Plant Stress最新文献

{"title":"Differential induction of autophagy and miRNA-mediated regulation modulate salt tolerance in contrasting rice varieties","authors":"Ashwini Talakayala ,&nbsp;Navdeep Kaur ,&nbsp;Wricha Tyagi ,&nbsp;Pratap Kumar Pati ,&nbsp;P.B. Kirti ,&nbsp;Isha Sharma","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101200","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101200","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Salinity stress is a major abiotic constraint to rice cultivation, limiting growth and yield worldwide. Autophagy, a conserved recycling pathway, and microRNAs (miRNAs), key post-transcriptional regulators, are emerging as central players in stress adaptation, yet their integrated roles in salinity tolerance remain unclear. Here, we compared physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of two salt-sensitive (IR64, BPT5204) and two salt-tolerant (CSR23, Luna Sankhi) rice varieties under salinity stress. Sensitive varieties showed growth inhibition, oxidative damage, and ion imbalance, whereas tolerant varieties maintained stronger antioxidant activity, selective K⁺ uptake, and osmolyte accumulation. Microscopy and gene expression analyses revealed earlier and stronger autophagy induction in sensitive lines, with differential regulation of <em>ATG5, ATG8d,</em> and <em>ATG12</em> genes. Heterologous expression of these genes in <em>E. coli</em> enhanced tolerance to salt and osmotic stress, suggesting possible non-canonical roles. Small RNA sequencing indicated salt-stress led upregulation of miRNAs in sensitive varieties targeting autophagy, ion transport, redox balance, and growth pathways. qRT-PCR validation identified <em>osa-miR1432-5p, osa-miR-1861e</em>, and <em>osa-miR-1874-3p</em> as key regulators of autophagy, redox balance, and ionic homeostasis in contrasting genotypes. Notably, <em>osa-miR1432-5p</em> is predicted to target <em>TOR</em> (Target of Rapamycin), a master autophagy regulator, providing a potential direct link between miRNA control and autophagy activation in salt-sensitive rice. These regulatory modules, together with physiological and transcriptional adjustments, distinguish the proactive tolerance of CSR and LS from the reactive stress response of IR and BPT. GO enrichment analysis revealed that BPT suppresses growth and metabolic pathways under salinity, while CSR sustains redox regulation, peroxisomal function, and ion transport, conferring superior stress tolerance. Together, these findings demonstrate that autophagy and miRNA-mediated regulation shape contrasting salinity responses in rice. Tolerant varieties appear to adopt more proactive adaptive responses, while sensitive varieties rely on rapid but costly induction of autophagy and miRNAs. These insights highlight autophagy–miRNA interactions as a potential target for engineering salt-resilient rice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101200"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The rhizobium symbiosis in Medicago truncatula induces a priming-like response and enhances drought tolerance","authors":"Ramadoss Dhanuskodi ,&nbsp;Yanni Dong ,&nbsp;Cory Matthew ,&nbsp;Tsanko Gechev ,&nbsp;Paul P. Dijkwel","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101229","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101229","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Legumes can fix nitrogen (N) by symbiotic N-fixation (SNF) through association with rhizobia. However, this comes at a higher carbon cost to the host as compared to direct N fertiliser uptake. We therefore hypothesised that the energy-intensive symbiosis process imposes additional growth and yield penalties to the SNF-dependent host under drought.</div><div><em>Medicago truncatula</em> seedlings were either rhizobium-inoculated or N-fertilised, drought stress was applied 20 days post inoculation by withholding water for 12 days, and physiological and transcriptomic responses were measured.</div><div>Physiological analysis revealed that drought similarly reduced leaf water status in both rhizobium-inoculated and N-fertilised plants. However, only rhizobium-inoculated plants sustained N-acquisition and growth. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that these plants pre-activated jasmonic acid, proline, and trehalose biosynthesis before the onset of drought stress, and induced stress-tolerance hormone pathways in response to the drought. In contrast, N-fertilised plants acquired less N, upregulated ethylene biosynthesis and senescence, and induced strong death responses. Remarkably, despite contrasting molecular strategies, both plants achieved similar dry matter and yield when drought conditions continued throughout the plants’ lifecycle.