Plant Interactions Research Articles

Biennial Variation and Herbivory Affect Essential Oils of Ipomoea murucoides and Stomata Density of Neighbor Plants

Essential oils (EOs) are mixtures of volatile organic compounds that mediate plant interactions and are also appreciated for their biological properties in aromatic plants. However, the study of EOs in wild plants with biological activity has been neglected. Ipomoea murucoides is a wild species with allelopathic and insecticide activities; however, the climate factors associated with EOs and their role in intra- and interspecific interactions are still unknown. We investigated the effects of temperature, rain, and solar irradiance for two years on the EOs of I. murucoides and documented the effect of herbivory (without, <20%, >20%, and mechanical damage) on their composition. We evaluated the receptivity to possible infochemicals in conspecific and congeneric neighbors to I. murucoides plants exposed to methyl jasmonate (MeJA), herbivory by Ogdoecosta biannularis and without an elicitor. We measured the stomatal density and aperture in the second leaf generation of the neighbor plants. The year and herbivory >20% affected the composition of EOs. Nerolidol could be a biological marker for herbivory. We concluded that herbivory and rain irregularity contribute to EOs changing. The response in the stomatal density in plants not consumed by I. pauciflora but near I. murucoides under MeJA or herbivory gives evidence of interspecific plant–plant communication.

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and seasonality on alpha diversity of ant–plant interaction networks in Mexican temperate forests

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and seasonality on alpha diversity of ant–plant interaction networks in Mexican temperate forests

Aridity and Soil Properties Drive the Shrub–Herb Interactions Along Drought Gradient in Desert Grassland in Inner Mongolia

Environmental conditions can control the structure and composition of plant communities by changing the direction and intensity of plant–plant interactions. In extreme arid regions, accompanied by water and soil nutrient limitation, positive shrub–herb interactions may vary along an aridity gradient, leading to changes in the ecological consequences of shrub encroachment. We investigated the vegetation and soil within 60 shrub patches and their paired interspaces at 20 sites from the northeast to southwest desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China, encroached by the Caragana microphylla shrub. The results show that aridity, soil organic matter (SOM), and soil total phosphorus (TP) were the main factors driving shrub–herb interactions. The positive shrub–herb interaction first increased and then decreased with increasing aridity (in the range of De Martonne Index (DMI) 0.54 to 1.85). The DMI indirectly affected shrub–herb interaction through TP, and the facilitation of shrubs on herbs coverage and biomass increased with the increase in TP. The SOM can directly affect the shrub–herbs interaction, and the facilitation of shrubs on herb diversity decreases with the increase in SOM. Our results indicate that the shrub–herb interaction changes along the environmental stress gradient; in general, shrubs have a positive effect on herbaceous communities along the aridity gradient. This study underscores the positive effects of shrubs on vegetation restoration in desert steppes, and changing environmental conditions by increasing precipitation, increasing TP content, and reducing SOM content can enhance the facilitation of shrub on herbs to accelerate the ecological restoration of degraded desert steppe.

Ectopic enhancer-enhancer interactions as causal forces driving RNA-directed DNA methylation in gene regulatory regions.

Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) are integral to the spatiotemporal and quantitative expression dynamics of target genes, thus directly influencing phenotypic variation and evolution. However, many of these CREs become highly susceptible to transcriptional silencing when in a transgenic state, particularly when organised as tandem repeats. We investigated the mechanism of this phenomenon and found that three of the six selected flower-specific CREs were prone to transcriptional silencing when in a transgenic context. We determined that this silencing was caused by the ectopic expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which were processed into 24-nt small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that drove RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Detailed analyses revealed that aberrant ncRNA transcription within the AGAMOUS enhancer (AGe) in a transgenic context was significantly enhanced by an adjacent CaMV35S enhancer (35Se). This particular enhancer is known to mis-activate the regulatory activities of various CREs, including the AGe. Furthermore, an insertion of 35Se approximately 3.5 kb upstream of the AGe in its genomic locus also resulted in the ectopic induction of ncRNA/siRNA production and de novo methylation specifically in the AGe, but not other regions, as well as the production of mutant flowers. This confirmed that interactions between the 35Se and AGe can induce RdDM activity in both genomic and transgenic states. These findings highlight a novel epigenetic role for CRE-CRE interactions in plants, shedding light on the underlying forces driving hypermethylation in transgenes, duplicate genes/enhancers, and repetitive transposons, in which interactions between CREs are inevitable.

