Mating behavior is crucial for most insects, as it is closely tied to reproduction and population growth and relies heavily on chemical communication via cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) between individuals. However, little is known about the mating behavior of Eupeodes corollae, a natural enemy insect, and how CHCs help it communicate. In this study, we performed a behavioral assay of the mating process of hoverfly E. corollae. The cuticular hydrocarbons of both male and female hoverflies were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The electrophysiological activities of these compounds on the antennae of hoverflies were further determined by gas chromatography coupled with electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) and electroantennogram (EAG). The effects of these compounds on the behavioral selection and mating of hoverflies were also determined. The results showed that the mating process of hoverflies was divided into five stages: orientation, approaching, wing fanning, mounting, and copulation. Fifth-aged individuals exhibited the highest copulation and mating success rates, the shortest male latency, and stable mating duration. The results of the determination of cuticular compounds showed that the CHCs of male and female hoverflies exhibited sexually monomorphic chemical profiles, and two compounds (Z)-9-tricosene and n-tricosane could cause significant electrophysiological responses in both male and female hoverflies. Behavioral bioassay results showed that (Z)-9-tricosene can significantly induce the attraction response of male and female E. corollae and can effectively regulate the courtship behavior of male E. corollae. This finding provides a new perspective for a deeper understanding of hoverflies’ chemical communication mechanism and a valuable scientific basis and potential application prospect for developing a pheromone-based behavior strategy to control pests.

Elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) may mitigate stress-induced damage to cotton (Gossypium spp.) growth and development.  However, understanding the early-stage responses of cotton to multiple abiotic stressors at eCO₂ levels has been limited.  This study quantified the impacts of chilling (CS, 22/14°C, day/night temperature), heat (HS, 38/30°C), drought (DS, 50% irrigation of the control), and salt (SS, 8 dS m^-1) stresses on pigments, physiology, growth, and development of fourteen upland cotton cultivars under ambient CO₂ (aCO₂, 420 ppm; current) and eCO₂ (700 ppm; future) levels during the vegetative stage.  The eCO₂ partially negated the effects of all stresses by improving one or more of the pigments, physiological, growth, and development traits, except CS.  For instance, HS at aCO₂ significantly increased stomatal conductance by 36% compared with non-stressed plants at aCO₂.  However, HS at eCO₂ significantly decreased stomatal conductance by 18% compared with HS at aCO₂.  The first squaring was delayed by one day under SS at aCO₂ but two days earlier under SS at eCO₂ than non-stressed plants at aCO₂.  Root and shoot dry mass and the total leaf area were significantly higher under all stresses, except for CS, at the eCO₂ compared with similar stresses at the aCO₂.  Most growth and development traits, including plant height, leaf area, and shoot dry mass, displayed a mirroring response pattern between aCO₂ and eCO₂ under all environments except CS.  Cultivars exhibited significant interaction with stressed environments.  Further, results revealed differential sensitivity and adaptation potential of cultivars to stress environments at varying CO₂ levels.  This study highlights the need to consider eCO₂ in designing breeding programs to develop stress-tolerant varieties for future cotton-growing environments. 

Tillage practices alter the interaction between soil and rice straw, impacting soil quality and cadmium (Cd) dynamics.  However, the effects of tillage and straw management strategies on soil Cd accumulation and rice uptake remain unclear.  This study investigated how tillage and straw practices influence rice Cd uptake by altering soil Cd mobility and bioavailability.  A long-term field experiment was conducted with four treatments: no-tillage with straw return on the soil surface (NTS), rotary tillage with straw incorporate (RTS), plow tillage with straw incorporate (PTS), and plow tillage with straw removed (PT).  Results showed that Cd concentrations in rice organs (root, stem, leaf and rice grain) decreased in the order NTS>RTS>PTS, with only PTS maintaining grain Cd levels below 0.2 mg kg⁻⊃1;.  Compared with NTS and RTS, the average Cd concentrations in rice grain under PTS were significantly reduced by 56.76 and 25.88%, respectively.  A partial least squares path model indicated that reductions in available Cd (Avail-Cd) and acid-soluble Cd (Aci-Cd), combined with iron plaque (IP) formation on the roots, were key factors in lowering rice Cd levels.  PTS reduced Avail-Cd and Aci-Cd by decreasing soil bulk density, increasing soil organic matter, pH, and the abundances of Nitrospirota and Bacteroidota.  Moreover, PTS enhanced soil nutrient and Fe⊃2;⁺ levels, promoted IP formation on rice roots through improved root morphology and antioxidant activity, and limited Cd uptake.  Although PTS increased total and available soil Cd compared to PT, its promotion of IP formation mitigated rice Cd uptake, resulting in comparable grain Cd concentrations between the two.  Thus, long-term plow tillage with straw incorporate emerges as a sustainable practice to enhance soil quality and reduce Cd uptake in rice cropping system.

