supported by environmental impact assessments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154665"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145668426","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 : 2025-11-27DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154662
Chuanchang Kang , Chuanqi Zhao , Zhongrui Zhang, Ying Zhao, Minjie Wang, Xiangwang Xu, Zhenfei Guo, Haifan Shi
Turfgrass species commonly used for lawns, sports fields, and urban green spaces frequently encounter salt exposure. Under conditions of salt stress, the quality of the turfgrass diminishes, leading to a loss of economic value and a reduction in its ability to serve recreational and functional purposes. Salt stress responses are critical for the survival and functionality of turfgrass in saline environments. Paspalum vaginatum (seashore paspalum), a stress-tolerant turfgrass widely used in lawns and golf courses, is an ideal model for studying plant stress adaptation. The calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) family, key regulators of plant growth, development, and stress signaling, remains uncharacterized in this species. Using evolutionarily conserved CDPK protein sequences from Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays as references, we performed a genome-wide identification of CDPKs in P. vaginatum and ultimately identified 30 candidate PvCDPK genes. We analyzed conserved domains, gene structures, chromosomal distribution, and phylogenetic relationships of PvCDPKs. Promoter cis-element analysis identified phytohormone-responsive, stress-responsive, and growth/development-related motifs. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) of PvCDPKs demonstrated tissue-specific expression profiles and differential regulation under salt stress, drought stress, cold stress, and ABA treatment conditions. Overexpression of PvCDPK5 in A. thaliana showed that the transgenic plants exhibited significantly enhanced salt tolerance, accompanied by reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increased activities of antioxidant enzymes, and improved Na+/K+ balance. Collectively, these results suggest that PvCDPK5 regulates plant salt tolerance by mediating the alleviation of oxidative stress and maintaining ion homeostasis. Furthermore, insights into turfgrass salt adaptation can inform breeding strategies for other salt-sensitive crops, thereby enhancing agricultural productivity in salinized soils.
{"title":"Genome-wide identification of CDPK gene family in Paspalum vaginatum and characterization of PvCDPK5 associated with salt tolerance","authors":"Chuanchang Kang , Chuanqi Zhao , Zhongrui Zhang, Ying Zhao, Minjie Wang, Xiangwang Xu, Zhenfei Guo, Haifan Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154662","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154662","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Turfgrass species commonly used for lawns, sports fields, and urban green spaces frequently encounter salt exposure. Under conditions of salt stress, the quality of the turfgrass diminishes, leading to a loss of economic value and a reduction in its ability to serve recreational and functional purposes. Salt stress responses are critical for the survival and functionality of turfgrass in saline environments. <em>Paspalum vaginatum</em> (seashore paspalum), a stress-tolerant turfgrass widely used in lawns and golf courses, is an ideal model for studying plant stress adaptation. The calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) family, key regulators of plant growth, development, and stress signaling, remains uncharacterized in this species. Using evolutionarily conserved CDPK protein sequences from <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em>, <em>Oryza sativa,</em> and <em>Zea mays</em> as references, we performed a genome-wide identification of CDPKs in <em>P. vaginatum</em> and ultimately identified 30 candidate <em>PvCDPK</em> genes. We analyzed conserved domains, gene structures, chromosomal distribution, and phylogenetic relationships of PvCDPKs. Promoter cis-element analysis identified phytohormone-responsive, stress-responsive, and growth/development-related motifs. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) of <em>PvCDPKs</em> demonstrated tissue-specific expression profiles and differential regulation under salt stress, drought stress, cold stress, and ABA treatment conditions. Overexpression of <em>PvCDPK5</em> in <em>A. thaliana</em> showed that the transgenic plants exhibited significantly enhanced salt tolerance, accompanied by reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increased activities of antioxidant enzymes, and improved Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup> balance. Collectively, these results suggest that PvCDPK5 regulates plant salt tolerance by mediating the alleviation of oxidative stress and maintaining ion homeostasis. Furthermore, insights into turfgrass salt adaptation can inform breeding strategies for other salt-sensitive crops, thereby enhancing agricultural productivity in salinized soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154662"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616617","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 : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154664
Sofia Spormann , João Neves , Cláudia Pereira , Cristiano Soares , Inês Maria Valente , José António Rodrigues , Viviana Martins , Elias Kaiser , Fernanda Fidalgo
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is widely cultivated in open fields, being increasingly threatened by environmental constraints like drought and salinity, which disrupt water and nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, redox balance and growth. We examined how the wild relatives Solanum habrochaites LA1223 and Solanum galapagense LA1403 accessions respond to single and combined drought and salinity, in comparison to a modern cultivar. Growth, pigment content, dynamic photosynthesis, primary metabolism, and profiles of amino acids, polyamines, and phytohormones were evaluated to assess their natural resilience relative to the cultivated tomato. Wild tomato species sustained growth better under stress, with an enhanced nitrogen metabolism and osmotic adjustment. In particular, S. habrochaites exhibited higher pigment levels, superior photosynthetic performance, coupled with a rapid stomatal regulation, alongside the accumulation of osmoprotectants such as proline and sugars, leading to improved water use efficiency, likely mediated by salicylic acid. In contrast, S. galapagense showed a more conservative stomatal behavior and constitutively higher leaf spermine and root amino acid contents, being able to maintain biomass production and photosynthesis under water stress. Our results show that, despite their slower growth, wild tomato species display distinct and finely tuned physiological responses to abiotic stress, outperforming a commercial tomato cultivar. These findings emphasize wild species as valuable genetic resources for improving stress tolerance in cultivated tomato.