Functional Traits Predict Outcomes of Current and Novel Competition Under Warmer Climate.

Functional traits offer a potential avenue to generalize and forecast the impacts of changing competition on plant communities, including changing outcomes of competition among species that currently interact (current competition) or that will interact in the future following range shifts (novel competition). However, it remains unclear how well traits explain variation in the outcomes of current and novel competition as well as the underlying processes determining coexistence or competitive exclusion, under changing climate. Here, we interacted pairs of high and low-elevation species in three sites across an elevation gradient in the Swiss Alps. For each species pair, we quantified the population-level outcomes of competition (invasion growth rates), relative fitness differences, and niche overlap and related these to 15 functional traits that were measured in each site. Most traits were significantly associated with invasion growth rates at the low elevation, where species had greater relative fitness differences, but these associations were much weaker towards higher elevations. This appears to be because traits, particularly those associated with light competition, captured species' relative fitness differences at lower elevations, but not at the high elevation site, highlighting that the predictive ability of traits can depend on environmental context. The amplified relative fitness differences towards lower elevations suggest that climate warming may increase the likelihood of competitive exclusion. In addition, novel competitors tended to show greater niche overlap than current competitors, leading to stronger overall competitive effects. However, in general, trait differences predicted competitive outcomes of novel and current competitors similarly well, suggesting that traits can predict interactions between species that do not yet interact. Our study reinforces the importance of considering changing interactions for predicting species responses to climate change and provides experimental evidence supporting the usefulness of functional trait differences in forecasting the impacts of future plant interactions under changing climate.

Effect of Plant Identity in Wheat Mixtures on English Grain Aphid (Sitobion avenae) Control

ABSTRACTField experiments have demonstrated that wheat mixtures differ in their ability to regulate aphid populations. To further investigate the effectiveness of wheat mixtures (Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum) in controlling aphids, we conducted both laboratory and greenhouse experiments. Specifically, we assessed the associational resistance of two wheat mixtures (Florence‐Aurora with Forment, Florence‐Aurora with Montcada), and their respective monocultures, in different stages of the aphid host selection process. We analysed aphid acceptance rate, population growth, and load under different wheat treatments. Additionally, we characterised wheat aboveground biomass and nitrogen content as important functional traits for aphid resistant. Aphid acceptance decreased in plants of cv. Forment when exposed to volatiles from undamaged Florence‐Aurora plants, whereas the other tested combinations tested had no effect. Aphids performed differently in the two mixtures: Florence‐Aurora mixed with Forment significantly reduced aphid population growth and load compared to the monocultures, whereas the combination of Florence‐Aurora with Montcada wheat had no effect on aphid performance. The plant–plant interactions also modified the analysed traits. Nitrogen content of Florence‐Aurora wheat plants was reduced when mixed with Forment wheat, which may explain the lower aphid load observed in plants of cv. Florence‐Aurora when mixed with plants of cv. Forment. However, mixing wheats with similar aboveground biomass resulted in an increase in the average biomass of plants of both cultivars which could have led to a higher aphid population. The data supports the idea of right neighbour, as the benefits of wheat mixtures for aphid control were determined by the identity of the combined plants (or species). Finally, our results suggest that associating wheats with different traits may promote facilitative interactions, which in turn enhances associational resistance, whereas the combination of wheats with similar traits may result in competitive interactions that may hinder aphid control benefits.