Understanding the spatial distributions and corresponding variation mechanisms of key soil nutrients in fragile karst ecosystems can assist in promoting sustainable development. However, due to the implementation of ecological restoration initiatives such as land-use conversions, novel changes in the spatial characteristics of soil nutrients remain unknown. To address this gap, we explored nutrient variations and the drivers of the variation in the 0–15 cm topsoil layer using a regional-scale sampling method in a typical karst area in northwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southwest China. Descriptive statistics, geostatistics, and spatial analysis were used to assess the soil nutrient variability. The results indicated that soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and total potassium (TK) concentrations showed moderate variations, with coefficients of variance being 0.60, 0.60, 0.71, and 0.72, respectively. Moreover, they demonstrated positive spatial autocorrelations, with global Moran’s indices being 0.68, 0.77, 0.64, and 0.68, respectively. However, local Moran’s index values were low, indicating large spatial variations in soil nutrients. The best-fitting semi-variogram models for SOC, TN, TP, and TK concentrations were spherical, Gaussian, exponential, and exponential, respectively. According to the classification criteria of the Second National Soil Census in China, SOC and TN concentrations were relatively sufficient, with the proportions of rich and very rich levels being up to 90.9 and 96.0%, respectively. TP concentration was in the medium-deficient level, with the areas of medium and deficient levels accounting for 33.7 and 30.1% of the total, respectively. TK concentration was deficient, with the cumulative area of extremely deficient, very deficient, and deficient levels accounting for 87.6% of the total area. Consequently, the terrestrial ecosystems in the study area were more vulnerable to soil P and K than soil N deficiencies. Furthermore, variance partitioning analysis of the influencing factors showed that, except for the interactions, the single effect of other soil properties accounted more for soil nutrient variations than spatial and environmental variables. These results will aid in the future management of terrestrial ecosystems.

Straw return has demonstrated significant potential for enhancing carbon (C) sequestration and nitrogen (N) uptake while concurrently promoting plant productivity. However, the specific transport and distribution of C produced by photosynthesis and exogenous N within the rice plant-soil system under straw return remains unclear. A long-term straw return pot trial experiment was conducted in a double cropping rice system, incorporating treatments of inorganic fertilizer application with straw removal (F), straw burning and ash return with reducing inorganic fertilizers (SBR), and straw return with reducing inorganic fertilizers (SR) to investigate C sequestration and exogenous N uptake using ¹³C pulse and ¹⁵N isotope tracer techniques. The SR treatment had significantly higher soil ¹³C abundance, by 24.4 and 25.4% respectively, ¹³C concentrations in aboveground plant parts, by 18.4 and 35.8% respectively, and ¹⁵N concentrations in rice panicles, by 12.8 and 34.3% than the SBR and F treatments. This enhancement contributed to a higher total organic C concentration and increased rice grain yield in the SR treatment. Furthermore, the SR treatment had significantly higher photosynthetic C, by 9.8%, which was directly transferred to soil C. The SR treatment had a higher distribution of photosynthetic C in the leaves and stems, but a lower distribution in the panicle compared to the SBR treatment. This finding is advantageous for sequestering photosynthetic C into the soil through straw return; conversely, opposite trends were observed in ¹⁵N distribution. In addition, rice plants in the SR treatment had increased N uptake from urea and soil N sources, enhancing N recovery by 9.2 and 12.5% respectively and reducing soil N residues. Correlation analysis showed that the SR treatment increased the concentrations of ¹³C in leaves and roots while decreasing the ¹⁵N abundance in all rice organs, thereby contributing to an increase in rice yield. The partial least square path model suggested that the increase in rice yield under the SR treatment was primarily linked to ¹³C accumulation within the rice plant-soil system. The results suggest that straw return increases the sequestration of photosynthetic C and exogenous N in the rice plant-soil system and increases N utilization efficiency, which subsequently improves both rice and soil productivity.