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We investigated the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis on the triacylglycerol fatty acids (TAGFA) profile in the rhizosphere of olive trees colonized by Rhizophagus (R.) irregularis. The TAGFA 16:1ω5 was used as a marker of AM fungal storage structures, whereas TAGFA 18:2ω6 was used as a marker of saprotrophic fungal storage structures. Our results showed that the rhizospheres of AM and non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants differed significantly in their TAGFA composition, a finding reported here for the first time. In particular, root colonization by R. irregularis increased TAGFA 16:1ω5 by 76 % and decreased TAGFA 18:2ω6 by 45 %, suggesting that less carbon was allocated to saprotrophic fungal storage structures. This redistribution of carbon in AM plant rhizospheres strongly influenced the content of cyclopropyl fatty acids in microbial cytomembranes, which are widely used as classical indicators of nutritional stress in soil microorganisms. The cyclopropyl-to-precursor ratio decreased significantly in AM rhizospheres, indicating that AM symbiosis effectively alleviates microbial stress in olive rhizospheres. These marked changes in the AM rhizosphere were associated with metabolic rearrangements in olive leaves. AM symbiosis generally had a positive impact on amino acid levels, particularly those of the glutamate family (glutamic acid, arginine, ornithine, and glutamine). Metabolic reprogramming also enhanced other pathways of secondary metabolism, notably flavonoids (luteolin 7-O-glucoside and luteolin 7-O-rutinoside) and the secoiridoid oleuropein. Taken together, our results highlight the pivotal role of AM fungi in regulating the allocation of photosynthates from aboveground tissues to belowground structures, including roots and their associated mycorrhizal partners, thereby driving rhizospheric changes and priming the accumulation of defensive compounds in olive leaves. This may (1) decrease leaf water potential, making it more negative and thereby facilitating water movement from the stem to the leaves, and (2) enhance tolerance to environmental stresses.
研究了丛枝菌根（AM）共生对不规则根噬菌（Rhizophagus irregularis）定殖的橄榄树根际甘油三酯脂肪酸（TAGFA）谱的影响。TAGFA 16:1ω5作为AM真菌贮藏结构的标记，TAGFA 18:2ω6作为腐养真菌贮藏结构的标记。结果表明，AM和非菌根（NM）植物的根际TAGFA组成差异显著，这是本文首次报道的结果。特别是，不规则真菌的根定植使TAGFA 16:1ω5增加了76%，使TAGFA 18:2ω6减少了45%，表明分配给腐坏营养真菌储存结构的碳较少。AM植物根际碳的再分配强烈影响微生物细胞膜中环丙基脂肪酸的含量，这是土壤微生物营养胁迫的经典指标。AM根际环丙基与前体比显著降低，表明AM共生有效缓解了橄榄根际微生物胁迫。AM根际的这些显著变化与橄榄叶的代谢重排有关。AM共生通常对氨基酸水平有积极影响，特别是谷氨酸家族（谷氨酸、精氨酸、鸟氨酸和谷氨酰胺）。代谢重编程还增强了其他次级代谢途径，特别是黄酮类化合物（木犀草素7- o -葡萄糖苷和木犀草素7- o -芦丁苷）和木犀草素橄榄苦苷。综上所述，我们的研究结果强调了AM真菌在调节光合产物从地上组织分配到地下结构（包括根及其相关菌根伙伴）中的关键作用，从而推动根际变化并启动橄榄叶中防御性化合物的积累。这可能(1)降低叶片水势，使其更负，从而促进水分从茎向叶的运动，(2)增强对环境胁迫的耐受性。
{"title":"Mycorrhizal symbiosis drives a carbon-dependent metabolic reprogramming in olive tree rhizosphere and leaves","authors":"Beligh Mechri , Ahlem Guesmi , Meriem Tekaya , Hechmi Chehab , Naoufel Ben Hamadi","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154661","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154661","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigated the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis on the triacylglycerol fatty acids (TAGFA) profile in the rhizosphere of olive trees colonized by <em>Rhizophagus (R</em>.<em>) irregularis</em>. The TAGFA 16:1ω5 was used as a marker of AM fungal storage structures, whereas TAGFA 18:2ω6 was used as a marker of saprotrophic fungal storage structures. Our results showed that the rhizospheres of AM and non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants differed significantly in their TAGFA composition, a finding reported here for the first time. In particular, root colonization by <em>R. irregularis</em> increased TAGFA 16:1ω5 by 76 % and decreased TAGFA 18:2ω6 by 45 %, suggesting that less carbon was allocated to saprotrophic fungal storage structures. This redistribution of carbon in AM plant rhizospheres strongly influenced the content of cyclopropyl fatty acids in microbial cytomembranes, which are widely used as classical indicators of nutritional stress in soil microorganisms. The cyclopropyl-to-precursor ratio decreased significantly in AM rhizospheres, indicating that AM symbiosis effectively alleviates microbial stress in olive rhizospheres. These marked changes in the AM rhizosphere were associated with metabolic rearrangements in olive leaves. AM symbiosis generally had a positive impact on amino acid levels, particularly those of the glutamate family (glutamic acid, arginine, ornithine, and glutamine). Metabolic reprogramming also enhanced other pathways of secondary metabolism, notably flavonoids (luteolin <em>7-O-</em>glucoside and luteolin 7-O-rutinoside) and the secoiridoid oleuropein. Taken together, our results highlight the pivotal role of AM fungi in regulating the allocation of photosynthates from aboveground tissues to belowground structures, including roots and their associated mycorrhizal partners, thereby driving rhizospheric changes and priming the accumulation of defensive compounds in olive leaves. This may (1) decrease leaf water potential, making it more negative and thereby facilitating water movement from the stem to the leaves, and (2) enhance tolerance to environmental stresses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 154661"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145616544","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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