Secretory Proteins Are Involved in the Parasitism of Melon by Phelipanche aegyptiaca During the Attachment Stage

Parasitic plants represent a significant challenge in global agriculture, with Broomrape (Orobanche/Phelipanche spp.) being a notable example of a holoparasitic species that targets the roots of host plants. This study employed comparative transcriptomics to investigate the mechanisms underlying the parasitism of P. aegyptiaca on melon, focusing on both resistant and susceptible interactions. The findings indicate that the critical phase of P. aegyptiaca parasitism occurs during the post-attachment stage. It is suggested that peptidases may play a role in the development of invasive cells, while cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) are likely involved in cell wall modification and degradation, and transferases, elicitors, and effectors may play a role in immune regulation. In this study, 25 tobacco rattle virus (TRV) recombinant vectors were successfully constructed and functionally validated using a host-induced gene silencing assay to explore the functions of candidate-secreted effector proteins. The results revealed that silencing Cluster-107894.0, Cluster-11592.0, and Cluster-12482.0 significantly decreased the parasitism rate of P. aegyptiaca on Nicotiana benthamiana. Notably, Cluster-107849.0 encodes a cellulase with hydrolase activity, Cluster-11592.0 encodes a periodic-dependent kinase inhibitor with phosphoprotein activity, and Cluster-12482.0 encodes a glucan 1,3-β-glucosidase with hydrolase activity. These findings potentially offer a novel theoretical framework and justification for understanding host–parasite plant interactions, and suggest new avenues for developing crop varieties resistant to parasitic infestation.

Allelopathic interactions of Carthamus oxyacantha, Macrophomina phaseolina and maize: Implications for the use of Carthamus oxyacantha as a natural disease management strategy in maize.

Fungicides are used to control phytopathogens but all these fungicides have deleterious effects. Allelopathic interactions can be harnessed as a natural way to control the pathogens but there are no reports that show the allelopathic interactions of donor plant, recipient crop, as well as the target plant pathogen and the material used for inoculum production. So, in the present study, the suitability of Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieb. was assessed against Macrophomina phaseolina, the cause of charcoal rot in maize. Among the various treatments in pot experiment, a negative control, 3 concentrations of inoculum (1.2×105, 2.4×105, and 3.6×105 colony forming units (CFU) mL-1, 3 concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% w/w) of C. oxyacantha along with an autoclaved M. phaseolina (Mp) and C. oxyacantha alone were included to investigate their allelopathic effects on maize, not investigated earlier. Maximum suppression of the disease was observed by 1.5% (w/w) concentration of C. oxyacantha. Soil amendment with C. oxyacantha significantly suppressed the disease incidence (DI) and disease severity index (DSI) in charcoal rot of maize up to 40 and 55%, respectively over the strongest level of inoculum (Mp3). C. oxyacantha not only reduced area under disease incidence progress curve (AUDIPC) and area under disease severity progress curve (AUDSPC), but also improved the morphological, biochemical and physiological parameters of maize. The maximum increase of 48, 65, and 75% in values of shoot length (SL), shoot dry mass (SDM), and root dry mass (RDM), respectively was observed by application of the highest concentration of C. oxyacantha in the treatment Mp1+Co3, over infested control (Mp1). Photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids were increased to 58, 64, and 46%, respectively over Mp1, by the application of C. oxyacantha. Carbon assimilation rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs), rate of transpiration (E), and internal carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) were significantly increased to 58, 48, 48, and 20%, respectively over infested control (Mp3), by application of C. oxyacantha concentration 1.5 (w/w). Moreover, defense enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities were boosted up to 27, 28, and 28% over Mp3, respectively. Positive allelopathy of C. oxyacantha towards maize and negative allelopathy towards M. phaseolina makes C. oxyacantha a suitable candidate for charcoal rot disease control in maize.

Medicinal Plants Approach for Diabetes Mellitus-A Computational Model

The multidimensional metabolic syndrome that includes diabetes mellitus poses a serious threat to world health. There is an increasing interest in researching herbal remedies for their possible therapeutic advantages, even as traditional allopathic treatments continue to be widely used. This work throws light on the multiple ways of metabolism and biochemical interactions of medicinal plants in the control of glucose level, highlighting their crucial role in the process. The work clarifies several herbal extracts' efficacy and safety profiles, such as Aloe vera, Garlic, Gurmar, Bitter Melon, Neem, Tulsi, and through a thorough literature review and empirical evidence. These plants, which are abundant in bioactive substances like tannins, flavonoids, and alkaloids, show promise in treating insulin resistance, improving pancreatic function, and controlling blood sugar level. A further assessment of the rising risk associated with diabetes mellitus is discussed, and a differential equation model for diabetes mellitus is developed to minimize the complications. When using medicinal plants to treat diabetes, several factors are considered, including blood sugar level, sugar intake activity, and plasma insulin concentrations. The stability criterion for the mathematical model is examined through the system of differential equations. A representation highlighting the medicinal plants that can aid individuals with diabetes mellitus is provided. The blood sugar level, insulin generalization variable and plasma insulin concentration have all been measured at different points in time. Aloe vera, Gurmar, Garlic, Tulsi, Bitter Melon and Neem are among the medicinal plants selected for their demonstrated anti-hyperglycemic properties due to their easy availability in India. Mathematical solutions were calculated for every plant and proved to be steady.

