Review
Plant Sciences
Paola I. Angulo-Bejarano, Jonathan Puente-Rivera, Rocio Cruz-Ortega
Summary: Globally, the increasing effects of metal and metalloid toxicity are mainly attributed to anthropogenic causes, particularly soil contamination. Plants have evolved mechanisms such as hyperaccumulation, tolerance, exclusion, and chelation with organic molecules to overcome metal/metalloid stress, while omics research has enhanced understanding of plant genome and transcriptome plasticity in response to these stimuli.
Review
Plant Sciences
Bhaskar Sarma, Hamdy Kashtoh, Tensangmu Lama Tamang, Pranaba Nanda Bhattacharyya, Yugal Kishore Mohanta, Kwang-Hyun Baek, Antonio Scopa, Daniela Businelli
Summary: Rice, as one of the most significant staple foods worldwide, has faced challenges due to climate change and abiotic stress. Abiotic stressors such as drought, heat, cold, salt, submergence, and heavy metal toxicity have resulted in reduced photosynthetic efficiency, imbalanced redox homeostasis, and tissue damage in rice plants. Rice plants respond to these stressors through various morphological, biochemical, and physiological mechanisms.
Review
Plant Sciences
Manamele Dannies Mashabela, Priscilla Masamba, Abidemi Paul Kappo
Summary: Plants undergo metabolic perturbations to combat abiotic stress, and metabolomics studies have gained attention for their contribution to understanding plant responses. Technological advancements in analytical biochemistry, including chromatography and spectroscopy, have further enhanced the field. The Internet of Things and machine learning have also improved data acquisition and analysis, allowing scientists to develop predictive models for crop improvement. This review focuses on the application of metabolomics in studying heavy metal toxicity and osmotic stress tolerance in plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yue Qu, Rongxia Guan, Jayakumar Bose, Sam W. Henderson, Stefanie Wege, Lijuan Qiu, Matthew Gilliham
Summary: The study identified that GmSALT3 plays a significant role in salt tolerance by promoting net influx and accumulation of Na+, K+ and Cl- in plant cells. Grafting experiments demonstrated that shoot Cl- exclusion is dependent on the presence of GmSALT3 in shoots, revealing a novel mechanism for salt tolerance in plants.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lawan Gana Ali, Rosimah Nulit, Mohd Hafiz Ibrahim, Christina Yong Seok Yien
Summary: The study showed that priming with KNO3 and SiO2 significantly improved emergence, seedling growth, biochemical attributes, and antioxidant activities in rice seedlings. Compared to control, primed rice seedlings exhibited notable enhancements in the aforementioned aspects.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Se Eun Jung, Tae Hwan Kim, Jae Sung Shim, Seung Woon Bang, Ho Bin Yoon, Shin Hee Oh, Youn Shic Kim, Se-Jun Oh, Jun Sung Seo, Ju-Kon Kim
Summary: Land plants have developed a comprehensive system to cope with drought stress, and transcriptional regulation plays a crucial role. This study reveals that OsNAC17 transcription factor contributes to drought tolerance in rice by promoting lignin biosynthesis.
Article
Plant Sciences
Riya Johnson, Kanchan Vishwakarma, Md. Shahadat Hossen, Vinod Kumar, A. M. Shackira, Jos T. Puthur, Gholamreza Abdi, Mohammad Sarraf, Mirza Hasanuzzaman
Summary: Potassium is an essential element for plant growth and development, playing a vital role in regulating various functions and providing resistance against abiotic stress. This article reviews the physiological functions of potassium in plants, including stomatal regulation, photosynthesis, and water uptake, as well as its role in detoxifying reactive oxygen species and conferring tolerance to abiotic stresses.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Yahui Chen, Shiyang Zhang, Shanfeng Du, Jiang Jiang, Guangyu Wang
Summary: This study revealed the involvement of potassium ion channels and transporters in the salt tolerance mechanism and metabolites of the halophyte Tamarix ramosissima in response to NaCl stress. It provides a theoretical basis for utilizing halophytes to mitigate salt stress.
Article
Agronomy
Toavintsoa Rajonandraina, Tovohery Rakotoson, Matthias Wissuwa, Yoshiaki Ueda, Tantely Razafimbelo, Andry Andriamananjara, Guy J. D. Kirk
Summary: Iron toxicity in rice leads to reduced yields due to excessive uptake of ferrous iron, which is more soluble in paddy soils. Different tolerance mechanisms, such as reduced uptake and compartmentalization, play different roles at different growth stages. Screening protocols need to capture the individual tolerance mechanisms, considering the effects of growth stage, mineral nutrition, and possible interactions with other factors.
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Agronomy
Shuai Tong, Motoyuki Ashikari, Keisuke Nagai, Ole Pedersen
Summary: Considering the intensification of climate change, the urgent development of resilient rice that can endure abiotic stresses is necessary. Wild relatives of rice possess diverse mechanisms to shield themselves from environmental pressures. These wild plants may provide an untapped source of genetic diversity essential for improving abiotic stress tolerance in cultivated rice. However, traditional breeding methods such as backcrossing and transgenesis pose difficulties in transferring resilience traits between plants. On the other hand, genome editing allows for quick de novo domestication to produce rice with high yields from wild relatives, like O. longistaminata, which exhibits tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses and valuable traits for sustainable rice production.