</div><div>Contrary to our hypothesis, the results suggested that rhizobium-inoculated plants activated a tolerance mechanism through a priming-like response and sustained N-fixation under drought stress, whereas N-fertilised plants induced a contrasting survival strategy based on growth cessation and leaf senescence. This study advances our understanding of the distinct survival mechanisms of SNF-dependent and N-fertilised legumes under drought, and provides critical insights for advancing sustainable and climate-resilient crops by harnessing rhizobial symbiosis benefits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101229"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The significance of microbial-root symbioses for the salt tolerance of N2-fixing plants","authors":"Qiuling Hui ,&nbsp;Emmanouil Flemetakis ,&nbsp;Heinz Rennenberg ,&nbsp;Bin Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101212","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101212","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil salinization and its accompanying soil degradation pose a major threat to plant growth and the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Therefore, exploring methods to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation of saline soils has been the focus of current research. The symbiosis between biological nitrogen-fixing (BNF) plants and rhizosphere microorganisms plays a crucial role in improving plant resilience and to cope with salt stress. Especially the interaction between nitrogen (N₂)-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi can mitigate the negative effects of salt stress on N₂-fixing plants. However, a comprehensive review on the mechanisms of interaction between N₂-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi that confer salt tolerance to N₂-fixing plants is still lacking. In this review, we summarize the effects of salt stress on N₂-fixing plants and their root colonizing microorganisms with a focus on mechanisms of interaction between N₂-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi under salt stress. These interactions enhance host plant resilience through nutrient complementation, hormonal regulation, and improved antioxidant capacity, but may also be antagonistic through nutrient competition. Finally, we identified research gaps of the analyses of the tripartite symbioses of N₂-fixing plants, N₂-fixing bacteria, and mycorrhizal fungi to elucidate future research directions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101212"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Broad bean wilt virus 2 movement protein VP37 relocalizes the host co-chaperone HOP from the nucleus to plasmodesmata to promote viral intercellular movement","authors":"Seok-Yeong Jang ,&nbsp;Myung-Hwi Kim ,&nbsp;Sora Kim ,&nbsp;Buyoung Kim ,&nbsp;Andika Septiana Suryaningsih ,&nbsp;Yu Lim Park ,&nbsp;Sun-Jung Kwon ,&nbsp;Jang-Kyun Seo","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101216","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101216","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant viruses exploit host cellular machinery to fold, stabilize, and target their movement proteins (MPs) to plasmodesmata (PD), enabling viral cell-to-cell and systemic spread. In this study, we identified <em>Nicotiana benthamiana</em> HSP70–HSP90 organizing protein (NbHOP) as a proviral host factor that interacts with the Broad bean wilt virus 2 (BBWV2) MP, VP37. Yeast two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed a specific interaction between VP37 and NbHOP. Subcellular localization analyses showed that NbHOP, which predominantly accumulates in the nucleus, is relocalized to PD upon co-expression with VP37 or during BBWV2 infection. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation confirmed that VP37 and NbHOP directly interact at PD. Domain mapping further demonstrated that the C-terminal region of TPR2B domain in NbHOP is required for VP37 binding. Functional assays demonstrated that NbHOP is essential for efficient BBWV2 infection: <em>NbHOP</em> silencing significantly reduced both systemic infection and cell-to-cell movement, whereas its overexpression enhanced viral cell-to-cell movement. Together with our previous finding that VP37 associates with HSP90, these results support a model in which VP37 co-opts the HSP90–HOP module to ensure proper folding, stabilization, and tubule formation at PD. This study uncovers an unrecognized role of HOP in plant–virus interactions and highlights the conserved HSP90–HOP chaperone complex as a key host machinery exploited for viral intercellular trafficking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101216"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reduced leaf size enhances photosynthetic acclimation to high-light under heat stress by enhancing hydraulic conductance in rice","authors":"Qiangqiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiu Deng ,&nbsp;Xinzheng Han ,&nbsp;Jian Ke ,&nbsp;Haibing He ,&nbsp;Cuicui You ,&nbsp;Liquan Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101199","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101199","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improving the adaptability of rice leaves