Spike development is a key factor in determining wheat yield, and cold tolerance during the spike’s vulnerable stages is essential for preserving both fertility and productivity.  This study presents a comprehensive characterization of the apical spike aberrance mutant lwasa-B1, which was generated through ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis of the wheat cultivar Chuannong 16, and its response to low-temperature stress.  The mutant lwasa-B1 exhibited reduced cold tolerance, with a critical temperature threshold identified between 13-15°C.  Under low-temperature stress, lwasa-B1 showed delayed growth, increased tillering, and varying degrees of spike degradation.  Compared to the wild type, lwasa-B1 demonstrated significantly lower enzymatic activities of catalase, peroxidase, and auxin, while levels of malondialdehyde and gibberellin were markedly higher. Integrated metabolomic and transcriptome analyses suggest that lwasa-B1 may be implicated in plant hormone signal transduction and phenylpropanoid metabolic regulation pathways.  A target gene was mapped to the chromosome arm 4BS, within a 2.07 Mb region, bounded by the markers k_sau_4B_17478331 and k_sau_4B_19541181. The integrated analysis, encompassing BSE-Seq, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, has identified TraesCS4B02G023800 as a potentially key gene associated with lwasa-B1.  This research delineates the phenotypic and physiological responses of lwasa-B1 to low-temperature stress and nominates a candidate gene potentially responsible for spike degradation.  The study provides a preliminary dissection of the regulatory mechanisms underlying spike degradation in wheat under low-temperature stress, contributing significant insights for wheat breeding programs.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major food crop grown worldwide; yet, field-grown wheat is generally restricted to only one generation per year and has a fluctuating yield, limiting wheat improvement and failing to meet future food demand.  To minimize generation time and increase total annually wheat production, five light regimens with varied day length and spectral distribution, including 12 h light/12 h dark+white light (P12W), 17 h light/7 h dark+white light (P17W), 22 h light/2 h dark+white light (P22W), 22 h light/2 h dark+red:green:blue light=6:3:2 (P22RGB), and 22 h light/2 h dark+red:blue light=6:1 (P22RB), were developed by adjusting the light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the controlled environment.  The results showed that controlled wheat agriculture illuminated by LED sources equipped with various day lengths and spectral distributions had the potential for “faster” and “more” grain production.  Prolonged day length (from 12 h to 17 h and then to 22 h) accelerated wheat development, particularly shortening the duration before flowering, and that the longer the prolonged time, the earlier the flowering.  However, 22 h day length (e.g., P22W treatment) would affect plant morphological traits, reduce dry matter accumulation, and result in a loss of yield-related components due to increased stress and disrupted pollen development.  Surprisingly, regulating the spectral distribution towards the red-light region under long-day conditions (e.g., P22RB treatment) could partially restore the grain yield of wheat.  The light regime with a rich red-light region contributed to dry matter accumulation, carbohydrate flow to reproductive tissues, and sporopollenin biosynthesis, resulting in improved plant morphology and grain yield in wheat.  Collectively, the optimized light regimes, represented by P17W and P22RB treatments in controlled environment agriculture, can produce 5-6 generations of wheat per year, yielding 3.16-5.87 kg m^-2 yr^-1, which is 3.59-6.68 times higher than field cultivation.  Thus, conducting appropriate LED light regimens is a favorable way to achieve the dual goals of “faster and more” in controlled wheat cultivation. 

Flower and fruit abscission reduce crop yield, so decreasing abscission is a significant agricultural issue. HAESA (HAE) and HAESA-like2 (HSL2) kinases and its ligand, INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA) peptide, have been confirmed to be the core elements regulating floral organ abscission in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our earlier research revealed that SlIDL6, a homolog of IDA in tomato, functions similarly to AtIDA regulating the abscission of tomato flower organs. Here, we further isolated three HAESA-like homologs, SlHSL1/2/3, which are involved in tomato flower abscission. SlHSL1/2/3 are highly expressed in the abscission zone (AZ). The knockout mutant lines of Slhsl1, Slhsl2, and Slhsl3 showed lower flower pedicel abscission than wildtype (WT). The double mutant of Slhsl1Slhsl2, Slhsl1Slhsl3, and Slhsl2Slhsl3 further depressed abscission than each of the single mutant lines, while triple mutants Slhsl1Slhsl2Slhsl3 exhibited the lowest abscission, indicating that SlHSL1/2/3 mediated abscission is non-redundancy, at least partially. Treating tomato pedicel explants with SlIDL6 peptide significantly accelerated pedicel abscission in WT, but had little effect on the abscission rate of SlHSL1/2/3 knockout lines, indicating that SlHSL1/2/3 are the receptors of SlIDL6 in pedicel abscission. Ethylene action inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) can significantly depress the expression of SlHSL1/2/3. Ethylene can significantly accelerate the abscission of WT, while the less abscission was found in SlHSL1/2/3 knockout lines. Taken together, our findings indicate that SlHSL1/2/3 can act as receptors for SlIDL6 to positively regulate tomato pedicel abscission and the abscission regulated by SlHSL1/2/3 were partially dependent on ethylene.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute, hemorrhagic disease caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), with a mortality up to 100%. The disease poses a seriously threat to the global swine industry, yet no commercial vaccines or antiviral drugs are available other than in Vietnam. ASFV attenuation through serial passages is a key approach for vaccine development. In this study, a cell-adapted virus, named HLJ18/BK33, was successfully generated by serially passaging the ASFV Pig/HLJ/18 in wild boar kidney cells (BK2258). This adapted virus exhibited clear cytopathic effects (CPE) and replicated stably and efficiently in BK2258 cells and porcine alveolar macrophages. Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that, compared with the Pig/HLJ/18 virus, HLJ18/BK33 had a large deletion of 6162 bp from sites 181,027 to 187,188, and four single nucleotide deletions that led to frameshift mutations, resulting in the truncated expression of three open reading frames (ORFs) (ASFV_G_ACD_00120, ASFV_G_ACD_00350, and A179L), and the fusion expression of two ORFs (MGF_110-14L and MGF_110-11L). Additionally, four genes exhibited missense mutations, leading to single amino acid changes. Five pigs intramuscularly inoculated with 10⁶ TCID₅₀ of HLJ18/BK33 remained healthy with normal body temperatures and no clinical signs, indicating a high attenuation of virulence for HLJ18/BK33 in pigs. Upon challenge with the parental Pig/HLJ/18 virus, four of the five inoculated pigs developed persistent high fever and ASF-related clinical signs and died within 13 days of the challenge; the remaining pig developed transient fever but survived until the end of the observation period. These results indicate that the HLJ18/BK33 virus is highly attenuated but cannot induce protection against the parental virulent virus. Even though the HLJ18/BK33 virus is not a good vaccine candidate, its stable replication and distinct CPE in BK2258 cells as well as its low biosafety risk make it a valuable resource for studies on virus-host interactions, antiviral drug screening, diagnostic methods, and biological characteristics. 

