Crop Species Research Articles

Selenium and its nanoparticles modulate the metabolism of reactive oxygen species and morpho-physiology of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to combat oxidative stress under water deficit conditions

BackgroundWheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crop species worldwide, but its growth and development are adversely influenced by drought stress. However, the application of trace elements is known to improve plant physiology under water-limited conditions. In this study, the effects of drought stress on wheat plants were investigated, with a focus on potential mitigation by foliar application of selenium nanoparticles (Se(np)) and sodium selenate (Na2SeO4). The experiment was conducted in a net house using a completely randomized design with four replications. The treatments involved three levels of drought stress (mild, moderate, and severe) started at 30 days after sowing (DAS), with foliar sprays of Se(np) and Se (both 25 µM) initiated at 27 DAS and repeated 4 times at 7-day intervals until 55 DAS.ResultsDrought stress significantly reduced plant growth, whereas Se(np) and Se sprays enhanced it. Drought stress induced chlorophyll degradation, increased malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide levels, impaired membrane stability, and caused electrolyte leakage. Severe drought stress reduced the levels of antioxidants (e.g., proline, ascorbate, and glutathione by 4.18-fold, 80%, and 45%) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and others). Conversely, treatment with Se(np) and Se restored these parameters, for example, 1.23-fold higher total chlorophyll content with Se(np) treatment, 26% higher APX activity with Se treatment, 15% lower electrolyte leakage with Se treatment in wheat plants under severe drought stress. This Se-associated enhancement facilitated rapid scavenging of reactive oxygen species and reduced methylglyoxal toxicity, thereby diminishing oxidative stress and positively affecting the morphophysiological and biochemical responses of the plants under drought.ConclusionsDrought-stressed wheat plants exhibited reductions in physiological processes, including water uptake and photosynthetic activity. However, Se(np) and Se applied at 25 µM mitigated the detrimental effects of drought. The application of Se(np) was notably more effective than the application of Se in mitigating drought stress, indicating the potential of the application of Se(np) as a sustainable agricultural practice under water-limited conditions.

Impacts of rainfall and rainfall anomalies on the population dynamics of rodents in southeast Asian rice fields.

The mechanisms that regulate multi-annual population dynamics of rodent pest species of cereal crops is often unknown. Better knowledge of such aspects can aid pest management and in turn improve food security and human health. The patterns and processes of the population dynamics of Rattus argentiventer, in rice fields of Indonesia, and Rattus tanezumi, in rice fields of the Philippines were assessed in this article. The meta-analysis of trapping data over 20 years in Indonesia, and 16 years in the Philippines indicated that rodent populations in rice fields did not show a regular multi-annual pattern. Rattus argentiventer populations in Indonesia responded to less rainfall from the current year. Rattus tanezumi populations in the Philippines responded positively to both rainfall and rainfall anomaly with a 1-year time lag. Our study of long-term population data indicates that certain combinations of rainfall parameters could be useful to predict years when there is higher rodent abundance in rice fields. The key rodent pest species in rice fields in Indonesia (R. argentiventer) and the Philippines (R. tanezumi) differ, and the populations of each species respond differently to rainfall anomalies. Other factors such as crop cover and water availability may also be important and should be considered in future work. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Preliminary Report on Diet Estimation of Taruka (Hippocamelus antisensis d'Orbigny, 1834) in an Agricultural Area of the Andean Foothills of the Tarapacá Region, Chile.

The success of conservation programs for the taruka (Hippocamelus antisensis d'Orbigny), an endemic and endangered deer, depends on many factors, highlighting anthropogenic and ecological effects. Among the latter, how this herbivore interacts with forage resources is important. The objective of the study was to describe the main attributes of the diet of this deer in rangelands adjacent to agricultural areas of the foothills of the Tarapacá Region, Chile. The botanical composition of the diet (BCD) was determined by microhistology of feces and fecal nitrogen (NF, %) was measured in two contrasting seasons (rainy summer and dry winter). From the BCD and FN, their relative diversity (J) and crude protein percentage were estimated. In the BCD, Medicago sativa dominated (27.6 ± 8.2% vs. 53.9 ± 9.2%, in rainy summer and dry end winter, respectively), followed by herbaceous dicots (46.2 ± 9.4% vs. 19.4 ± 8.7%) and shrubby species (21.5 ± 7.8% vs. 23.4 ± 7.0%), from rangelands. The contribution of grasses and graminoid species was low, not exceeding 3% and 0.4% of the diet, respectively, with no differences between seasons of the year. Intake of horticultural crop species was marginal (1.3 ± 1.3%), being detected only in the wet season. Diet relative diversity was higher during the wet period (0.75 ± 0.07) compared to the dry period (0.58 ± 0.06), since in the first period it was possible to find a greater number of palatable species. There were no significant differences in the FN attributed to the time of the year (average of 1.8 ± 0.19%), which indicates that the diet of this deer would be stable in terms of its protein quality. These FN levels estimate sufficient dietary protein content to satisfy maintenance and early pregnancy, but these could be limiting during late gestation and lactation.