Acaricide resistance mechanisms and host plant responses in the tomato specialist Aculops lycopersici.

The mite Aculops lycopersici is a major tomato pest with extremely reduced gene families involved in chemoreception and detoxification. How this limited detoxification toolbox affects the evolution of resistance to acaricides in tomato russet mite(s) (TRM) remains enigmatic. Moreover, although a tomato specialist, TRM has been observed on other Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae plant species, raising questions about transcriptional plasticity underlying host exchange. We identified a field strain with strongly decreased susceptibility to both abamectin and spiromesifen. We detected target-site resistance caused by mutations at conserved positions in two glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl), as well as four overexpressed detoxification genes. We then examined transcriptional responses after host shift from tomato to two Solanaceae (potato and black nightshade) and two Convolvulaceae (sweet potato and hedge bindweed) species, as more challenging host plants. Transcriptional responses varied significantly between host plant families, with key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to proteolytic, metabolic and detoxification processes. Last, we also identified DEGs encoding for secreted proteins potentially involved in TRM-host plant interactions. Despite a limited detoxification toolbox, A. lycopersici might quickly evolve target-site resistance, probably facilitated by strong selection pressure on the genetic variation associated with enormous population size in field settings. Responses to host plant changes include plasticity in genes related to digestion and detoxification, while most responsive genes are of unknown function and remain to be investigated. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Enhancing drought stress tolerance in horticultural plants through melatonin-mediated phytohormonal crosstalk.

Melatonin and melatonin-mediated phytohormonal crosstalk play a multifaceted role in improving drought stress tolerance via molecular mechanisms and biochemical interactions in horticultural plants. The physical, physiological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics of plants are all affected by drought stress. Crop yield and quality eventually decline precipitously as a result. A phytohormone, melatonin, controls several plant functions during drought stress. However, the interactions between melatonin and other phytohormones, particularly how they control plant responses to drought stress, have not been clearly explored. This review explores the effects of melatonin and particular phytohormones on improving plant tolerance to drought stress. Specifically, the key melatonin roles in improved photosynthetic performance, better antioxidant activities, up-regulated gene expression, increased plant growth, and yield, etc., during drought stress have been elucidated in this review. Furthermore, this review explains how the intricate networks of melatonin-mediated crosstalk phytohormones, such as IAA, BR, ABA, GA, JA, CK, ET, SA, etc., enable horticultural plants to tolerate drought stress. Thus, this research provides a better understanding of the role of phytohormones, mainly melatonin, elucidates phytohormonal cross-talks in drought stress response, and future perspectives of phytohormonal contributions in plant improvements including engineering plants for better drought stress tolerance via targeting melatonin interactions.

Circadian fruit phenology: An overlooked crucial aspect of plant‐frugivore interactions