to high-light under heat stress is essential for maximizing photosynthetic efficiency. This study examined the responses of leaf gas exchange and hydraulic parameters to intense light under heat stress (40 °C) in wild type (<em>Nipponbare</em>) and four genetically modified rice varieties (<em>NAL1-K, NAL1-O, Ghd7.1-K,</em> and <em>Ghd7.1-O</em>) that exhibited significant differences in leaf area (<em>LA</em>). When measured irradiance increased from 1000 to 2000 μmol m^-2 s^-1 under heat stress, the changes of photosynthetic rate (<em>A</em>₂₀₀₀<em>-A</em>₁₀₀₀) ranged from -2.8 μmol m^-2 s^-1 in <em>NAL1-O</em> to 14.9 μmol m^-2 s^-1 in <em>NAL1-K</em>. A negative correlation between <em>A</em>₂₀₀₀<em>-A</em>₁₀₀₀ and <em>LA</em> was observed. The varying responses of <em>A</em> to high-light were primarily associated with stomatal conductance (<em>g</em>_s). Enhanced leaf hydraulic conductance (<em>K</em>_leaf) facilitated the <em>g</em>_s response to high-light under heat stress conditions. Furthermore, this study revealed that, under high-light and heat stress conditions, <em>K</em>_leaf is predominantly regulated by leaf hydraulic conductance inside the xylem (<em>K</em>_x), and reduced <em>LA</em> can significantly improve <em>K</em>_x. These findings demonstrate that reducing <em>LA</em> can enhance <em>K</em>_leaf, thereby improving the response of <em>A</em> to high-light under heat stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101199"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular mechanisms of melatonin in mitigating compound salt stress in Sophora alopecuroides revealed by physiological and transcriptomic profiling","authors":"Youwei Zhang ,&nbsp;Rui Geng ,&nbsp;Guokang Chen ,&nbsp;Shuai Yuan ,&nbsp;Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Heping Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101182","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101182","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Melatonin is a conserved multifunctional signaling molecule in plants, which regulates many developmental processes and responds to stress. Although many studies have involved melatonin in plants, it is not clear whether the application of exogenous melatonin can improve their tolerance to salt damage NaCl + Na₂SO₄ (2:1). This study investigated the effects of different concentrations of melatonin (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 μmol·L^-1) on seed germination, physiological characteristics, and transcriptome (12d) of <em>Sophora alopecuroides</em> under salt stress at different time (3d, 6d, 9d and 12d). The results showed that on the 12th day of salt stress, the germination rate (37.88 %), radicle (16.67 %), germ (38.87 %), total chlorophyll content (72.48 %), transpiration rate (45.17 %) decreased, and H₂O₂ (24.26 %), malondialdehyde content (10.95 %) increased. In particular, exogenous melatonin at 50 μmol·L^-1can improve the germination index of <em>Sophora alopecuroides</em> seeds under salt stress, increase plant growth, biomass accumulation, root activity, regulate stomatal conductance and intercellular CO₂ concentration, and improve photosynthetic efficiency. In addition, exogenous melatonin also reduced MDA content and reactive oxygen species (ROS)accumulation, alleviated oxidative damage and increased enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, including catalase, superoxide dismutase, polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, flavonoids and carotenoids. Exogenous melatonin also promoted the accumulation of growth-related endogenous hormones (GA, IAA, MT) and the ability to change gene expression patterns. Discussion Transcriptomics analysis revealed significant changes in gene expression, especially in the comparison of T0 and T1 treatment groups. 4761 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including arginine and proline metabolism, zeatin biosynthesis, pentose and glucuronic acid mutual transformation, galactose metabolism, and peroxisome synthesis pathways, which are essential for plant responses to salt stress. Our results provide preliminary mechanistic insights into how melatonin alleviates the combined salt stress of <em>S. alopecuroides</em>, and lay the foundation for molecular breeding strategies to enhance the salt tolerance of this crop.