猪圆环病毒3型（Porcine circovirus type 3, PCV3）是一种新发病原体，可感染猪、犬、牛、小鼠等多种动物。此前，已有多种间接酶联免疫吸附试验（iELISA）用于检测猪体内PCV3抗体。本研究首次以杆状病毒表达系统（BEVS）制备的PCV3衣壳蛋白（Cap）作为包被抗原，建立了一种双抗原夹心ELISA（DAgS-ELISA），用于检测不同动物血清中的PCV3抗体。利用该方法，对2022年至2024年中国17个省份的猪血清样本进行了大规模血清学调查，结果显示猪群PCV3血清阳性率为55.7%，其中母猪阳性率显著高于其他群体，达86.3%。此外，该方法成功检测到牛和犬血清中的PCV3抗体，阳性率分别为7.7%和4.4%。进一步研究还将其应用于马、昆明小鼠及20种野生动物血清样本的检测，首次在马体内检出PCV3抗体，表明PCV3的宿主范围进一步扩大。本研究结果证实了PCV3具有广泛的宿主谱，同时表明DAgS-ELISA是一种高效、可靠的血清学检测工具，对PCV3的流行病学监测及防控具有重要意义。

Melon is a globally cultivated horticultural crop with a predominantly hybrid commercial seed market in China. Seedling morphology, particularly hypocotyl color, is a valuable trait for rapid F1 hybrid seed purity assessment. While green hypocotyls are common, white hypocotyls are rare in melon germplasm. In this study, we identified a mutant with white hypocotyl but green leaves from the heavy ion beam mutant library. Genetic analysis revealed that the white hypocotyl was controlled by a single recessive gene, designated CmGhc1. A single-base deletion in the fifth exon of CmGhc1 led to a truncated CmGhc1 lacking the HTH-MYB DNA binding domain, likely affecting its transcriptional activity. CmGhc1 was localized in the nucleus, and yeast two-hybrid analysis along with a dual-LUC assay demonstrated it as a transcription repressor. Furthermore, a KASP marker (hc1) was developed and verified as a functional marker for breeding white hypocotyl germplasms in melon. RNA-seq data revealed that CmGhc1 significantly affected the transcription of genes related to chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis in hypocotyl. In summary, these findings contribute to our understanding of chloroplast biogenesis and provide a valuable tool for melon breeding.

Nitrogen use efficiency in rice is lower than in upland crops, likely due to differences in soil nitrogen dynamics and crop nitrogen preferences. However, the specific nitrogen dynamics in paddy and upland systems and their impact on crop nitrogen uptake remain poorly understood. The N dynamics and impact on crop N uptake determine the downstream environmental pollution from nitrogen fertilizer. To address this poor understanding, we analyzed 2,044 observations of gross nitrogen transformation rates in soils from 136 studies to examine nitrogen dynamics in both systems and their effects on nitrogen uptake in rice and upland crops. Our findings revealed that nitrogen mineralization and autotrophic nitrification rates are lower in paddies than in upland soil, while dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium is higher in paddies, these differences being driven by flooding and lower total nitrogen content in paddies. Rice exhibited higher ammonium uptake, while upland crops had over twice the nitrate uptake. Autotrophic nitrification stimulated by pH reduced rice nitrogen uptake, while heterotrophic nitrification enhanced nitrogen uptake of upland crops. Autotrophic nitrification played a key role in regulating the ammonium-to-nitrate ratio in soils, which further affected the balance of plant nitrogen uptake. These results highlight the need to align soil nitrogen dynamics with crop nitrogen preferences to maximize plant maximize productivity and reduce reactive nitrogen pollution.

The eutrophication of rivers and lakes is becoming increasingly common, primarily because of pollution from agricultural non-point sources. We investigated the effects of optimized water and fertilizer treatments on agricultural non-point source pollution in the Nansi Lake region. The water heat carbon nitrogen simulator model was used to analyze water and nitrogen transport in Nansi Lake wheat fields. Four water and fertilizer treatments were set up: conventional fertilization and irrigation (CK), reduced controlled-release fertilizer and conventional irrigation (F2W1), an equal amount of controlled-release fertilizer and reduced irrigation (F1W2), and reduced controlled-release fertilizer and reduced irrigation (F2W2). The results indicated that the replacement of conventional fertilizers with controlled-release fertilizers, combined with reduced irrigation, led to reduced nitrogen loss. Compared with those of the CK, the cumulative nitrogen leaching and ammonia volatilization of F2W1 were reduced by 8.90 and 41.67%, respectively; under F1W2, the same parameters were reduced by 12.50 and 15.99%, respectively. Compared with the other treatments, F2W2 significantly reduced nitrogen loss while producing a stable yield. Compared with those of the CK, ammonia volatilization and nitrogen loss due to leaching were reduced by 29.17 and 27.13%, respectively, water and nitrogen use efficiencies increased by 11.38 and 17.80%, respectively. F2W2 showed the best performance among the treatments, considering water and fertilizer management. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of optimizing water and fertilizer application in improving the water and nitrogen use efficiency of wheat, which is of great significance for mitigating nitrogen loss from farmland in the Nansi Lake region.

Research on the yield-enhancing mechanisms of maize through ‘smart’ plant morphology under dense planting conditions is a critical focus in modern agriculture.  However, the issue of yield stability in dense-planted maize, particularly regarding lodging resistance, remains insufficiently examined in the academic literature.  A three-year field experiment was conducted using three hybrids (XD20, DH618 and DH605) and three plant density treatments (6.0×10⁴, 7.5×10⁴, and 9.0×10⁴ plants ha^-1) to investigate the effects of planting density on lodging resistance and yield of summer maize hybrids with different plant morphologies.  According to the results, increasing planting density significantly boosted the yield of DH605, while the yields of XD20 and DH618 exhibited an initial increase followed by stabilization.  Compared to the low-density (L) treatment, the height parameters and center of gravity of summer maize under the high-density (H) treatment were significantly elevated.  This was accompanied by a pronounced reduction in light transmittance within the bottom and ear layers, a decrease in the mechanical strength of basal internodes, and an increased risk of lodging, particularly for the XD20 hybrid.  DH605 improved mechanical strength by enhancing the light distribution within the ear and bottom layers, and by optimizing basal internode characteristics.  Ultimately, the grain yield under the DH605-H treatment increased by 10.68 to 34.11% relative to XD20-H, with a concurrent reduction in lodging rates ranging from 72.66 to 92.29%.  Cellulose content within basal internodes and the total area of vascular bundles in the outer layer were key factors, explaining 61.70% of mechanical strength variance.  Therefore, high planting density significantly increased yield but also lodging susceptibility.  Optimizing plant morphology improved canopy light distribution, dry matter composition and anatomical structure of basal internodes, enhancing lodging resistance and grain yield in densely planted maize. 

Drought is one of the important stress factors affecting the growth and development process of wheat in China’s arid zones, which severely limits the yield.  This study examined the impact of deficit irrigation on the flag leaf protection system and yield of drip-irrigated spring wheat during the growth stages in arid zones.  Additionally, the study aimed to explicate the optimal water supply mode for efficient production under drip irrigation conditions and to provide technical support for water-saving and high-yield cultivation of drip-irrigated wheat.  The experiment was conducted with the split plot design, utilization the water-sensitive variety Xinchun 22 (XC22) and the drought-tolerant variety Xinchun 6 (XC6) as the main plot, while the fully irrigated control (CK, 75-80% FC, FC is field water holding capacity), mild deficit (T1, 60-65% FC) and moderate deficit (T2, 45-50% FC) at tillering stage, and mild deficit (J1, 60-65% FC) and moderate deficit (J2, 45-50% FC) at jointing stage were used as the subplot.  Systematic study were conducted on the regulatory effects of deficit irrigation during tillering and jointing stages on protective substances, membrane lipid metabolism, endogenous hormones in flag leaf, and yield of spring wheat.  Compared with T2 and J2 treatments, T1 and J1 treatments was beneficial for increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), proline (Pro), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), zeatin riboside (ZR), IAA/ABA, ZR/ABA, IAA/ZR, and (IAA+ZR)/ABA, while reducing the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide anion radicals (O₂^-), malondialdehyde (MDA), phosphatidic acid (PA), free fatty acids (FFA), abscisic acid (ABA), phospholipase D (PLD), and lipoxygenase (LOX), alleviating flag leaf senescence, and increasing yield.  Under T1 treatment, the SOD, POD, CAT, and Pro levels of flag leaves in XC6 were 11.14, 8.08, 12.98, and 3.66% higher than those of CK treatment, and under J1 treatment, they were 6.43, 4.49, 7.36, and 2.50% higher than those of CK treatment.  Under T1 treatment in XC6, the IAA, ZR levels of flag leaf, spike number, grains per spike, 1,000 grain weight and yield were 10.50, 5.79, 3.10, 8.84, 3.78, and 10.52% higher than those of CK treatment, and under J1 treatment, they were 5.36, 3.94, 2.40, 3.72, 1.37, and 4.46% higher than those of CK treatment.  Compared with XC22, XC6 was more conducive to the improvement of flag leaf protective substances, IAA, ZR, dry matter weight, yield components and yield.  The correlation analysis showed significant positive correlation between IAA and ZR with SOD, POD, CAT, proline, and yield.  IAA and ZR promoted the enhancement of protective enzyme activity, thereby clearing reactive oxygen species to cope with oxidative stress caused by drought and achieve the effect of delaying senescence.  Principal component analysis showed that yield components, dry matter weight, had a direct effect on yield.  Mild deficiency during tillering stage without water stress in other stages could effectively optimize yield components, not only achieved high yield while increasing protective substances, but also reduced reactive oxygen species content.  It could be recommended as a water-saving and high-yield production mode for drip irrigation of spring wheat in Xinjiang.

