Trends in Plant Science最新文献

Plants produce a highly diverse array of specialized metabolites. Traditionally, the evolution of these metabolites has been studied primarily through the lens of plants' ecological interactions with herbivores, pathogens, and pollinators, as many of them exhibit defense and/or attraction functions. However, increasing evidence suggests that many specialized metabolites, along with their precursors, also act as cellular signals that regulate cell growth and differentiation. We propose that these intrinsic functions are at least equally important factors in shaping the evolution of plant chemical defenses. We further discuss how future research that combines modern single-cell techniques and evolutionary genomics will provide novel insights into the evolutionary process of specialized metabolism diversification.

A wheat pangenome of 17 Chinese cultivars, recently developed by Jiao et al., reveals structural variants (SVs) shaped by cultural, dietary, and environmental changes. This resource provides access to East Asian wheat genetic diversity and supports genome-driven efforts to advance wheat improvement and adaptation to changing agricultural demands.

Hormones play vital roles in plant root development. Mathematical models have been employed to study hormone functions. However, models developed by different research groups focus on different aspects of hormones and therefore cannot be used to study root growth as an integrative system that involves the functions of all hormones. To use modeling to study root development, the crosstalk nature of hormones requires the further development of mathematical models to understand their interplay in the context of diverse experimental data. This opinion article discusses what new insights can be developed by modeling hormonal crosstalk beyond experimental data. We propose that one integrative model should be developed to integrate all experimental data for elucidating root growth.

Root age-dependent processes have remained poorly understood. Here, we define root age-related terms in their eco-/physiological context, provide a synthesis of read-outs and traits characterizing root senescence in different root types, and follow their modulation in the light of metabolic, hormonal, and genetic control. Evidence for an endogenously regulated senescence program in roots includes changes in root anatomy, metabolism, and color, decrease in root activity, increasing levels of stress-related hormones, and increasing expression of certain transcription factors (TFs) or genes involved in oxidative stress defense. Uncovering the genetic regulation of the developmental program steering root senescence is of great importance to establish a balanced view on whole-plant aging and improve resource efficiency in crops.

Crop microbiomes promote plant health through various mechanisms, including nutrient provisioning. However, agriculture neglected the importance of these microbiome-associated phenotypes (MAPs) in conventional management approaches originating from the Green Revolution. Green Revolution innovations, such as nitrogen fertilizers and high-yielding germplasm, supported an increase in global crop yields. Yet these advances also led to many environmental issues, including disruptions in microbially mediated nitrogen transformations that have reduced reliance on microbiomes for sustainable nitrogen acquisition. Overcoming the challenges introduced by the Green Revolution requires a shift toward ecologically informed agronomic strategies that incorporate MAPs into breeding and management decisions. Agriculture in the Anthropocene needs to mindfully manage crop microbiomes to decouple agrochemical inputs from profitable yields, minimizing the environmental repercussions of modern agriculture.

Current progress in plant genomics has uncovered important roles of transposable elements (TEs) in gene regulation and has transformed their perception from 'junk DNA' to key genomic players. Recent advances show how stress conditions trigger TE mobilization, introducing new regulatory sequences that can reshape plant responses to environmental changes. This review explores our current knowledge of how TEs, especially those located in gene-rich regions of plant genomes, regulate gene expression at different mechanistic levels. We highlight recent findings on how these elements influence transcriptional and epigenetic modifications as well as chromatin organization, and thus contribute to phenotypic diversity and plant adaptation. Understanding the regulatory potential of TEs creates novel opportunities for crop improvement and biotechnological applications, leading to a new hope for sustainable agriculture and innovation.

Agriculture faces the increasing demands of a growing global population amid simultaneous challenges to soils from climate change and human-induced contamination. Cover plants are vital in sustainable agriculture, contributing to soil health improvement, erosion prevention, and enhanced climate resilience, but their role in contaminant management is underexplored. Herein we review the utilization of cover plants for remediating contaminants such as metals, organic pollutants, nitrate, antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance genes, plastics, and salts. We explore phytoremediation strategies - including phytoextraction, phytodegradation, and phytostabilization - in cover plant management. We highlight the challenges of selecting effective cover plants and the need for biomass removal of non-biodegradable contaminants, and we advocate incorporating phytoremediation concepts into sustainable agricultural management practices beyond nutrient cycling and climate resilience.

In a recent study, Hou et al. developed a high-resolution, haplotype-based pangenome for moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), revealing significant genetic diversity and over 1000 climate-associated variants. Their findings highlight adaptive mechanisms for the ecological resilience of bamboo, providing crucial insights for climate-resilient breeding and conservation to ensure the long-term ecological and economic benefits of moso bamboo amid climate change.

C4 photosynthesis underpins the remarkable productivity of certain crops, including maize and sorghum. How the C4 pathway emerged from ancestral C3 relatives has been unclear. Swift et al. have deciphered how a pre-existing cis-regulatory code for bundle-sheath gene expression was conscripted to enable C4 photosynthesis.