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), an under-utilized pseudocereal, has important nutritional and pharmaceutical properties and is resistant to drought and nutrient deficiency.  However, this environmentally friendly crop is sensitive to salt stress that can result in water loss, stomatal closure, affect photosynthesis and metabolism, and reduce yield and quality of Tartary buckwheat.  Thus, it is important to understand the mechanism of salt stress tolerance in buckwheat. In this study, we identified a locus including 35 candidate genes on chromosome 2 that is significantly associated with salt tolerance of Tartary buckwheat by genome-wide association analysis (GWAS).  Transcriptome analysis revealed that the serine/threonine-protein kinase Aurora-3 (FtAUR3) family gene was up-regulated in response to salt stress.  The deletion of a single nucleotide in the FtAUR3 promoter leads to increased FtAUR3 expression and enhanced salt tolerance in Tartary buckwheat.  Overexpression of FtAUR3 in buckwheat hairy roots leads to the accumulation of flavonoids, including rutin and cinnamic acid, as well as the induction of the expression of flavonoid biosynthesis genes, such as PAL, C4H, F3H and F3’H, under salt stress.  In addition, it was shown that over-expression of FtAUR3 in Arabidopsis thaliana induced the expression of salt-resistant genes (SOS1, AVP1, etc.) and enhanced salt tolerance compared to wild type plants.  Furthermore, under salt stress, FtAUR3 can significantly enhances the levels of reactive oxygen species pathway components, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase, thereby improving plant salt tolerance.  Thus, we demonstrated that FtAUR3 interacts with the critical enzyme FtGAPB in the ROS pathway, suggesting a potential mechanism through which FtAUR3 contributes to ROS signaling.  Taken together, these results demonstrated that FtAUR3 may play a critical positive role in Tartary buckwheat resistance against salt stress.

基因编辑系统在阐明植物基因功能和促进分子设计育种方面具有广泛的潜力。然而，单引导rna（sgRNAs）的效率各不相同，通过生物信息学准确预测其效率仍然存在挑战，特别是在棉花（陆地棉）等作物中。在本研究中，我们开发了一种快速、有效的方法，利用一个瞬时表达系统来验证棉花中sgRNAs的功能，它可以在三天内完成。本研究选择6个基因12个靶点，观察到通过稳定和瞬态转换获得的编辑效率呈正相关，皮尔逊相关系数（R2）为0.71。我们的研究通过评估多个基因的不同gRNA序列的效率，证实该方法可以快速评估gRNA对基因组的编辑效率，从而通过预筛选提高基因编辑的工作效率。

Prohexadione-calcium (Pro-Ca) has been shown to positively regulate crop tolerance to saline-alkali stress.  However, the optimal concentration for Pro-Ca application and the mechanisms through which it enhances saline-alkali tolerance and yield in soybean remain unclear.  This study aimed to determine the optimal concentration of exogenously applied Pro-Ca and revealed the mechanisms underlying Pro-Ca’s effect on remediation and yield response in soybean under saline-alkali stress.  The results indicated that saline-alkali stress negatively impacted the morphological and physiological traits of soybean seedlings by triggering the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative damage of the grana lamellae due to excessive accumulation of Na⁺.  An application of 100 mg L⁻¹ Pro-Ca was found to be optimal, promoting dry matter accumulation and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) by significantly reducing Na⁺ uptake under saline-alkali stress.  Moreover, integrated physiological, ultrastructural, and transcriptomic analyses indicated that Pro-Ca significantly enhanced the ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle by up-regulating the expression of related genes to enhance the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), and the AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG ratios to quench ROS, thereby protecting both thylakoid and mitochondrial membrane from degradation.  The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) encoding ascorbate and aldarate metabolism were significantly (P<0.05) enriched in the integral component of membrane.  Furthermore, Pro-Ca treatment up-regulated the expression of genes encoded photosystems under saline-alkali stress, which reduced the photoinhibition and stomatal limitation (L_s) and mitigating damage photosystem and preventing yield reduction.  In summary, foliar application of Pro-Ca could efficiently enhance soybean seedlings tolerance to saline-alkali stress by inhibiting Na⁺ influx, enhancing the AsA-GSH cycle, maintaining biomembrane system, and improving photosynthetic efficiency.