Article
Plant Sciences
H. S. Sheela, Amaranatha R. Vennapusa, Kalpalatha Melmaiee, T. G. Prasad, Chandrashekar P. Reddy
Summary: Drought, salinity, and heat stress have a significant impact on rice crop growth and production. Overcoming multiple abiotic stresses is a major challenge for agriculture. Improving rice's tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses involves targeting multiple traits and understanding their complexity.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shabnam K. Saifi, Nishat Passricha, Renu Tuteja, Manoj Nath, Ritu Gill, Sarvajeet Singh Gill, Narendra Tuteja
Summary: This study provides the first direct evidence of the novel function of RuvBL in boosting abiotic stress tolerance in plants. By genetically engineering the OsRuvBL gene into rice genome, the transgenic lines showed better performance under abiotic stresses. This approach has successfully developed abiotic stress resilient smart crops.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Irfan Haider, Ihsan Ullah, Sajjad Ullah Khan, Iqbal Munir, Aisha Mateen, Naser AL-Kenani, Bassam Oudh Al Johny, Yasir Anwar, Habeeb M. Al-Solami, Torki M. Alahmadi, Nadiah Alsulami, Ali Zari, Khalid M. S. Alghamdi, Abdullah Obaid M. Alharbi, Muhammad Faisal Siddiqui, Ijaz Naeem
Summary: In this study, researchers focused on the ability of plant endophytic bacteria to improve plant responses to various stresses. Bacteria were isolated from the SWAT-1 rice variety and characterized biochemically and morphologically. The study found that these endophytic bacteria can enhance plant growth, increase the uptake of cadmium, and exhibit antimicrobial activity. The findings suggest that these isolates have the potential to be used as biocontrol agents and biofertilizers.
JOURNAL OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Karikalan Jayaraman, Venkat K. Raman, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, S. R. Sivakumar, Gayatri, C. Viswanathan, Trilochan Mohapatra, Pranab Kumar Mandal
Summary: Our study showed that OsCHI2 can enhance rice adaptation to various abiotic stresses other than heat stress through modulation of flavonoid metabolism, providing a potential strategy for breeding improvement.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Jianxin Shi, Gynheung An, Andreas P. M. Weber, Dabing Zhang
Summary: To achieve the goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, transformative change is needed in our agrifood systems to ensure food security in the face of climate change, population growth, urbanization, and natural resource depletion. Rice, a major staple cereal crop, has historically contributed to global food security and will continue to do so in the future. Advances in research and breeding practices have helped meet increasing demands, but the future of rice production depends on resilient cultivars that can adapt to changing environmental conditions. This Special Issue highlights the field of rice-environment interactions and proposes future directions for rice research, including the development of environment-resilient rice varieties.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Carla Andrea Delatorre, Vanessa de Freitas Duarte, Andriele Wairich, Guilherme Paim Fraga, Marcio Pacheco Ribeiro, Helen Estima Lazzari
Summary: This study evaluates changes in phyllochron and thermal sum required for flowering in oat genotypes developed at different decades under different temperature regimes. The results show that the UFRGS 078030-2 genotype flowers earlier, has fewer developed phytomeres, and greater tolerance to high temperatures. More recent genotypes transition to reproductive stage earlier than older ones.
Article
Agronomy
Andriele Wairich, Jaiana Malabarba, Vanessa Buffon, Diogo D. Porto, Roberto Togawa, Luis F. Revers
Summary: This study identified the resistance locus Rpv3 in Plasmopara viticola, the pathogen causing downy mildew in grapevines. Candidate genes associated with resistance were identified and their transcriptional profiles were evaluated. Four genes were found to be specifically expressed in the resistant cultivar, suggesting their association with hypersensitivity response. The study also demonstrated the efficient use of SSR and SNP markers for marker-assisted selection of resistant individuals.