Abstract The intrinsic ability of plants to face environmental diel changes is paramount for flowering and interactions with pollinators and herbivores. Surprisingly, despite the commendable research efforts on the ecology and evolution of fruit‐frugivore interactions, very little is known about how fruit ripening and dropping vary throughout 24‐h cycle. Even less is known about the potential consequences of circadian fruit phenology on plant interactions with mutualistic and antagonistic frugivores. We illustrate for the first time how the circadian pattern of fleshy fruit dropping and its matching/mismatching with the diel activity of functionally diverse frugivores (fruit/seed predators, seed dispersers, pulp feeders) can drive the outcome of complex multispecies plant‐frugivore interactions. To that end, we used camera trapping to quantify the circadian fruit dropping of a mammal‐dispersed tree, Pyrus bourgaeana, and the diel activity patterns of its functionally diverse vertebrate frugivores during two fruiting seasons in two tree populations of Mediterranean Spain. Using a large data set (20,878 frugivore visits and 701 fruit‐dropping records), we evaluate the adaptive hypothesis that the circadian pattern of fruit dropping will match the diel activity of seed dispersers rather than that of fruit/seed predators. Fruit dropping during daytime doubled that at night‐time, being considerably consistent across and within seasons, study sites and individual trees. Specifically, overlaps between circadian patterns of fruit dropping across and within seasons (0.83 and 0.84 ± 0.02, respectively), study sites (0.95) and individual trees (0.68 ± 0.01) were always high. Whereas seed dispersers (mammalian carnivores) were mostly nocturnal, the most frequent fruit/seed predators (cervids) were mostly diurnal. Consequently, and contrary to our expectations, circadian fruit dropping was more aligned with the diel activity of overabundant fruit/seed predators than with that of carnivore seed dispersers. Our study illustrates how quantifying the circadian patterns of fruit dropping, the diel activity of functionally diverse frugivores, and the matching/mismatching between both patterns can contribute to a better understanding of multispecies plant‐frugivore interactions. Circadian fruiting phenology is an overlooked key attribute for most tropical and temperate fruiting plants, which patterns, mechanisms and outcomes must be fully investigated. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Scenario Design for the Evaluation of Human–Machine Interaction in Modular Process Plants

AbstractOperators in modular process plants face new demands due to features like increasing automation and digitalization combined with an architecture allowing for reconfigurations in short time spans. However, operators must be able to master process control tasks at all times. For research purposes on topics like supporting operators in their performance in process control of modular process plants, this article aims at developing scenarios of such plants. Based on three conceptual levels describing the relation of chemical processes and their modularized realization and a neutralization process as use case, four scenarios were developed. Having the common task to increase the throughput, the scenarios differ in terms of complexity and constraints that need to be considered for process control.

Volatile-mediated interspecific plant interaction promotes root colonization by beneficial bacteria via induced shifts in root exudation

BackgroundVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by plants can act as signaling molecules mediating ecological interactions. Therefore, the study of VOCs mediated intra- and interspecific interactions with downstream plant physiological responses is critical to advance our understanding of mechanisms underlying information exchange in plants. Here, we investigated how plant-emitted VOCs affect the performance of an interspecific neighboring plant via induced shifts in root exudate chemistry with implications for root-associated microbiota recruitment.ResultsFirst, we showed that VOCs emitted by potato-onion plants stimulate the growth of adjacent tomato plants. Then, we demonstrated that this positive effect on tomato biomass was attributed to shifts in the tomato rhizosphere microbiota. Specifically, we found potato-onion VOCs to indirectly affect the recruitment of specific bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp.) in the tomato rhizosphere. Second, we identified and validated the compound dipropyl disulfide as the active molecule within the blend of potato-onion VOCs mediating this interspecific plant communication. Third, we showed that the effect on the tomato rhizosphere microbiota occurs via induced changes in root exudates of tomato plants caused by exposure to dipropyl disulfide. Last, Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. bacteria enriched in the tomato rhizosphere were shown to have plant growth-promoting activities.ConclusionsPotato-onion VOCs—specifically dipropyl disulfide—can induce shifts in the root exudate of adjacent tomato plants, which results in the recruitment of plant-beneficial bacteria in the rhizosphere. Taken together, this study elucidated a new mechanism of interspecific plant interaction mediated by VOCs resulting in alterations in the rhizosphere microbiota with beneficial outcomes for plant performance.4wKeniGUxY9GPejLMpvDe9Video

Associations of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) for Enhancements in Soil Fertility and Promotion of Plant Growth: A Review