The universal stress proteins (USPs) play important roles not only in abiotic stress tolerance but also in plant growth and development.  However, the role of USPs in regulating starch biosynthesis has not been reported.  In this research, the IbUSP17 gene was isolated from a sweetpotato line H283 with high starch content.  The IbUSP17 protein was localized in the nucleus. IbUSP17 were highly expressed in the lines with high starch content and during rapid thickening and starch accumulation period of storage roots.  Overexpressing IbUSP17 increased storage root starch content, especially amylopectin proportion, without storage root yield penalty in sweetpotato.  Overexpression of IbUSP17 up-regulated the genes involved in starch biosynthesis and increased the activities of enzymes related to amylopectin biosynthesis.  The contents of components related to starch biosynthesis were also increased in the IbUSP17-overexpressing plants.  Silencing this gene produced opposite effects.  These results suggest that overexpression of IbUSP17 increases starch content through up-regulating the genes involved in starch biosynthesis and increasing the activities of enzymes related to starch biosynthesis, especially amylopectin biosynthesis.  It is the first time to reveal the role of the USP gene in starch biosynthesis.  This gene is expected to be used to increase starch yield and improve starch quality in sweetpotato.

Sustainable increase in maize yield is severely constrained by the continuing reduction in topsoil depth due to irrational farming practices and the effects of climate change. However, the mechanisms by which topsoil depth affects crop physiology and biochemistry remain unclear, particularly with respect to photosynthesis and carbon assimilation.  To investigate the effects of topsoil depth on maize photosynthetic processes, carbon assimilation, and yield in the field, we used a two-factor random block design with five topsoil depths of 10 cm (S1), 20 cm (S2), 30 cm (S3), 40 cm (S4), and 50 cm (S5) at two planting densities of 60,000 plants ha⁻¹ (conventional density, D1) and 90,000 plants ha⁻¹ (high density, D2).  Increasing topsoil depth significantly increased maize grain yield, with maximum increases of 61.7% in D1 and 72.1% in D2.  Increasing topsoil depth also increased chlorophyll content, maximum photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m), actual photochemical efficiency (ΦPSII), and photosynthetic enzyme activities, including ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), and pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK).  With the increases in those parameters, plants maintained the highest net photosynthetic rate (P_nmax) when reaching the light saturation point, with maximum increases of 68.0% in D1 and 75.7% in D2, thereby increasing dry matter production at physiological maturity.  The accumulation of ¹³C-photosynthates in maize stem, leaf, and grain increased with the increase in topsoil depth, indicating increases in carbon assimilation capacity, distribution efficiency, and photosynthetic capacity.  In summary, increasing topsoil depth is an important factor in ensuring high and stable maize yields, and the increase in yield is closely related to the physiological differences caused by changes in topsoil depth.

粒形是决定水稻产量和品质的重要因素。功能缺失型gs9等位基因可以产生细长粒形和较低垩白，影响籽粒外观。本研究中我们证实了当前大多数的粳稻品种表现为短圆粒，其主要粒形基因位点上携带相同的等位基因组合。利用CRISPR/Cas9产生的敲除等位基因gs9^KO能够显著改善供试粳稻品种的粒形和垩白，且对产量性状无影响。此外，通过栽培密度试验确认gs9^KO等位基因造成的植株叶夹角略有增加，不影响最终单株产量。结果表明，gs9^KO等位基因在改善籽粒外观品质方面具有广泛的应用潜力。