High temperature (HT) is a critical abiotic stress factor that negatively impacts maize yield and quality worldwide.  Although the effects of HT during key growth stages are extensively documented, the distinct influences of daytime versus nighttime HT on the physicochemical properties of waxy maize starch remain largely unexplored.  In this study, the effects of daytime and nighttime HT on the physicochemical properties of waxy maize starch were investigated using two waxy maize hybrids as materials.  Temperature treatments included ambient temperature (NN), daytime HT (DH), nighttime HT (NH), and whole-day HT (DNH), which were applied from 1 to 15 days after pollination.  The three HT stresses significantly inhibited starch synthesis and accumulation, increased the number of pores on the starch granule surface, enlarged starch granule size, enhanced relative crystallinity, and shortened the chain length and branching degree of amylopectin.  The most severe effects were observed under DNH, followed by DH.  DH and DNH reduced starch pasting viscosity and gelatinization enthalpy while increasing starch retrogradation through mechanisms involving enlargement of granule size, increased relative crystallinity, and reduced branching and chain length of amylopectin.  NH increased gelatinization enthalpy and retrogradation and decreased starch pasting viscosity primarily by shortening the chain length of amylopectin.  By elucidating the mechanisms through which daytime and nighttime HT affect starch physicochemical properties, this study provides valuable insights into optimizing waxy maize production in response to climate change challenges.

Leaf color-changing during the later reproductive period of rice is directly related to the photoassimilate accumulation and nutrient reuse, finally affects grain filling and yield.  This study aimed to explore an assessment model to depict leaf color-changing process, and extract parameters to precisely distinguish leaf color-changing differences among different treatments and varieties.  A total of 31 rice varieties were selected as field experiment materials in 2019 and 2023, the SPAD values of flag leaf, 2nd leaf and 3rd leaf were measured after heading, which were normalized to the leaf color index (CI).  A functional model for the variation of leaf color index (CI) with time (t) in the late reproductive stage of rice was established based on CI=at²+bt+c, and seven color-changing parameters were extracted for quantitative comparison and assessment of leaf color-changing, including three color-changing time related parameters (onset time, T₀; midpoint time, T₅₀; and color-changing duration, T₁₀₀); one leaf color index (final value of CI, CI_f); and three parameters related to color changing rate (color-changing rate during T₀−T₅₀, R₁; color-changing rate during T₅₀−T₁₀₀, R₂; mean color-changing rate, R_m).  In 2023, CY927 with dark leaf color and YY1540 with normal leaf color were used as materials and applied with three N fertilizer amounts, to explore the N fertilizer effects on leaf color-changing process through established assessment system.  The T₀ of flag leaf was delayed by 2.6−3.0 d compared to the 2nd and 3rd leaves.  The CI_f of flag leaf was 12.12 and 21.15% higher than that of 2nd and 3rd leaf, respectively.  Additionally, the R₁, R₂ and R_m of the 3rd leaves were 10.75−19.82%, 17.99−20.09% and 18.23−11.61% higher than the flag and 2nd leaves, respectively. Rice yield is significantly positively correlated with T₀, positively correlated with T₅₀ and T₁₀₀, and negatively correlated with R₁, R₂ and R_m.  The average T₀, T₅₀, and T₁₀₀ of rice varieties with yields higher than 8000 kg ha⁻¹ were 6.8, 22.2, and 31.8 d, respectively, with the CI_f of 0.563 and R_m of 0.015 d^-1.  N applications delayed T₀ by 4.5−6.2 d, decreased R_m by 30.06−32.33%, and increased CI_f by 35.78−39.69%.  The established leaf color-changing model and the extracted parameter quantitatively depicted the leaf color-changing process during the later reproductive period.  They also effectively distinguished the differences in leaf color-changing among leaf positions, varieties and N treatments.  This approach is valuable for selecting and cultivating high-yield and nutrient-efficiency rice varieties, as well as for analyzing underlying mechanisms.

Wheat-maize rotation is a widely used planting pattern in oasis irrigated areas in northwest China.  Although this planting pattern has the advantage of breaking the barrier of continuous cropping to some extent, it also has some problems such as large evaporation and prominent soil degradation during fallow period, which seriously restricts the improvement of crop yield.  Planting green manure (GM) after wheat and returning it to field can effectively improve soil physicochemical properties, regulate photosynthetic characteristics of subsequent crops and promote crop yield.  However, the photosynthetic physiological mechanism of crop yield improvement under different green manure return methods (GMRM) is still unclear.  Therefore, by exploring the relationships among soil moisture and temperature environment, maize root structure, photosynthetic characteristics, fluorescence characteristics and yield under different GMRM, this study aims to provide theoretical basis for clarifying the photosynthetic physiological mechanism of GMRM to improve maize yield.  A three-year field experiment was conducted at a research station in the Shiyang River Basin (Gansu, China).  Five treatments were involved in this study: (i) conventional tillage without GM (CT), (ii) no-tillage with total GM mulching (NTG), (iii) no-tillage with removal of aboveground GM (NT), (iv) tillage with total GM incorporation (TG), and (v) tillage with only root incorporation (T).  Results showed that the NTG and TG significantly increased soil water content (SWC) in 0-110 cm soil layer, soil temperature (ST) of maize seedling (V3) to jointing stage (V6), canopy cover (CC), leaf stay-greenness (SG), root length (RL), net photosynthetic rate (P_n), transpiration rate (T_r), actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (ՓPSII), maize biomass and grain yield (GY) compared with CT.  In addition, NTG and TG significantly decreased ST of maize big trumpet stage (V12) to blister stage (R2), and dissipation of excess energy (NPQ) compared with CT.  The GM return to field could improve root structure and canopy coverage of maize mainly by improving soil water content.  The optimization of maize root structure and canopy coverage increased maize chlorophyll content (SPAD) value and promoted P_n.  The increase of P_n inhibits the increase of NPQ, thus promoting ՓPSII.  The increase of ՓPSII promoted the increase of maize biomass, and finally realized the increase of maize GY. 