Review
Agronomy
Frederike Zeibig, Benjamin Kilian, Michael Frei
Summary: The domestication of wheat has led to changes in its genetic diversity and grain quality. Through studying wild relatives such as the timopheevii lineage, we can potentially improve the quality of wheat by exploring the full diversity of the wheat gene pool.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Angeline Wanjiku Maina, Yanru Feng, Lin-Bo Wu, Michael Frei
Summary: This study investigates the interactive effects of ozone and rice blast disease on different rice varieties, and finds that the tolerance to these stresses does not appear to be genetically linked in rice.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lin-Bo Wu, Joon-Seob Eom, Reika Isoda, Chenhao Li, Si Nian Char, Dangping Luo, Van Schepler-Luu, Masayoshi Nakamura, Bing Yang, Wolf B. Frommer
Summary: SWEETs play important roles in intercellular sugar transport. OsSWEET11b has roles in male fertility and bacterial blight susceptibility in rice, possibly depending on sucrose transport activity. Induction of OsSWEET11b by TALe increases the virulence of Xoo. The identification of OsSWEET11b is relevant for protecting rice against new Xoo strains targeting this gene.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yanru Feng, Thuy Huu Nguyen, Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Lisa Emberson, Thomas Gaiser, Frank Ewert, Michael Frei
Summary: Tropospheric ozone poses a threat to crop production globally, particularly in densely populated countries undergoing economic transition. This study aimed to identify physiological traits contributing to yield losses or stability under ozone stress in 18 contrasting wheat cultivars. Results showed that foliar chlorophyll content and net CO2 assimilation rate of young leaves during grain filling were the most strongly correlated physiological traits with grain yield losses or stability.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yanru Feng, Lin-Bo Wu, Sawitree Autarmat, Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Michael Frei
Summary: This study investigated the physiological responses and candidate genes for ozone tolerance in wheat. It found that sensitive genotypes showed a decrease in net photosynthetic rate and an increase in lipid peroxidation, while tolerant genotypes showed consistent antioxidant responses. Analysis of candidate genes located on chromosome 5A revealed differential expression and sequence polymorphisms between tolerant and sensitive genotypes. This study provides a step forward in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying ozone tolerance in wheat.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Flora Mueckschel, Elijah Ollo, Stefanie P. Glaeser, Rolf Duering, Feng Yan, Hermann Velten, Ulf Theilen, Michael Frei
Summary: Microalgae from wastewater treatments can serve as a source of nutrients for crops, particularly nitrogen. Wheat plants treated with microalgae biomass showed improved physiological performance, growth, and nutrient uptake compared to the control. However, their yields and nitrogen use efficiency were lower than with mineral fertilizer, and the abundance of rhizosphere microbes and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms were not significantly affected.
JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Frederike Zeibig, Benjamin Kilian, Hakan Oezkan, Sumitra Pantha, Michael Frei
Summary: De novo domestication, which involves modifying the domestication genes in crop wild relatives using genome editing, is a method that utilizes the beneficial genetic diversity of these wild relatives. Phenotyping is a necessary step in identifying suitable genetic materials for cultivation in a specific environment. Certain wild wheats from the wheat genepool have shown to be adaptable to central European conditions and have desirable traits for domestication.
FOOD AND ENERGY SECURITY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ambika Pandey, Lin-Bo Wu, Varunseelan Murugaiyan, Gabriel Schaaf, Jauhar Ali, Michael Frei
Summary: Contamination of paddy soils with arsenic can have toxic effects on rice plants and increase arsenic accumulation in grains. The uptake and detoxification of different arsenic species in rice is not fully understood. This study investigated the toxic effects of arsenite and arsenate on rice plants and the role of glutathione S-transferase in detoxifying arsenic. The results showed that arsenite was more detrimental to plant growth and lipid peroxidation than arsenate. Overexpression of glutathione S-transferase led to improved plant growth and lower lipid peroxidation under acute arsenite stress. Overall, arsenite was found to be more toxic to plants than arsenate and glutathione S-transferase has differential effects on plant reactions and tolerance to different arsenic species.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andriele Wairich, Ariane Vitali, Janete Mariza Adamski, Karina Leticia Lopes, Guilherme Leitao Duarte, Lucas Roani Ponte, Henrique Keller Costa, Paloma Koprovski Menguer, Rinaldo Pires dos Santos, Janette Palma Fett, Raul Antonio Sperotto, Felipe Klein Ricachenevsky
Summary: This study found that stress-induced OsNAC5 in rice is up-regulated by senescence and might be involved in regulating iron and zinc concentrations in rice seeds. Overexpression of OsNAC5 resulted in shorter seedlings, reduced yield, and increased expression of OsNAC6. Analysis showed that overexpression of OsNAC5 led to lower iron and zinc concentrations in leaves and higher iron concentrations in seeds. Fine-tuning of transcription factors is therefore crucial for crop improvement.
GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yanru Feng, Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Feng Yan, Michael Frei
Summary: Tropospheric ozone has significant effects on the remobilization and allocation efficiency of aboveground biomass and nutrients in cereal crops. Long-term ozone exposure increases straw C:N ratio and affects grain C:N ratio. Grain N concentrations increase significantly under ozone stress, but N yield declines due to grain yield losses. Various indicators of N use efficiency are reduced, indicating reduced N absorption from soil and allocation from vegetative to reproductive organs. Straw C:N ratio is not suitable for predicting wheat productivity. Nitrogen harvest index (NHI) is not affected by ozone stress, but the relationship between harvest index (HI) and NHI is changed by elevated ozone concentration.
Article
Biology
Lin-Bo Wu, Yanru Feng, Frederike Zeibig, Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Michael Frei
Summary: This study presents a method for investigating enzymatic activities related to ascorbate turnover, utilizing a 96-well microplate reader to analyze multiple samples simultaneously. The protocol offers a high-throughput approach for studying the functions of key enzymes in plants related to ascorbate turnover.