 Green manure application is an effective, eco-friendly method for improving crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE).  However, the impact of varying green manure (GM) incorporation rates on nitrogen (N) loss, wheat grain yield, and NUE remains unclear.  So, a long-term field experiment was conducted in an oasis region from 2020 to 2023.  The experiment aimed to study the effects of different GM application rates on N loss in wheat fields and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.  The experiment tested two N levels (N0, 0 kg ha^-1; N1, 180 kg ha^-1) and four green manure application rates (G0, 0 kg ha^-1; G1, 15,000 kg ha^-1; G2, 30,000 kg ha^-1; G3, 45,000 kg ha^-1).  The study evaluated the impact of synthetic N fertilizer combined with varying green manure levels on N losses, NUE, and wheat productivity.  Relationships between N input, N losses, N use efficiency, and grain yield were also analyzed.  Results showed that green manure application significantly increased soil nitrate-N storage (0-100 cm), reduced the risk of N leaching into deeper soil layers, lowered N₂O emissions, and simultaneously boosted wheat grain yield (GY), although it also increased NH₃ emissions; however, NUE was improved.  The N₂O emissions from different amounts of green manure retention were decreased by 14.1 to 19.0%, compared to N1G0.  Whereas in the N0, GM retention amendment increased the N₂O flux by an average of 12.2%, compared to N0G0.  The NH₃ emission in the N0 and N1 treatments was first enhanced then stabilized as the amount of green manure increased.  The highest grain yield and N use efficiency were achieved with the N1G2 treatment. Simulations indicated that an optimal N input of 180 kg ha^-1 synthetic N combined with 30,000 kg ha^-1 green manure was required to maximize both wheat yield and NUE, while minimizing apparent N losses.  Therefore, the green manure application strategy of N1G2 in this study could achieve higher wheat yield, improve NUE, reduce N losses, and mitigate soil nitrate leaching.  This management strategy provides key insights for achieving high crop productivity with minimal N loss, offering a practical solution for sustainable agriculture.

The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is one of the most serious pests in rice-growing areas, and it has developed resistance to most insecticides currently used in the field. Cyproflanilide is a novel meta-diamide insecticide that has shown high activities to multiple pests. Evaluating the risk of resistance to cyproflanilide in C. suppressalis is necessary for its preventive resistance management. Here we established the baseline susceptibility of C. suppressalis to cyproflanilide by the rice-seedling dipping method and topical application, and the LC₅₀ and LD₅₀ values were 0.026 mg L^-1 and 0.122 ng/larva, respectively. The LC₅₀ values of cyproflanilide in 37 field populations ranged from 0.012 to 0.061 mg L^-1, and 25 field populations exhibited resistance to chlorantraniliprole with the highest LC₅₀ value of 3770.059 mg L^-1. In addition, a logistic distribution model analysis indicated that only 0.048 mg L^-1 of cyproflanilide was required to kill 90% field chlorantraniliprole-resistant populations of C. suppressalis, compared to 2087.764 mg L^-1 of chlorantraniliprole for a similar level of control. Resistance screening over 19 generations did not result in resistance to cyproflanilide (RR=3.1-fold). The realized heritability (h²) of resistance was estimated as 0.067 by using threshold trait analysis, suggesting a low risk of cyproflanilide resistance development in susceptible strains. The Cypro-SEL population (F₁₀) had no obvious fitness cost (relative fitness=0.96), and no significant changes in sensitivity to seven tested insecticides. These findings suggested that cyproflanilide is a promising insecticide for the management of chlorantraniliprole-resistant C. suppressalis. Moreover, this integrated risk assessment provides scientific application guidelines for the sustainable resistance management of cyproflanilide for controlling C. suppressalis.

Leaf rolling is an important morphological trait in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), strongly correlating to photosynthesis, transpiration, and respiration, especially in abiotic stress conditions.  Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs)/genes underling rolling leaf is essential for wheat breeding.  In this study, one EMS-induced mutant Y536 was isolated in Nongda3753 background with extreme abaxial rolling leaf.  The F₂ and F_2:3 populations derived from a cross between Jing411 and mutant Y536 with contrasting leaf rolling morphology were developed to map locus controlling leaf rolling.  A public SSR marker was isolated on chromosome 6DL that held a high linkage level with leaf rolling index (LRI).  Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis revealed a stable QTL associated with LRI, named QLRI.cau-6D, which explained 7.69 to 10.86% of the total phenotypic variation and had LOD scores ranging from 10.00 to 13.32.  TraesCS6D02G237000 (TaHDZIV-D1) was the priority candidate gene according to coding sequence differences between two parents and gene functional annotations.  Consistently, knockout of TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1 in common wheat line ‘JW1’ significantly increased LRI compared to the wild type, as well as overexpression of TaHDZIV-D1 in ‘JW1’ significantly decreased LRI until opposite direction.  Moreover, genetic evidence suggested that a dose-dependent manner in TaHDZIV-A1/B1/D1 affects leaf rolling.  Collectively, these findings provide a novel and recent insight into the genetic base of leaf rolling in common wheat.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of widely discovered non-coding RNAs in different organisms, but their biological function is largely unknown, especially in plant-microbial interaction. In this study, we identified an exonic circRNA (Che-circR2410) from the fungus Cochliobolus heterostrophus (C. heterostrophus) that, together with its corresponding linear RNA ChCYP51, synergistically regulates the virulence of C. heterostrophus to maize. Further in-situ hybridization and the dual-luciferase reporter assays reveal the interaction between pathogenic circRNA Che-circR2410 and its cross-kingdom host target, zma-miR399e-5p. Additionally, lesion areas caused by both the wild-type C. heterostrophus and the circR2410 knock-out strain (∆ChcircR2410) showed no significant difference on maize miR399e silencing mutant, providing support for the interaction between Che-circR2410 and zma-miR399e-5p. Moreover, we found that zma-miR399e affects the expression of autophagy-related genes, regulating maize immunity. Thus, our findings reveal a cross-kingdom interaction between the pathogenic exonic circRNA and host miRNA, modulating C. heterostrophus infection in maize. This study broadens our understanding of the C. heterostrophus-maize interaction at the level of non-coding RNA.