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101182"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role mechanism of miRNA regulating anther dehiscence in soybean under high temperature stress","authors":"Xianguan Zhi ,&nbsp;Jiahui Yao ,&nbsp;Shu Yao,&nbsp;Wenqi Deng,&nbsp;Ling Yan,&nbsp;Huihui Zhai,&nbsp;Chi Huang,&nbsp;Kaiyue Guo,&nbsp;Yang Gao,&nbsp;Chenchen Wang,&nbsp;XiaoBo Wang,&nbsp;Jiajia Li","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101156","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101156","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-temperature (HT) stress impairs soybean yield by disrupting anther function. miRNAs are critical regulators of plant stress responses, but their roles in soybean anther thermotolerance remain largely unexplored. We performed small RNA sequencing of anthers from HT-tolerant (JD21) and HT-sensitive (HD14) soybean lines under HT and control conditions. Comparative analysis revealed that HT- stress JD21 anthers (TJA) exhibited 16 up-regulated and 19 down-regulated differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) compared to controls (CJA), while HT-stress HD14 anthers (THA) showed 17 up-regulated and 24 down-regulated DEMs relative to its control (CHA). The HD14 exhibited more DEMs, potentially explaining JD21′s superior HT resistance. Integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression identified 23 DEMs with targeted regulatory relationships to 43 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (<em>p&lt;0.05</em>). Bioinformatics analysis indicated that these target genes were primarily enriched in metabolic and cellular processes, response to stimuli, calvin cycle carbon fixation, and carbon metabolism. From this group, eight candidate miRNAs, including <em>novel-m0226–5p</em> (<em>miR226–5p</em>), <em>miR5037c</em>, and <em>miR159e-5p</em>, were selected for further investigation. Functional validation in <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> demonstrated that overexpression of <em>miR226–5p, miR5037c</em>, or <em>miR159e-5p</em> resulted in premature anthers non-dehiscence under HT stress, respectively. Furthermore, <em>miR159e-5p</em> overexpression lines specifically showed significantly reduced expression of heat shock transcription factors (HSFA1s) and heat shock proteins (HSPs), supporting a role for this miRNA in regulating thermotolerance. This study establishes as a central regulator of the soybean anther HT response via modulation of the HSFA1s-HSPs network, providing molecular insights into thermotolerance and potential targets for breeding HT-resistant soybean varieties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101156"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decoding the genomic landscape of class III peroxidase family in Saccharum officinarum and the immune role of ScPOD01","authors":"Yachun Su ,&nbsp;Zhuqing Wang ,&nbsp;Yurong Luo ,&nbsp;Qiugang Ding ,&nbsp;Yifei Xia ,&nbsp;Shoujian Zang ,&nbsp;Tingting Sun ,&nbsp;Khushi Muhammad ,&nbsp;Chuihuai You ,&nbsp;Youxiong Que","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Class III peroxidases (PODs) are crucial for plant growth and stress responses, yet few have been characterized in sugarcane (<em>Saccharum</em> spp.). In this study, elevated POD activity was detected across eight sugarcane genotypes during their interaction with <em>Sporisorium scitamineum</em>, suggesting a role in smut defense. To further explore this gene family, 174 <em>SoPOD</em> genes, classified into seven subgroups, were identified in <em>S. officinarum</em> LA-purple. Family expansion primarily was assumed to result from whole-genome/segmental duplications (83.90 %), with Ka/Ks &lt; 1 in 92.86 % of gene pairs. <em>SoPOD</em> promoters were enriched in stress- and hormone-related <em>cis</em>-regulatory elements. Transcriptome data revealed that <em>SoPOD</em> expression was tissue-specific and responsive to cold, drought, and <em>S. scitamineum</em> infection. Notably, <em>SoPOD30</em> was exclusively upregulated in the resistant cultivar after infection but undetectable in the susceptible one. Its homolog <em>ScPOD01</em> was subsequently isolated from sugarcane hybrid cultivars and shown to possess a canonical four-exon/three-intron gene structure and plasma membrane localization. Real-time quantitative PCR demonstrated <em>ScPOD01</em> induction by <em>S. scitamineum</em> infection across all eight cultivars and under various abiotic stresses (abscisic acid, methyl jasmonate, hydrogen peroxide, polyethylene glycol, and sodium chloride). Interestingly, the transient expression of <em>ScPOD01</em> in <em>Nicotiana benthamiana</em> activated immune responses, as evidenced by intensified DAB staining and upregulation of hypersensitive reaction- and SA-related genes, however its prokaryotic expression did not enhance bacterial stress tolerance. These findings uncover the evolutionary diversification and expression specificity of the sugarcane POD family and elucidate the immune function of <em>ScPOD01</em>, laying a foundation for understanding <em>POD</em> roles in sugarcane disease resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101218"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Involvement of genomic variations and m6A modification in differential gene expression related to environmental responses: A subspecies-level study in plants","authors":"Zedi Feng ,&nbsp;Jiacen Wang ,&nbsp;Zhifang Jiang ,&nbsp;Xiaomei Wu ,&nbsp;Jia Yao ,&nbsp;Wenyuan Wu ,&nbsp;Chaogang Shao ,&nbsp;Xiaoxia Ma ,&nbsp;Yijun Meng","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants are sessile organisms vulnerable to environmental