Plant Cell Reports最新文献

Key message: Framework-primed trehalose uses MOFs to protect and time-release trehalose/T6P exactly when stress hits, converting a fleeting sugar signal into a programmable priming cue that accelerates, strengthens, and sustains abiotic stress memory while minimizing off-target losses. Abiotic stresses increasingly limit crop productivity, motivating delivery-smart biostimulant strategies that can imprint durable stress memory without transgenics. This review uniquely integrates trehalose/T6P biology with metal-organic framework (MOF) delivery engineering, providing the first focused appraisal of MOF-mediated trehalose priming for drought, salinity, heat, and cold resilience. We map how trehalose/T6P orchestrates membrane stabilization, redox poise, and transcriptional reprogramming, then assess how MOF chemistry (metal node, linker, pore size, defect density, and stimuli-responsive degradability) can protect, target, and time-release these sugar signals to better align with stress onset. Unlike prior reviews that either survey trehalose/T6P signaling or catalog agricultural MOFs and other nanocarriers, we bridge both, extracting design rules (cargo loading routes, gating strategies, soil/leaf triggers), performance metrics (release half-time vs. stress dynamics, dose-response windows, carry-over across growth stages), and risk/translation considerations (biocompatibility, fate, regulatory descriptors). We propose a roadmap for advancing MOF-trehalose priming from lab to field, emphasizing side-by-side comparisons with established carriers and transparent reporting of release/efficacy parameters. By coupling signal biology with materials design, this review outlines a precision path to enhance water use efficiency, photosynthesis, and antioxidant defenses while minimizing input waste-offering actionable guidance for researchers and practitioners pursuing climate-resilient agronomy.

Key message: Functional analysis in Arabidopsis revealed that ZjRVE8 -1 significantly enhances cold tolerance by activating the CBF pathway, identifying it as a promising gene for breeding cold hardy Zoysia japonica cultivars. REVEILLE (RVE) transcription factors regulate circadian rhythms and abiotic stress responses, but their roles in cold tolerance in the warm-season turfgrass Zoysia japonica remain uncharacterized. We identified 10 RVE family members through genome-wide analysis and performed comprehensive expression profiling under multiple abiotic stresses, revealing cold-responsive patterns. Based on this, five cold-induced RVE genes were selected for functional validation via heterologous overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of ZjRVE8-1 significantly enhanced freezing tolerance under both non-acclimated (NA) and cold-acclimated (CA) conditions by upregulating CBF1 and CBF3 expression. In contrast, overexpression of four tested RVE1-clade members failed to improve, and in one case reduced, freezing tolerance, correlating with their divergent cold-induced expression patterns. Promoter analysis identified a low-temperature responsive (LTR) element exclusively in ZjRVE8-1 of the cold-tolerant genotype, explaining its superior induction. This study uncovers ZjRVE8-1 as a novel regulator of cold adaptation via CBF activation and provides functional insights into RVE family divergence, offering candidate genes for breeding cold-hardy Z. japonica.

Key message: Pecan transcription factor CiNF-YC6, identified as nuclear-localized, significantly boosts fatty acid content in transgenic plants via activating lipid pathway genes upon overexpression. Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids beneficial for human health. Therefore, improving its quality is of considerable interest. The Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factor family plays essential roles in plant development and metabolism, yet its function in regulating seed lipid accumulation in woody oil-producing species remains poorly understood. Here, we identified and characterized 44 NF-Y genes in Carya illinoinensis, comprising 12 NF-YA, 20 NF-YB, and 12 NF-YC members. Phylogenetic, structural, and cis-element analyses revealed conserved features and regulatory potential across the family. Among them, CiNF-YC6 exhibited high expression in developing seeds and other tissues. Subcellular localisation and yeast assays confirmed that CiNF-YC6 is a nuclear-localized transcriptional activator with the activation domain located at the C-terminus. Functional characterization using transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and stable transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana showed that CiNF-YC6 overexpression significantly increased total fatty acid content and altered fatty acid composition. This enhancement was accompanied by the upregulation of key genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and triacylglycerol (TAG) assembly. Our findings identify CiNF-YC6 as a novel regulator of lipid accumulation and provide insights into the transcriptional control of oil biosynthesis in a woody perennial species.

Key message: Heterologous overexpression, transcriptomics, and physiology confirm RcLOG7-1 enhances plant drought and salt tolerance. The specific phosphohydrolase LONELY GUY (LOG) is involved in various biological processes of plant growth and development. However, research on the regulatory role of castor bean LOG under drought and salt stresses is limited. Here, we report the dual positive regulatory effects of the RcLOG7-1 gene under both drought and salt stresses in genetically modified Arabidopsis thaliana. Drought and salinity conditions significantly induced the transcription of RcLOG7-1. Subcellular localization results indicate that RcLOG7-1 was located in the cytoplasm. Overexpression of RcLOG7-1 in Arabidopsis enhanced drought and salt stresses tolerance. Through RNA-seq and physiological assessments, RcLOG7-1 modulated the expression of genes involved in glutathione metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and proline synthesis under drought and salt stresses, thereby enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity and lignin content in transgenic Arabidopsis. This resulted in improved scavenging of active oxygen free radicals. Furthermore, RcLOG7-1 influenced plant hormone signal transduction, particularly cytokinin synthesis (CTK), leading to elevated CTK levels in transgenic Arabidopsis compared to wild type. In summary, this study provides data supporting the function of LOG genes in stressed conditions, facilitating and accelerating molecular breeding for stress tolerance in castor bean.