Roots are vital for crop growth, development, yield and tolerance to various types of environmental stress.  Numerous genetic loci associated with soybean root morphological traits have been identified, but few genes associated with these traits have been identified.  In this study, seven quantitative trait loci (QTLs) containing stable SNPs significantly associated with the root dry weight in soybeans were identified through a genome-wide association study.  Among these QTLs, qRDW14-2 presented the greatest significance.  In qRDW14-2, the gene GmRGD14, encoding the lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase LPAT4, was identified as a candidate.  GmRGD14, in block63, which contained the significant SNP S14_6521715, had the highest expression level in soybean roots, and its Arabidopsis homologous mutant lpat4 presented more lateral roots than did the control Col-0.  GmRGD14 was localized primarily to the cell membrane and endoplasmic reticulum.  The heterologous overexpression of GmRGD14 in Arabidopsis significantly increased the lateral root number, which was similar to the phenotype of atlpat4.  Furthermore, overexpression of GmRGD14 resulted in a greater total root length, root tip number, root surface area and root volume in the hairy roots of transgenic soybean plants than in those of WT soybean plants, whereas knockdown of the gene via RNA interference in soybean hairy roots resulted in the opposite phenotype.  GmRGD14, which is highly genetically variable in wild soybean, has been gradually utilized during soybean domestication.  Overall, this study revealed that GmRGD14 is a new key gene that plays a role in root growth, providing a new genetic target for breeding elite soybean varieties with strong root systems.

The developmental capacity of in vitro embryos is critical for the success of embryonic biotechnology. However, in vitro embryos often exhibit suboptimal quality, with fewer inner cell mass (ICM) cells and reduced total blastocyst cell counts compared to in vivo embryos. To address this, we optimized the conventional PZM-3 culture medium by supplementing 50% Advanced DMEM/F12 and 5% FBS on the fifth day after embryo activation (Day 5 medium) and resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in the total cell numbers of parthenogenetic activation (PA) derived blastocysts. Further enhancement was achieved by incorporating Activin A in Day 5 medium, creating the OIVC (Optimized In Vitro Culture) medium, which significantly increased both the total cell numbers and the ICM cell counts by 4.5-fold in the blastocyst stage. The OIVC medium also improved the quality of pig somatic cloned and in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that in the OIVC-treated embryos, most of the differentially expressed genes were downregulated compared to the control group, with the main enriched signaling pathways including Activin A/TGF-β. Notably, among these downregulated genes, PAX6 may be as a potential key gene influencing the number of ICM cells. This study presents a novel culture system that markedly enhances pig in vitro embryo quality, providing an efficient strategy for generating cloned pigs based on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology.

Accurately estimating wheat yield potential under climate changes is essential to assess food production capacity.  However, studies based on crop modeling and imperfect management experiment data frequently underestimate the wheat yield potential.  In this study, we evaluated wheat yield potential based on CERES-wheat model and a well-managed 10-year (2008-2017) field observation in the North China Plain (NCP), and further identified the critical climate and management yield-limiting factors for improving wheat yield potential and closing wheat yield gap.  Our results revealed that wheat yield potential averaged 10.8 t ha^-1 in the recent decade.  The low growing degree days (GDD) in the pre-winter growing season (592) and solar radiation in the whole growth season (3,036 MJ m^-2) are the most critical climatic limiting factors of wheat yield potential in the current production system.  Nonetheless, wheat yield potential in the NCP is projected to decline during 2040-2059 by 1.8 and 5.1% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively, without considering the elevated CO₂ concentration.  However, the positive influence of CO₂ fertilization is sufficient to offset these negative impacts from climatic warming and solar dimming, ultimately leading to an enhancement in wheat yield potential by 7.5 and 9.8% during 2040-2059 compared to the baseline under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively.  We recommend selecting an appropriate planting date (5 October) and planting density (400 plants m^-2) that align with light and temperature conditions during the wheat growing season, thereby improving wheat yield potential.  Additionally, optimizing the timing and rate of water application (three times, 270 mm) and fertilizer use (based on in-season root zone nitrogen management) is crucial for closing the wheat yield gap.  Our study underscores the importance of adopting multiple management practices that account for complex climate–crop–soil interconnections to enhance wheat yield based on a long-term field experiment under the changing climate.

UBL-UBA protein functions as a shuttle factor in the 26S ubiquitin degradation pathway, playing a critical role in plant growth and development, and responding to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Although RAD23, a type of UBL-UBA protein, has been extensively studied in several plants, there is currently no comprehensive analysis available for kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis). In this study, we identified six AcRAD23 genes in kiwifruit and further analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, conserved motif composition and cis-acting element in the promoter. Subcellular localization experiments revealed that all AcRAD23 were localized in the nucleus and the cell membranes. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis demonstrated differential expression patterns of these AcRAD23 genes across different tissues and under various stress conditions (drought, waterlogging, salt stress, etc.), with AcRAD23D1 showing the highest responsiveness to abiotic stress. Additionally, we investigated the biological function of AcRAD23D1 using VIGS-mediated gene silencing methods under drought stress conditions. Suppression of AcRAD23D1 expression resulted in reduced relative water content (RWC) but increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) levels in D1-VIGS lines compared to control lines. Furthermore, D1-VIGS lines exhibited a higher accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) along with decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzyme activities. These findings suggest that AcRAD23D1 may play a positive role in regulating kiwifruit's response to drought stress. Our results provide new insights into the potential involvement of AcRAD23 under abiotic stress conditions while offering a theoretical foundation for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying kiwifruit's adaptation to stresses. 

Managing fertilization in integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) during periods of low nutrient export, known as system fertilization, can optimize nutrient use by enhancing the soil’s biochemical and physical-hydric properties. However, interdisciplinary studies on processes that improve input utilization in ICLS remain scarce. This study aimed to assess the relationships between the efficiencies of different nutrient management strategies in ICLS and pure crop systems (PCS) and the biochemical and physical-hydric quality of soil. Two fertilization strategies (system fertilization and crop fertilization) and two cropping systems (ICLS and PCS) were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replicates. In the PCS, soybean was grown followed by ryegrass as a cover crop. In the ICLS, sheep grazed on the ryegrass. In the crop fertilization, phosphorus and potassium were applied to the soybean planting, and nitrogen was applied in the ryegrass establishment. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were applied during ryegrass establishment in the system fertilization. Soil quality indexes were calculated using fourteen physical-hydric and biochemical soil indicators, and primary production and nutrient utilization efficiency were evaluated. System fertilization in ICLS enhanced the soil functions of water storage and availability for plants, structural stability, and resistance to degradation. System fertilization in ICLS improved the soil quality by 14% over PCS and 13% over crop fertilization in ICLS. Notably, this optimized system yielded the highest primary production. These findings underscore the pivotal role of system fertilization in ICLS to boost food production and enhance soil ecosystem services without increasing the consumption of external fertilizers. They advocate for a strategic shift towards system-level fertilization in integrated systems, and demonstrate for the first time in ICLS, the delicate balance between nutrient management, soil health, and sustainable productivity.