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi are used for soil fertility enhancements and stimulating plant growth in which they association with other organisms like terrestrial plants. Mycorrhizas create an association between fungi and the roots of plants. Therefore, the review was made to point out important fungal species involved in fungal plant interaction and their major roles in agriculture as well as ecosystem. 80% of plants form associations with mycorrhizal fungi. The fungal are used to use their different organs like chain, arbuscular, vesicle, supportive cells and spore to interact with the other plant/ plat’s organ. The mycorrhizal fungi can be categorized into two principal classifications based on their anatomical interactions with the roots of host plants. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal and Ectomycorrhizal fungi utilize two distinct strategies for nutrient acquisition. The main categories of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal associations are linear or coiling and of ectomycorrhizal associations are epidermal or cortical. The rhizospheric and endophytic microbes promote plant growth as inoculated with crop. AM fungi as an obligate symbiont share a distinct feature called arbuscules as a site of nutrient exchanges between host and fungi. Arbuscules developed between cell wall and plasma membrane of root cortical cells and differentiated from plant plasma membrane by periarbuscular membrane. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an indispensable role in augmenting plant nutrient acquisition, enhancing plant resilience and tolerance to various environmental stresses, improving soil fertility and structure, and providing numerous beneficial effects. AMF engage in interactions with other soil microorganisms, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, resulting in a synergistic effect that promotes plant growth and offers protection against pathogens associated with Rhizobia. Both AMF and Rhizobia utilize the same signaling pathways, which facilitate their association with host plants and enable nitrogen fixation within the soil ecosystem. A positive relationship has been established between AMF colonization and the diversity of soil microbial communities. Nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, mycorrhizal fungi, and root nodule symbioses typically exhibit synergistic interactions concerning infection rates and their effects on mineral nutrition and plant growth, thereby significantly enhancing the status of soil fertility, particularly with respect to soil quality characteristics.

Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Key Salinity and Alkalinity Stress Response and Tolerance Pathways in Salix linearistipularis Inoculated with Trichoderma

Soil salinization and alkalinization are pervasive environmental issues that severely restrict plant growth and crop yield. Utilizing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is an effective strategy to enhance plant tolerance to saline–alkaline stress, though the regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. This study employed biochemical and RNA-Seq methods to uncover the critical growth-promoting effects of Trichoderma spp. on Salix linearistipularis under saline–alkaline stress. The results showed that, during saline–alkaline stress, inoculation with Trichoderma sp. M4 and M5 significantly increased the proline and soluble sugar contents in Salix linearistipularis, enhanced the activities of SOD, POD, CAT, and APX, and reduced lipid peroxidation levels, with M4 exhibiting more pronounced effects than M5. RNA-Seq analysis of revealed that 11,051 genes were upregulated after Trichoderma sp. M4 inoculation under stress conditions, with 3532 genes primarily involved in carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and oxidative phosphorylation—processes that alleviate saline–alkaline stress. Additionally, 7519 genes were uniquely upregulated by M4 under stress, mainly enriched in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, cyanamide metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. M4 mitigates saline–alkaline stress-induced damage in Salix linearistipularis seedlings by reducing oxidative damage, enhancing organic acid and amino acid metabolism, and activating phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways to eliminate harmful ROS. This enhances the seedlings’ tolerance to saline–alkaline stress, providing a basis for studying fungi–plant interactions under such conditions.

Integrative Omics Strategies for Understanding and Combating Brown Planthopper Virulence in Rice Production: A Review

The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens, BPH) is a serious insect pest responsible for causing immense economic losses to rice growers around the globe. The development of high-throughput sequencing technologies has significantly improved the research on this pest, and its genome structure, gene expression profiles, and host–plant interactions are being unveiled. The integration of genomic sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics has greatly increased our understanding of the biological characteristics of planthoppers, which will benefit the identification of resistant rice varieties and strategies for their control. Strategies like more optimal genome assembly and single-cell RNA-seq help to update our knowledge of gene control structure and cell type-specific usage, shedding light on how planthoppers adjust as well. However, to date, a comprehensive genome-wide investigation of the genetic interactions and population dynamics of BPHs has yet to be exhaustively performed using these next-generation omics technologies. This review summarizes the recent advances and new perspectives regarding the use of omics data for the BPH, with specific emphasis on the integration of both fields to help develop more sustainable pest management strategies. These findings, in combination with those of post-transcriptional and translational modifications involving non-coding RNAs as well as epigenetic variations, further detail intricate host–brown planthopper interaction dynamics, especially regarding resistant rice varieties. Finally, the symbiogenesis of the symbiotic microbial community in a planthopper can be characterized through metagenomic approaches, and its importance in enhancing virulence traits would offer novel opportunities for plant protection by manipulating host–microbe interactions. The concerted diverse omics approaches collectively identified the holistic and complex mechanisms of virulence variation in BPHs, which enables efficient deployment into rice resistance breeding as well as sustainable pest management.