Key message: TaGF14g enhances drought and salt tolerance by reducing ROS levels and increasing osmoprotectants content through the activation of stress-related genes and ABA signaling. Drought and high salinity severely constrain plant growth. The 14-3-3 proteins, a family of phosphopeptide-binding proteins, play pivotal roles in various signaling pathways. However, their functional mechanisms underlying drought and salt stress adaptation remain poorly understood, particularly in crop plant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Here, we identified a wheat 14-3-3 protein, TaGF14g, which positively modulates drought and salt tolerance. Spatiotemporal expression profiling revealed that TaGF14g is expressed in a variety of organs and tissues. Moreover, the expression of TaGF14g was significantly upregulated in response to treatments with polyethylene glycol 6000 (simulating drought), NaCl (simulating salt stress), and abscisic acid (ABA). Ectopic expression of TaGF14g exhibited improved abiotic stress resilience in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), with seedlings developing longer roots under drought and high-salinity conditions compared to control plants. Physiological analysis further showed that overexpression of TaGF14g in tobacco enhanced the activity and transcriptional levels of antioxidant enzymes, thereby improving reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity and alleviating oxidative damage to plants. Meanwhile, TaGF14g overexpression improved drought stress tolerance by improving water retention and the accumulation of osmolytes. Under salt stress, transgenic lines showed improved tolerance through the upregulation of genes related to ion transporters. Furthermore, TaGF14b increased ABA sensitivity in transgenic tobacco and induced stress-responsive gene expression under stress conditions. Our findings demonstrate that TaGF14g confers drought and salt stress resilience by modulating physiological processes and ABA signaling pathways, thus positioning it as a promising candidate for developing stress-resistant crop varieties.

Key message: As a repressor of SA pathway, ERF3 is induced by pathogens to repress the expression of SA pathway genes and promote JA-mediated wounding and ABA-mediated abiotic-stress responses in defense response. ERF/AP2 family transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, the function of most family members remains unclear. Here, the role of ERF3 in disease resistance was investigated by transcriptomic sequencing. erf3 mutants are more resistant, whereas ERF3-overexpression (ERF3-OE) plants are more susceptible to bacterial pathogen Pst DC3000 than wild type. Through transcriptomic sequencing, we identified 175 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between erf3 and wild-type plants, including 44 up-regulated (erf3up) and 131 downregulated genes (erf3down) in erf3. GO analysis showed that erf3up DEGs were most significantly enriched in defense response, including SA pathway marker genes PR2 and PR5, and defense genes RLP23, WRKY53, and RAV2 which play positive roles in resistance against Pst DC3000. By contrast, erf3down DEGs were significantly enriched in response to wounding/jasmonic acid, response to abscisic acid/water deprivation, etc., but no components of JA pathway disease resistance were down-regulated by loss of ERF3 function, indicating ERF3 positively regulate JA-mediated wounding and ABA-mediated abiotic-stress responses upon pathogen infection. ERF3 is induced by Pst DC3000, SA and JA, and ERF3 protein was detected to enrich on PR5 and RAV2 which harbor DRE boxes on the promoter and are up-regulated in erf3 mutants. Overall, ERF3 functions as a repressor in SA pathway disease resistance, and upon pathogen infection, ERF3 is induced to repress the expression of SA pathway genes and promote JA-mediated wounding and ABA-mediated abiotic-stress responses. Our work provides novel insights into the potential of exploiting ERF3 function to enhance plant disease resistance.

Key message: OsPUB36, a root-preferential E3 ubiquitin ligase, modulates reactive oxygen species homeostasis and regulates rice root development, affecting primary root and root hair growth. Root development is tightly regulated by spatial gradients of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which coordinate transitions from cell division to elongation and differentiation. Through phylogenetic meta-analysis, we identified a root-preferential subclass of class III PUB E3 ubiquitin ligases (OsPUB31-OsPUB37). Among them, OsPUB36 was selected as a representative gene for functional characterization. Overexpressing OsPUB36, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized protein, resulted in shortened primary roots and elongated root hairs. RNA-seq and proteomic analysis of root hairs from plants overexpressing OsPUB36 revealed significant upregulation of class III peroxidases, key enzymes involved in ROS homeostasis. Histochemical staining confirmed enhanced levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in root hair. However, the loss-of-function mutants (ospub36 and ospub35 ospub36) displayed no obvious phenotypes, suggesting functional redundancy within these gene subclasses. While yeast two-hybrid screen did not identify direct targets related to ROS or root development, RNA-seq, proteomic, and histochemical analyses suggest that OsPUB36 and other class III PUBs modulate ROS homeostasis.