Caspases, which play key roles in cell apoptosis, undergo alternative splicing to form different splicing variants that can regulate the apoptotic process. Lepidopteran insect caspases undergo alternative splicing, although the functions of their splicing variants are still unclear. The Spodoptera exigua caspase-5 (SeCaspase-5) gene was cloned and found to produce four different splicing variants with different gene sequences and protein functional domains, which were named SeCaspase-5a, SeCaspase-5b, SeCaspase-5c and SeCaspase-5d. Overexpression of these variants in S. exigua cells (Se-3) showed that SeCaspase-5a had a proapoptotic function, whereas SeCaspase-5b, SeCaspase-5c and SeCaspase-5d did not. Semi-qPCR analysis revealed that the expression of the SeCaspase-5 variants significantly differed during Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) infection. Furthermore, the SeCaspase-5 variants were constructed into the AcMNPV bacmid and transfected into Se-3 cells, which revealed that SeCaspase-5a promoted cell apoptosis and reduced virus production, whereas SeCaspase-5b, SeCaspase-5c and SeCaspase-5d did not promote cell apoptosis but instead increased virus production. Moreover, an analysis of the interactions between the SeCaspase-5 variants revealed that SeCaspase-5a directly interacted with SeCaspase-5b, SeCaspase-5c and SeCaspase-5d. Coexpression of these variants in Se-3 cells also revealed that SeCaspase-5b, SeCaspase-5c and SeCaspase-5d inhibited the proapoptotic function of SeCaspase-5a, resulting in a reduction in the percentage of apoptotic cells by about 20%. These results indicate that SeCaspase-5 undergoes alternative splicing and is involved in regulating the apoptosis induced by baculovirus infection. These findings increase our understanding of the functions of lepidopteran insect caspases and provide new insights into the mechanism of host-cell apoptosis induced by baculoviruses.

Green manuring is essential for improving soil quality and nutrient uptake. With the gradual depletion of phosphorus (P) resources, more attention is being paid to the role of green manures in cultivation systems, such as maize-green manure intercropping, to find possible pathways for enhancing soil P utilization. A maize-green manure intercropping experiment was started in 2009 to investigate the effects and mechanisms for enhancing P uptake and yield in maize. Three species of green manures (HV: hairy vetch; NP: needle leaf pea; SP: sweet pea) and a sole maize treatment (CK) were used, resulting in four treatments (CK, HVT, NPT, and SPT) in the experiment. During 2020-2023, the intercropping treatments enhanced maize yields in 2020 and 2021, particularly in the HVT treatment with increases of 13.7% (1.96 t ha^-1) and 13.0% (2.13 t ha^-1) compared with CK, respectively. Grain P accumulation of maize was significantly higher in the intercropping treatments than CK in 2020, 2021, and 2023, and with an average increase of 10.6% over the four years (5.2% for NPT, 10.8% for SPT and 15.9% for HVT) compared with CK. Intercropping promoted maize growth with a greater root length density and a higher organic acid release rate. HVT changed the soil properties more dramatically than the other treatments, with increases in the acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activities of 29.8 and 38.5%, respectively, in the topsoil (0-15 cm), while the soil pH was reduced by 0.37 units compared to CK (pH=8.44). Intercropping treatments facilitated the conversion of non-labile P to mod-labile P and stimulated the growth of soil bacteria in the topsoil. Compared with CK, the relative abundance of Gemmatimonadota, known for accumulating polyphosphate, and Actinobacteriota, a prominent source of bioactive compounds, increased significantly in the intercropping treatments, especially in HVT and SPT. A PLS-PM analysis showed that intercropping promoted soil P mobilization and the enrichment of beneficial bacteria by regulating maize root morphology and physiology. Our results highlight that maize-green manure intercropping optimizes root traits, soil properties and bacterial composition, which contribute to greater maize P uptake and yield, providing an effective strategy for sustainable crop production.  

Improving rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are crucial challenges for coordinating food production and environmental health. However, little is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying the synergistic effects of high yield and NUE in rice. Using two near-isogenic rice lines (named DEP1 and dep1), a two-year field experiment was conducted to assess agronomic characteristics and the physiological characteristics of carbon and nitrogen translocation under three nitrogen levels. Compared with DEP1, dep1 had higher grain yield, grain filling percentage, nitrogen (N) uptake, and NUE. More non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) and N in the stems were translocated to grains during grain filling in dep1 than in DEP1. Furthermore, stem NSC translocation was significantly positively correlated with grain yield, while stem N translocation was significantly positively correlated with NUE. Key carbon metabolism enzyme activities (α-amylase, β-amylase and sucrose-phosphate synthase in stems, and sucrose synthase, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and starch synthase in grains) and stem sucrose transporter gene (OsSUT1 and OsSWEET13) expression were higher in dep1 than in DEP1. This contributed to high stem NSC translocation. Higher N translocation in the stems occurred due to the higher expression of OsNPF2.4. Moreover, the higher values of root morphological traits (root dry weight, root surface area, root length and root volume) and structural characteristics (stele diameter, cortical thickness and vessel section area) in dep1 explained its high nitrogen uptake. In addition, higher expression of OsNADH-GOGAT1 and OsGS1.3 promoted the assimilation of ammonium and contributed to higher nitrogen uptake in dep1. The application of N reduced carbon translocation but enhanced N translocation by regulating the corresponding metabolic enzyme activities and gene expression. Overall, these findings highlighted the roles of nitrogen uptake, and carbon and nitrogen translocation from stems as crucial characteristics for synergistically improving yield and NUE in the dep1 rice line.

Accurately mapping the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is crucial for guiding agricultural management and improving soil carbon sequestration, especially in fragmented agricultural landscapes. Although remote sensing provides spatially continuous environmental information about heterogeneous agricultural landscapes, its relationship with SOC remains unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that multi-category remote sensing-derived variables can enhance our understanding of SOC variation within complex landscape conditions. Taking the Qilu Lake watershed in Yunnan, China, as a case study area and based on 216 topsoil samples collected from irrigation areas, we applied the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model to investigate the contributions of vegetation indices (VI), brightness indices (BI), moisture indices (MI), and spectral transformations (ST, principal component analysis and tasseled cap transformation) to SOC mapping. The results showed that ST contributed the most to SOC prediction accuracy, followed by MI, VI, and BI, with improvements in R² of 29.27, 26.83, 19.51, and 14.43%, respectively. The dominance of ST can be attributed to the fact that it contains richer remote sensing spectral information. The optimal SOC prediction model integrated soil properties, topographic factors, location factors, and landscape metrics, as well as remote sensing-derived variables, and achieved RMSE and MAE of 15.05 and 11.42 g kg^-1, and R² and CCC of 0.57 and 0.72, respectively. The Shapley additive explanations deciphered the nonlinear and threshold effects that exist between soil moisture, vegetation status, soil brightness and SOC. Compared with traditional linear regression models, interpretable machine learning has advantages in prediction accuracy and revealing the influences of variables that reflect landscape characteristics on SOC. Overall, this study not only reveals how remote sensing-derived variables contribute to our understanding of SOC distribution in fragmented agricultural landscapes but also clarifies their efficacy. Through interpretable machine learning, we can further elucidate the causes of SOC variation, which is important for sustainable soil management and agricultural practices.

In the face of agricultural labor shortages, reducing labor and costs in rice production while meeting demand or increasing yield is crucial for sustainable agricultural development.  Utilizing crop straw boards and high-density seedling raising can reduce labor demand and enhance rice yield.  This study aimed to investigate the effects of seeding density and transplanting age on tillering patterns, panicle formation rates, and yield to determine optimal cultivation practices for maximizing rice yield.  Two-year field experiments were conducted in Sihong County, China, using the japonica rice variety Nanjing 5718.  Five seeding densities (150–350 g/tray) and four transplanting ages (10–25 days) were evaluated to assess their impact on tillering patterns, panicle formation rates, and yield.  Innovative crop straw boards were employed to enhance planting efficiency and reduce dependence on seedling-raising soil.  This approach also lessened tillage layer destruction, promoting sustainable practices.  The results indicated that increasing seeding density significantly altered tillering and panicle formation patterns, reducing the occurrence and panicle formation rates of lower-position tillers.  Although the occurrence of middle and high-position tillers increased, the overall number of panicles per hill decreased, especially at higher densities, negatively affecting yield.  Reducing transplanting age promoted the emergence and panicle formation of lower-position tillers, mitigating these negative effects.  Specifically, compared to traditional methods (150 g/tray, 20-day seedlings), the higher seeding density (300 g/tray) and shorter transplanting age (15-day seedlings) increased total panicle number by 3.79–4.73% and yield by 3.38–5.05%.  Combining higher seeding densities with reduced transplanting ages offers significant advantages over conventional practices by enhancing resource utilization, improving tillering efficiency.  These findings provide actionable recommendations for optimizing rice cultivation practices and contribute to sustainable agricultural development.