Pepper fruit is highly favored for its spicy taste, diverse flavors, and high nutritional value. The proper development of its flower and fruit directly determines the quality of pepper fruit. The YABBY gene family exhibits diverse functions in growth and development, which is crucial to the identity of plant flower organs, but its specific role in pepper is still unclear. In this study, nine CaYABBY genes were identified and characterized in pepper. Most CaYABBY genes were highly expressed in reproductive organs, albeit with varying patterns of expression. The CaYABBY5 gene, uniquely expressed in petals and carpels, has been demonstrated to modulate floral organ determinacy and fruit shape through gene silencing in pepper and ectopic expression in tomato. Protein interaction analysis revealed an interacting protein SEPALLATA3-like protein (SEP3), exhibiting a similar expression profile to that of CaYABBY5. These findings suggest that CaYABBY5 may modulate the morphogenesis of floral organs and fruits by interacting with CaSEP3. This study provided valuable insights into the classification and function of CaYABBY genes in pepper.

Genetic diversity is crucial for genetic research and breeding, and the core collections are important resources for capturing this diversity. Recently, the core germplasm of tea plants was constructed mainly based on phenotypic data or molecular markers; however, the effective construction of a core germplasm resource for plant breeding programs requires the consideration of various aspects. In this study, we collected 320 tea germplasm resources and analyzed their single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and metabolite data. Abundant genetic diversity in tea plants was inferred from the mean values of observed heterozygosity (Ho=0.340), expected heterozygosity (He=0.327), minor allele frequency (MAF=0.229), and polymorphic information content (PIC=0.268), based on the data from 2,118,060 high-quality SNP markers. A mean genetic diversity index (H') value of 1.902 suggested significant metabolic variation. The 320 tea samples were categorized into six groups based on phylogenetic analysis, reflecting the influence of geographical factors on genetic diversity. Based on the genetic and metabolic data, a preliminary core collection of 106 accessions was developed to effectively represent the majority of the molecular, metabolic, population, and regional diversity present in the original panel. Genome-wide association studies of the core panel successfully replicated the marker-trait associations found in the original panel. This study contributes to the conservation and management of tea plant germplasm.

Intervention strategies to control non-point source nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution in agriculture are expensive and there is a trade-off between engineering cost and treatment effectiveness. Implementing strategies often result in unsatisfactory outcomes and massive engineering costs when managing diffusive pollution in agricultural catchments. To address this issue, this paper proposes a robust, handy, catchment N & P decision support system (CNPDSS), an Android-based smartphone system integrated with a web-based Geographic Information System (GIS). The CNPDSS aims to provide artificial intelligence-driven decisions that minimize N & P loadings and engineering costs for mitigating pollution in agricultural catchments. It consists of four components: a general user interface (GUI), GIS, N & P pollution modeling (NPPM), and a DSS. The CNPDSS simplifies the GUI and integrates GIS modules to create a user-friendly interface, enabling non-professional users to operate the system easily through intuitive actions. The NPPM uses straightforward empirical models to predict N & P loadings, enhancing efficiency by avoiding excessive parameters. Taking into account the N & P movement pathway in the catchment, the DSS incorporates three control measures: source reduction in farmland (before migration stage), process retention by ecological ditch (midway transport stage), and down-end purification by constructed wetland (waterbody discharge stage), to formulate a comprehensive ternary controlling strategy. To optimize the cost-effectiveness of any proposed N & P control strategies for sub-catchments, a differential evolution algorithm (DEA) is employed in CNPDSS to carry out a dual-objective decision-making optimization computation. In this study, the CNPDSS is applied to a case study in an agricultural catchment in central China to develop the most cost-effective ternary N & P control strategies that ensure the catchment water quality within Criterion III of the Chinese Surface Water Quality Standard GB3838-2002 is met (total N concentration≤1.0 mg L⁻¹ and total P concentration≤0.2 mg L⁻¹). Our results demonstrate that the CNPDSS is feasible and also possesses an adaptive design and flexible architecture to enable its generalization and extension to support strong hands-on applications in other catchments.