fluctuations. For survival, they have developed fascinating strategies to respond to the environmental stimuli. However, the molecular basis underlying the differentiated environmental responses among distinct plant species or subspecies remains under investigation. In this study, seven <em>Arabidopsis</em> ecotypes (Col-0 as the reference) and six rice varieties (Nipponbare as the reference) with distinct habitat parameters were selected to explore the molecular clues. Based on the transcriptome-wide m⁶A profiles, 1,428 to 3,099, and 1,295 to 2,766 differential m⁶A peaks associated with the protein-coding genes were identified from distinct subspecies of <em>Arabidopsis</em> and rice respectively. These peaks are highly enriched at the 3′ ends of the transcripts, and the genes containing higher numbers of the exons are more susceptible to hypo-methylation. Orthologous gene analysis showed that around 30% of the differential peak-associated genes shared common functions between <em>Arabidopsis</em> and rice. Functional annotations and analysis of the stress-treated methylome data supported the involvement of the differential peak-associated genes in environmental responses. In-depth mechanism study showed that both m⁶A modification and SNPs were likely to have a direct impact on differential exon expression. The influence of m⁶A modification was also observed on the expression of circRNAs whose host genes are environment-responsive. Summarily, our results provided the genomic and epitranscriptomic clues for the differential expression of the stress-responsive genes which might lead to the differential environmental responses at the subspecies level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101245"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146022520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plant drought tolerance was enhanced by positively regulating endogenous protective enzymes activities and phytohormones levels in a clonal plant of A. trewioides","authors":"Yuli Huang ,&nbsp;Wenting Yuan ,&nbsp;Lei Zhang ,&nbsp;Pan Yang ,&nbsp;Li Huang ,&nbsp;Jiangming Ma ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Zhang ,&nbsp;Haimiao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2025.101206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Clonal integration enables ramets to share resources by stolon, enhancing their adaptability to patches of heterogeneous resource supply in clonal plants. However, how clonal plants regulate photosynthetic capacity, endogenous protective enzymes and phytohormones to survive from heterogeneous drought were poorly understood. A pot experiment was conducted under heterogeneous drought conditions in mother and daughter plants in <em>A. trewioides.</em> Experiment treatments included (ⅰ) both well-watered mother and daughter plants (CK), (ⅱ) mother plant exposed to drought (SRWC of 45 ± 5 % for 9 days) + daughter plant well-watered (T₁), and (ⅲ) mother plant well-watered + daughter plant exposed to drought (T₂). Results showed that chlorophyll content and photosynthetic parameters were significantly reduced in drought plants whatever mother or daughter plants. However, daughter plants performed more vulnerable than mother plants when they were suffering from drought stress. Besides, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in mother plants were significantly increased for treatment T₁ compared with CK. In comparison, H₂O_2, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were significantly increased by 41.87 %, 15.68 % and 11.70 % in daughter plants for treatment T₁ compared with CK. Moreover, abscisic acid (ABA) level was remarkedly increased in mother plants for treatment T₁ relative to CK. Simultaneously, brassinosteroid (BR) and zeaxanthin (ZT) levels in daughter plants exhibited a significant increasing trend during rewatering stage for treatment T₁ relative to CK. Furthermore, SOD and catalase (CAT) in daughter plants were notably increased by 142.28 % and 21.8 % for treatment T₂ compared with CK. Interestingly, CAT and ABA were also increased by 33.54 % and 19.6 % in mother plants for treatment T₂ compared with CK. Therefore, we concluded that clonal plants could up-regulated SOD, CAT and POD activities as well as phytohormones such as ABA, BR and ZT levels both in mother and daughter plants whoever suffering from drought stress, more interestingly, mother plants would enhanced activities of some endogenous protective enzyme and phytohormone, eg. CAT and ABA, in despite of mother plant well-watered, when connected daughter plant was exposed to drought stress, thereby promoting their adaptive capacity. These results were expected to provide a theoretical basis for understanding physiological integration characteristic to promote their adaptions to drought environmental surroundings in clonal plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 101206"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145924647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}