Plastic film mulching (PFM) increases crop yields in semi-arid regions by reducing water losses and increasing soil temperature, while crop production in these areas also serves as a significant source of ammonia (NH₃) emissions.  The effects of PFM on NH₃ emissions are nearly unknow because of interactions between larger N mineralization at higher temperature and film cover preventing NH₃ diffusion.  Therefore, our objectives were to (1) evaluate the effects of PFM on NH₃ emissions under field conditions, and (2) identify the maize yield and NH₃ emissions under climate change and atmospheric N deposition using the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model.  The experimental treatments included four treatments: (1) no plastic film mulching without N fertilization (control), (2) plastic film mulching without N fertilization (PFM), (3) N fertilization without plastic film mulching (N), and (4) plastic film mulching with N fertilization (PFM+N).  The PFM increased maize yields by 211% and yield stability across the years when combined with N fertilization.  PFM reduced NH₃ emissions by 35% through three mechanisms: i) high water content under PFM saturates soil pores, hindering NH₃ gas movement to atmosphere, ii) the hot and wet conditions under PFM accelerates nitrification rate, thus increasing pH buffering capacity during urea hydrolysis, and iii) the physical barrier created by PFM reduced NH₃ exchange between soil and air.  Daily NH₃ emissions increased with soil temperature, NH₄⁺ content, and pH, but declined with soil moisture under N fertilization.  The NH₃ emissions under PFM+N increased with NH₄⁺ content.  The parameterised DNDC model simulated very well the yield and daily NH₃ emissions. PFM+N increased yield and reduced NH₃ emissions under the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenario and the N deposition.  Yield under PFM+N increased with increasing N deposition, while NH₃ emissions under N deposition increased under the high radiative forcing scenario (SSP5-8.5).  Concluding, PFM increase yields and mitigate NH₃ emissions, and it also has the potential to achieve similar benefits under future conditions.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are a class of ion channel proteins that are closely related to thermosensation in insects. They are involved in detecting the ambient temperature and play vital roles in insect survival and reproduction. In this study, we identified and cloned two variants of the TRPA subfamily gene in Myzus persicae, MperTRPA1(A) and MperTRPA1(B), and analyzed their tissue expression by real-time quantitative PCR. Subsequently, these two variants of MperTRPA1 were expressed in the Xenopus oocyte system, and their functions were investigated using the two-electrode voltage clamp technique. The role of the MperTRPA1 gene in temperature adaptation of M. persicae was further determined by RNA interference and a behavioral choice assay to evaluate responses to temperature gradients. The results showed that the MperTRPA1 gene is widely expressed in tissues of M. persicae, with MperTRPA1(A) highly expressed in the mouthparts and MperTRPA1(B) mainly expressed in the antennae. The functional characterization results showed that both variants of MperTRPA1 could be activated and were not desensitized when the temperature increased from 20 to 45°C. The current value and thermal sensitivity (coefficient Q10 value) of MperTRPA1(B) were significantly higher than those of MperTRPA1(A). When the MperTRPA1 gene was knocked down, the behavioral preference of M. persicae for the optimal temperature was reduced and tended to be at a higher temperature, showing a shift in the temperature adaptation range compared to both the wild type and dsGFP-treated M. persicae. In summary, our results elucidated the molecular mechanism of adaptive temperature perception in M. persicae mediated by the thermal sensor MperTRPA1.

Naturally colored cotton (NCC) represents a kind of eco-friendly and sustainable textile material. Limited colors and inferior yield and quality are the major obstacles to the wide application of NCCs.  The present work aimed to generate new colored cotton by synthesizing and accumulating anthocyanins in fibers.  Two anthocyanin regulatory genes Lc and GhPAP1D were fused and specifically expressed in fibers of the secondary cell wall (SCW) stage.  The transgenic fibers exhibited pronounced purplish-red color at 20 to 30 DPA (days post anthesis), and reddish-brown color at maturation.  Meanwhile, expressing Lc and GhPAP1D led to reduced elongation rate and impaired SCW deposition in fibers, finally decreased fiber strength and length, and low lint percentage at maturation.  Metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses indicated that the whole flavonoid pathway was significantly up-regulated, and multiple flavonoids, including anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and flavonols, were accumulated in developing and mature fibers.  It was also found that lignin biosynthesis and accumulation were significantly increased in fibers of the SCW synthesis stage.  Our results provided a feasible strategy to promote anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation in cotton fibers, and also its side effects on fiber coloration and development, which laid the foundation for future NCC color innovation.

Softening of fleshy fruits during ripening and post-harvest is a programmed event that greatly affects quality and storage span. However, the molecular mechanism underlying peach softening remain largely unknown. Lateral organ boundary (LOB) domain (LBD) proteins are pivotal regulators of plant growth and development. To date, certain LOB/LBD transcription factors are seemingly implicated in fruit softening. In this study, we identified 42 LOB/LBD genes in the peach genome. Expression analysis showed a significant upregulation of PpLOB1 transcripts toward peach fruit ripening. PpLOB1 was classified into Class II subgroup, and showed high sequence similarity to several softening-related LOB/LBD transcription factors. Transient transformation assays showed that PpLOB1 positively modulates peach softening. Further experiments demonstrated that PpLOB1 directly targeted and activated the promoters of pectate lyase 1 (PpPL1) and PpPL15, thereby contributing to the regulation of fruit softening. Additionally, PpNAP4 up-regulated PpLOB1 expression by binding to its promoter. Meanwhile, our findings revealed that PpNAP4 and PpNAP6 cooperatively modulate the expression of PpLOB1. Altogether, all results revealed a new regulatory module that involves PpNAP4 and PpLOB1, and contributes to peach fruit softening.

The embryo rescue technique plays an essential part in developing new varieties of seedless grapes. To enhance the efficiency of seedless grape embryo rescue breeding, this study evaluated 22 hybrid combinations, It systematically probed into the impacts of diverse parental genotypes and plant hormones on both embryo development and germination. In addition, an in-depth exploration was carried out regarding the transformation of abnormal plantlets. Results indicate that ‘Ruby Seedless’, ‘Delight’, ‘Huozhouheiyu’, ‘Zitian Seedless’, and ‘Zhengyan Seedless’ are suitable as maternal parents, while ‘Zitian Seedless’, ‘Shennongxiangfeng’, ‘Hongqitezao’, and ‘Guibao’ are optimal as paternal parents. Among these combinations, ‘Ruby Seedless × Shennongxiangfeng’ and ‘Ruby Seedless × Zitian Seedless’ demonstrated the highest embryo rescue efficiency. Their embryo development rates were 55.05% and 59.76%, yielding 1,348 and 2,235 viable plantlets, respectively. When 1.0 mg L^-1 ZT(Zeatin) was added to the MM3 + 0.2 mg L^-1 IAA (Indole - 3 - Acetic Acid) embryo development medium, the development rate of the ‘Ruby Seedless × Zitian Seedless’ embryos went up by a huge 64.73%. In the germination medium WPM, the supplementation of 0.2 mg L^-1 ZT + 0.2 mg L^-1 IAA resulted in the highest germination rate of 85.71% for the hybrid combination ‘Huozhouheiyu × Shine Muscat’. Furthermore, we successfully recovered a total of 3,365 abnormal plantlets and regenerated 1,234 normal plantlets through direct transformation and cotyledon induction. After hybridization, we successfully transplanted 4,287 plants. This study offers theoretical insights that can enhance the efficiency of embryo rescue breeding for seedless grapes, offering valuable resources for future breeding programs.