In order to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the contribution of autophagy to pepper’s heat tolerance, in previous study, we identified the zinc-finger protein B-BOX 9/CONSTANS-LIKE 13 (CaBBX9/CaCOL13) as an interaction partner of Autophagy regulated protein (ATG) CaATG8c, one of the core components in autophagy. However, the involvements of CaBBX9 in both autophagy and heat tolerance remain unclear. In this study, we further confirmed the interaction between CaBBX9 with CaATG8c, and defined the interaction regions of CaBBX9 are CONSTANS, CONSTANS-Like and TOC1 (CCT) domain and the fragment region. The expression of CaBBX9 can be induced by heat treatment. CaBBX9 is co-localized with CaATG8c in the nucleus and exhibits a transcriptional activity. When the expression of CaBBX9 is silenced, the heat-tolerance of pepper is enhanced, shown by the decrement of MDA content, H₂O₂, dead cells, and relative electrolyte leakage, and the increment of chlorophyll content and expression level of heat stress related genes. Overexpression of CaBBX9 in tomatoes displays the opposite effects. Taken together, our study demonstrates that CaBBX9 negatively regulates the heat-tolerance of peppers by exacerbating oxidative damage and inhibiting the expression of heat related genes. Our findings provide a new clue for guiding crop breeding for tolerance to adverse environment.

In recent years, the rational utilization of saline water resources for agricultural irrigation has emerged as an effective strategy to alleviate water scarcity. To safely and efficiently exploit saline water resources over the long term, it is crucial to understand the effects of salinity on crops and develop optimal water-salinity irrigation strategies for processing tomatoes. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2018 and 2019 to explore the impact of water salinity levels (S1: 1 g L^–1, S2: 3 g L^–1, and S3: 5 g L^–1) and irrigation amounts (W1: 305 mm, W2: 485 mm, and W3: 611 mm) on the soil volumetric water content and soil salinity, as well as processing tomato growth, yield, and water use efficiency. The results showed that irrigation with low to moderately saline water (<3 g L^–1) enhanced plant water uptake and utilization capacity, with the soil water content (SWC) reduced by 6.5‒7.62% and 10.52‒13.23% for the S1 and S2 levels, respectively, compared to the S3 level in 2018. Under S1 conditions, the soil salt content (SSC) accumulation rate gradually declined with an increase in the irrigation amount. For example, W3 decreased by 85.00 and 77.94% compared with W1 and W2 in 2018, and by 82.60 and 73.68% 2019, respectively. Leaching effects were observed at the W3 level under S1, which gradually diminished with increasing water salinity and duration. In 2019, the salt contents of soil under each of the treatments increased by 10.81‒89.72% compared with the contents in 2018. The yield of processing tomatoes increased with an increasing irrigation amount and peaked in the S1W3 treatment for the two years, reaching 125,304.85 kg ha^–1 in 2018 and 128,329.71 kg ha^–1 in 2019. Notably, in the first year, the S2W3 treatment achieved relatively high yields, exhibiting only a 2.85% reduction compared to the S1W3 treatment. However, the yield of the S2W3 treatment declined significantly in two years, and it was 15.88% less than that of the S1W3 treatment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that soil environmental factors (SWC and SSC) directly influence yield while also exerting indirect impacts on the growth indicators of processing tomatoes (plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area index). The TOPSIS method identified S1W3, S1W2, and S2W2 as the top three treatments. The single-factor marginal effect function also revealed that irrigation water salinity contributed to the composite evaluation scores (CES) when it was below 0.96 g L^–1. Using brackish water with a salinity of 3 g L^–1 at an irrigation amount of 485 mm over one year ensured that processing tomatoes maintained high yields with a relatively high CES (0.709). However, using brackish water for more than one year proved unfeasible.

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.

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.