'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' Predicted Effector SAP11-like Alters Morphology of Transformed Arabidopsis Plants and Interacts with AtTCP2 and AtTCP4 Plant Transcription Factors.

Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular pathogens that profoundly modify the development, physiology and behavior of their hosts by secreting effector proteins that disturb signal pathways and interactions both in plant and insect hosts. The characterization of effectors and their host-cell targets was performed for only a few phytoplasma species where it was shown that the SAP11 effector alters plant morphology by destabilizing plant transcription factors: TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1-CYCLOIDEA-PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR (TCPs). To explore the possible role of the SAP11-like effector from 'Ca. P. solani', we used Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant. The SAP11-like effector gene from 'Ca. P. solani' was introduced into arabidopsis by floral dip and transgenic lines were regenerated. In planta bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BIFC) assays in agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana leaf cells were conducted to detect interactions between SAP11-like and AtTCP2 and AtTCP4 using confocal microscopy. SAP11-like from 'Ca. P. solani' induced significant phenotypic changes in arabidopsis, including crinkled leaves with reduced size, lower biomass, more axillary branches, changes in root morphology, and crinkled and smaller siliques. The BIFC assays proved in planta interaction of SAP11-like effector with AtTCP2 and AtTCP4. To our knowledge, this is the first characterization of the interaction between the 'Ca. P. solani' effector and plant transcription factors, suggesting a potential mechanism of modulating plant development and induction of characteristic symptoms in 'Ca. P. solani'-infected plants.

Fungi contribute more than bacteria to the ecological uniqueness of soil microbial communities in alpine meadows

Understanding the ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities and their driving factors can provide more targeted protection for soil microbial diversity. In this study, spatial multi-site sampling was conducted in a wide range of alpine meadows to reveal the patterns of ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities and the driving factors. The results showed that the soil fungal community contributed 62.3 % to the ecological uniqueness of the microbial community, compared to 37.7 % for bacteria, emphasizing the importance of protecting soil fungal diversity to maintain microbial diversity in the region. Soil bacterial diversity had a positive effect on ecological uniqueness, while fungi had an opposite pattern. Interactions of climate conditions, soil properties, plant and microbial diversity explain most of the variation in the ecological uniqueness of bacterial and fungal communities. Plant community played a key mediating role in maintaining the ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities in alpine meadows. This study proposed to maintain the diversity of soil microbial communities in alpine meadows by protecting sites with high ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and restoring sites with low ecological uniqueness.

A Distinct Role for Aerosol and GHG Forcing in Historical CMIP6 Evapotranspiration Trends

AbstractEvapotranspiration (ET) is crucial for the global water balance, plant growth, and freshwater availability. It connects the surface water balance with surface energy fluxes, making its accurate representation vital for climate projections. However, global climate models (GCMs) struggle with ET representation due to resolution limitations and simplified depictions of soil, plant, and atmosphere interactions. Simulated future changes in ET are uncertain, and the role of driving processes remain unclear. Here, we explore the utility of a simple and interpretable method to disentangle these varying drivers. We investigate the sensitivity of JJA ET to different atmospheric variables through simple linear models predicting ET from atmospheric variables only. The model consistently yields good results across GCMs or forcing scenarios. We find that GCMs have shown strong decreases and subsequent increases in ET over the historical period, related to changes in net surface radiation. For future climate projections, decreases in water availability compete with higher available surface radiation, making future projections uncertain. Single forcing GCM realizations show that historical ET trends in densely populated regions have been more influenced by aerosol emissions than greenhouse gases. Finally, we investigate which atmospheric variables explain most short‐term (year‐to‐year) and long‐term (decadal) changes. While water availability may be the most important driver of short‐term variability, for certain regions, radiation trends dominate long‐term forcing. This paper leverages a simple approach to provide a comprehensive and understandable view into recent and future changes in ET, reconciling the evidence provided by more complex case studies.