Water-driven crop simulation models are commonly employed to evaluate crop yields and irrigation management strategies to improve agricultural water productivity.  Well-tested models can serve as powerful tools for guiding agricultural practices.  The objective of this study was to assess the capability of the AquaCrop model for simulation of cotton transpiration and water use under drip irrigation conditions comparing with field sap flow measurements.  A two-year field experiment (2020-2021) in cotton was conducted in Xinjiang China including two row spacing and two topping methods.  The model adequately estimated canopy cover with a normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of less than 5% and a model efficiency (EF) close to 1.  The model estimation of transpiration obtained a good agreement with sap flow measurements (nRMSE=22.4%) across all years and treatments.  The model simulated water use efficiency (WUE, 4.42 g m^-2 mm^-1) of cotton were lower than those calculated from actual measurements with WUE of 4.79 g m^-2 mm^-1.  The estimated transpiration was slightly higher than that measured using sap flow meter due to an 11.5% of overestimation for crop coefficient in the model when cotton grew in short and dense canopy structure under drip irrigation and plastic film cover conditions.  Air temperature, vapor pressure difference and radiation had positive effects on cotton transpiration while humidity had negative effects.  The model could capture the trends of transpiration with climate factors, but the climatic effects were stronger than that of sap flow.  In conclusion, AquaCrop model is useful tool in optimizing cotton irrigation strategies.

Soil compaction has become a seriously limitation for further increasing grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in the North China Plain (NCP).  However, considerable variability exists among maize hybrids in their grain yield response to soil compaction.  To understand the physiological processes relate to the variation of responses to various soil compactions among maize hybrids, a two-year field experiment was conducted with 17 maize hybrids and three soil compaction treatments (NC, no compaction, SBD, soil bulk density=1.0-1.3 g cm^-3; MC, moderate compaction, SBD=1.4-1.5 g cm^-3, and HC, heavy compaction, SBD>1.6 g cm^-3) to examine the root and shoot morphological traits, dry matter accumulation, and grain yield.  Compared to NC, MC and HC significantly decreased maize yield by 0.9-26.7% and 5.9-41.1% across hybrids and years, respectively.  High compaction tolerance (H) had greater grain yield than hybrids of middle compaction tolerance (M) and low compaction tolerance (L), particularly under HC.  Yield benefits obtained from H hybrid were enhanced due to better root and shoot growth under HC condition.  Greater root length, root surface area, and root weight, as well as root activity, absorption capacity, and antioxidant capacity for H hybrid were found under HC condition, and then maintained increased leaf area index and dry matter accumulation.  Moreover, the increases of root growth indices for H hybrid were greater than that of shoot growth, particularly under HC condition, leading to an increased root/shoot ratio.  We conclude that soil compaction impacts maize root and shoot growth differently depending on genotype, and root growth advantages of H hybrid were more obviously than shoot growth, which enhanced the yield benefits from H hybrid under heavy compaction condition.

CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing research has advanced greatly and shows broad potential for practical application in life sciences, but the Cas9 system is often constrained by the requirement of a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) at the target site. While xCas9, a variant derived from Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9), can recognize a broader range of PAMs, its application in non-model insects is lacking. In this study, we explored xCas9 activity in gene editing by selecting corazonin (Crz) and the target sites with various PAMs in Locusta migratoria, a destructive insect pest worldwide. We found that xCas9 could cleave the target site with AG PAM while SpCas9 could not, although xCas9 appeared to have lower activity than SpCas9 at the canonical NGG PAMs. The heritable homozygous Crz^-/- locust strain was generated by the application of xCas9. The Crz^-/- strain showed an albino body color, with significantly downregulated expression of several body color-related genes including Pale, Vermilion, Cinnabar, White and β-carotene-binding protein. In addition, Crz^-/- mutants exhibited significantly reduced expression of Chitin synthase 1, along with a markedly lower chitin content as well as compact and rigid cuticles. Furthermore, Crz^-/- mutants displayed impaired performance under low-temperature stress, including prolonged lifespan, reduced body weight and smaller body size. Our results suggest that xCas9 is effective for insect genome editing, and Crz plays essential roles in insect body color, cuticle development and adaptation to low-temperature stress. The findings of this study extend the application of xCas9 in non-model insects and provide new insights into our understanding of the regulation of insect cuticle development and environmental adaptation.

The application of slow-controlled release fertilizer is a simplified and labor-saving cultivation technology and can improve yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of wheat, whereas the research on the impact of a single application of different release periods controlled-release nitrogen (N) fertilizer on wheat grain quality is still limited.  In our study, urease inhibitor urea (AHA), sulfur-coated urea (SCU), combination of SCU and AHA fertilizer (BSAF) and blended slow-controlled release fertilizer (BRNF) were used to investigate the effect of slow-controlled release fertilizer on nutrient release, grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and protein content of soft wheat.  We aimed to determine the effect of one-time application of control release fertilizer on wheat grain yield and protein content and its underlying mechanisms.  The results showed that different slow-controlled release fertilizers treatments had significantly different N release rates.  AHA presented a fast release mode, SCU and BSAF presented a slow-release mode, and BRNF presented a controlled release mode.  Compared with CK, BRNF increased grain yield and decreased protein content of soft wheat, with an average increase of 7.47% in grain yield and decrease of 1.85% in protein content.  The higher N absorption of BRNF led to greater NUE, N agronomic efficiency (NAE) and N apparent recovery fraction (NRF).  However, AHA, SCU and BSAF all showed an opposite trend. Compared with CK, BRNF improved post-anthesis dry matter accumulation (PDMA) and contribution rate of dry matter accumulated post-anthesis to the grain (CDA), while decreasing post-anthesis N accumulation (PNA) and the contribution rate of post-anthesis N accumulation to grain (CNA).  The main reasons for the improve in yield and decrease in protein content were related to the increase in PDMA and CDA, and the decrease in PNA and CNA, respectively.  Therefore, BRNF was an effective agronomic strategy to promote the coordination of grain yield and quality of soft wheat

Improving nitrogen utilization efficiency is not only beneficial for increasing maize yield, but can also mitigate the environmental impact of excessive nitrogen fertilizer use. Numerous studies have evaluated the impact of plant growth retardants and plant density on plant lodging resistance and nitrogen uptake.  However, the influence of plant growth retardants on nitrogen utilization efficiency under varying plant densities has been rarely reported.  A field experiment was conducted in 2020-2021, which involved spraying EC (an ethephon and cycocel compound) at the 7th-leaf stage of maize with dosages of 0 (CK), 450, and 900 mL ha⁻¹ at plant densities of 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0 plants m⁻². Compared to CK, application of EC (especially high dosage) significantly decreased plant height and dry matter, while increased stem diameter, plant horizontal-vertical ratio (PHVR, a new index, which we defined as the ratio of stem diameter of the basal first internode above ground to the plant height), and the number and area of vascular bundle. PHVR and vascular bundle morphology had significantly positive correlation with individual plant dry matter remobilization amount and its contribution to grain yield.  Therefore, despite reduced dry matter weight was observed in EC treatment, the increased dry matter remobilization enhanced harvest index (HI). However, nitrogen uptake efficiency was not improved with the enhancement of PHVR and vascular bundle morphology, due to a decrease in dry matter accumulation. Inversely, improved PHVR and vascular bundle were beneficial to accelerate nitrogen translocation, thus increasing nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) significantly by 4.3–31.1% compared with CK across densities. Increasing density simultaneously improve nitrogen uptake and utilization efficiency. Consequently, high dosage of EC application under high density not only could significantly enhance lodging resistance, but also improving NUtE and HI significantly through promoting the transport of dry matter and nitrogen. 

Nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) are key elements for crop growth, yet exhaustive research on the impact of N–K interactions on plant N and K status and yield is lacking.  This study aimed to explore effective indicators for diagnosing N and K nutrition and predicting yield of wheat under N–K interactions based on the theoretical framework of a critical nutrient dilution curve.  A four-year N–K interaction experiment involving three wheat cultivars was employed for building and validating nutrient indices (NIs) based on the critical N dilution curve (CNDC) and the critical K dilution curve (CKDC).  In addition, literature data were collected for supplementary validation.  The results revealed that the changes of parameter A1 in critical K dilution curves (CKDCs) can reflect the impact of nitrogen application on K absorption and utilization.  However, the difference in KNI values calculated by CKDC under different N levels is not significant. Based on the aboveground biomass (AGB), a universal CKDC was established and defined as Kc=3.63AGB^–0.37 under N–K interactions.  The results showed that the direct effects of N or K deficiency on crops could be quantified by the N–K interaction index (NKI) calculated by integrating CNDC and CKDC, and the changes in crop growth in response to proportional N and K concentrations could be determined by NKI as well.  In addition, topdressing N fertilizer at the jointing stage significantly improved the N–K interaction effect on N nutrition index (NNI) and NKI at the booting stage (P<0.05), but had no significant N–K interaction effect on K nutrition index (KNI).  All indicators at heading stage demonstrated the best predictive capability for relative yield (RY) than other stages.  Compared with NNI and KNI, the prediction accuracy of yield with NKI improved by 11.63 and 17.44%, respectively.  The NKI has better performance in diagnosing N and K nutrition and predicting yield under N–K interactions than NNI and KNI.  This result enhances the interpretation of the effects of N–K interactions on wheat growth and has important applications in improving the accuracy of N and K nutrition diagnosis and yield prediction.

Stilbenes, natural plant phytoalexin, are involved in the response of various biotic and abiotic stresses in plant environment. STILBENE SYNTHASE (STS) is the key enzyme regulating resveratrol synthesis in grapevine. However, the regulatory mechanism of STS genes expression remains unclear. In this study, we reported a NAC transcription factor, VqNAC17, in Vitis quinquangularis, which can improve plant resistance to salt stress, drought stress and Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. Besides, the interaction between the transcription factor VqNAC17 and VqMYB15 was confirmed using yeast two-hybrid and BiFC. In transgenic A. thaliana, VqNAC17 participates in plant immunity through interaction with VqMYB15 to affect the stilbene synthesis. Furthermore, the experimental results of yeast one-hybrid assay and LUC transient expression assay found that VqNAC17 can also bind to the promoter of VqMYB15. These results indicate that VqNAC17 is a key regulator that can promote the expression of STS by interacting with VqMYB15.

Single-time fertilization (STF) of controlled release blended fertilizer (CRBF) improves grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice production.  However, the impact of soil nitrogen (N) distribution and root growth on rice yield and NUE under STF of CRBF remains unclear.  This two-year field experiment investigated the effects of fertilizer types (normal urea (U) and CRBF) and single-time fertilization methods (broadcast and side-deep fertilization) on the soil N distribution, plant N uptake, root characteristics, grain yield and NUE.  The results showed that CRBF under STF averaged increased plant dry matter accumulation, N uptake, grain yield, nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE), and nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) by 8.29, 21.85, 10.57, 79.28, and 74.8% compared to the other treatments, respectively.  Side-deep fertilization of CRBF further increased NUE by 12.78% compared to broadcast.  Moreover, CRBF under STF increased leaf SPAD value and glutamine synthetase (GS) /glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) activity by 5.93 and 25.58%.  CRBF under STF increased the soil inorganic N concentration and showed a “rising early and stabilizing later” characteristic.  Additionally, CRBF under STF improved rice root growth and averaged increased root biomass, total root number, root average diameter, total root length, total root surface area, total root volume by 28.30, 28.56, 18.64, 13.38, 35.26, and 37.06% at tillering and heading stages, respectively.  Partial least squares path modeling indicated that CRBF under STF increased soil inorganic N concentration to improve root morphology, thereby increasing N uptake and improving and rice yield and NUE.  Taken together, our findings support that CRBF with single-time fertilization is the preferred N fertilizer strategy for achieving high yield and efficiency in rice and that side-deep fertilization is the optimal fertilization method.

Drought stress is a significant environmental stressor that can have detrimental effects on crop yields, especially during stem elongation.  Drought priming has emerged as a promising technique for enhancing plant drought tolerance.  However, the effects of drought priming on the differentiation process of spike and its physiological basis of wheat are not clear.  In this study, we investigated the effects of drought priming on the development of spike under drought stress by applying drought priming at the three-leaf stage and drought stress during stem elongation.  Our study demonstrated that drought priming significantly increased the photosynthetic rate of flag leaves by approximately 25.7% and improved leaf water potential by 17.4% during drought stress.  Moreover, it mitigated oxidative damage, reducing hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde levels by 30.6 and 11.1%, respectively, during stem elongation.  Drought priming also markedly enhanced the activity of key carbon metabolism enzymes, hexokinase and fructokinase, by 170.0 and 236.0%, respectively.  This improved carbon metabolism stabilized spike differentiation, leading to increased spikelet and floret primordia formation.  Ultimately, drought priming achieved a 13.8% increase in kernel number per spike, demonstrating its potential to improve grain yield under drought conditions.  This study innovatively reveals the "carbon homeostasis-spike development" coordination mechanism underlying drought priming-enhanced reproductive stress tolerance. The findings advance our understanding of stress memory spatiotemporal regulation in crops and offer transformative solutions for stabilizing wheat production under climate change scenarios.

This study examined the involvement of cytokinins in the process by which moderate water limitation (MWL) mediates nitrogen (N) remobilization from source to sink during the grain-filling phase in wheat.  Field experiments were performed using N application rates of low (LN), medium (MN), and high (HN).  Two soil moisture regimes were implemented for each N rate: conventional well-watered (CWW) and MWL post anthesis. The MWL application optimized N, total free amino acids (FAA), trans-zeatin (Z)+trans-zeatin riboside (ZR) reallocation from the source organs (stems and leaves) to the sink organ (spikes) in wheat.  Compared to those in the CWW regime, the activities of proteolytic enzymes, including endopeptidase, carboxypeptidase and aminopeptidase within stems and leaves, and the expression levels of total FAA transporter genes in spikes were significantly elevated in the MWL regime, showing a close correlation with the Z+ZR levels in the spikes.  Application of kinetin to stems and leaves significantly inhibited proteolytic enzyme activity, promoting N retention in stems and leaves, decreasing N accumulation in the sink organ, and reducing the N harvest index.  In contrast, the applying kinetin to spikes significantly upregulated expression levels of FAA transporter genes, reducing N retention in stems and leaves, increasing N accumulation in the sink organ, and raising the N harvest index.  Such facilitation induced by the MWL in remobilization of N from source to sink was greater at HN than at LN or MN.  Results demonstrate that post-anthesis MWL can significantly intensify the remobilization of N from source to sink, while also synergistically enhancing grain yield and N use efficiency through strategically redistributing cytokinins (Z+ZR) between source and sink in wheat.