Toxicological assessment of invasive Ageratina adenophora on germination and growth efficiency of native tree and crop species of Kumaun Himalaya.

The present study was designed to assess the allelopathic potential of invasive weed Ageratina adenophora leaf extracts on seed germination and seedling development efficiency of native tree [viz. Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus (Oak) and Pinus roxburghii Sarg. (Pine)] and crop [(Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat) and Lens culinaris Medik. (Lentil)] species of Kumaun Himalaya. Pot experiments were conducted in the glasshouse of the Botany Department, D.S.B. Campus, Kumaun University Nainital, following a Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with three treatments (C1-25%, C2-50%, and C3-100% of aqueous leaf extract) and one control, each with five replicates. The experiment lasted one year for tree species and continued until the seed maturation phase for crop species. Parameters such as seed germination proportion, root and shoot measurements, biomass, and crop productivity traits were recorded accordingly. Our bioassay results indicated that the inhibitory effect of leaf extracts on the measured traits of the selected native species was proportional to the applied extract concentrations of A. adenophora. Overall, lentil among crops and oak among tree species exhibited more inhibition compared to wheat and pine, respectively. At the highest concentration, reductions of 44%, 34%, 36%, and 24% in biomass production capacity were recorded for wheat, lentil, pine, and oak, respectively, while wheat and lentil productivity decreased by up to 33% and 45%, respectively. These results suggest that water-soluble allelochemicals produced by A. adenophora may impede the establishment of selected crop and tree species in agroecosystems and forest ecosystems invaded by this weed species. However, further studies on the characterization of phytochemicals and their specific role in seed germination and growth are warranted. Furthermore, the allelopathic potential of A. adenophora can be explored for the preparation of biopesticides and nature-friendly option to improve soil health, crop productivity, and reduce environmental pollution and management of this invasive weed.

Are Heat Shock Proteins Important in Low-Temperature-Stressed Plants? A Minireview

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are mainly known to play important roles in plants against high-temperature (HT) stress. Their main function is to act as molecular chaperones for other proteins. It has also been proven that HSPs have a protective effect during other environmental stresses including low temperature (LT). To the best of our knowledge, the expression and role of HSPs in plants that have been exposed to LT have not yet been sufficiently reviewed. The aims of this minireview were (1) to briefly describe the origin, classification, structure, localisation and functions of HSPs, (2) to present the current knowledge about the changes in the accumulation of HSPs in plants that have been exposed to LT, (3) to discuss some of the molecular changes that occur during LT action and that lead to the accumulation of HSPs in plants and (4) to discuss the potential role of HSPs in acquiring tolerance to cold and frost in plants including economically important crop species. Some directions of research on the role of HSPs in plants growing in LT conditions are proposed.

Effects of Cadmium Stress on Tartary Buckwheat Seedlings.

Cadmium (Cd) is a naturally occurring toxic heavy metal that adversely affects plant germination, growth, and development. While the effects of Cd have been described on many crop species including rice, maize, wheat and barley, few studies are available on cadmium's effect on Tartary buckwheat which is a traditional grain in China. We examined nine genotypes and found that 30 µM of Cd reduced the root length in seedlings by between 4 and 44% and decreased the total biomass by 7 to 31%, compared with Cd-free controls. We identified a significant genotypic variation in sensitivity to Cd stress. Cd treatment decreased the total root length and the emergence and growth of lateral roots, and these changes were significantly greater in the Cd-sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes. Cd resulted in greater wilting and discoloration in sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes and caused more damage to the structure of root and leaf cells. Cd accumulated in the roots and shoots, but the concentrations in the sensitive genotypes were significantly greater than in the more tolerant genotypes. Cd treatment affected nutrient uptake, and the changes in the sensitive genotypes were greater than those in the tolerant genotypes, which could maintain their concentrations closer to the control levels. The induction of SOD, POD, and CAT activities in the roots and shoots was significantly greater in the tolerant genotypes than in the sensitive genotypes. We demonstrated that Cd stress reduced root and shoot growth, decreased plant biomass, disrupted nutrient uptake, altered cell structure, and managed Cd-induced oxidative stress differently in the sensitive and tolerant genotypes of Tartary buckwheat.

Mutation Breeding and Its Importance in Modern Plant Breeding: A Review

A mutation is an abrupt, heritable alteration in a living cell's DNA that is not brought about by genetic recombination or segregation. The deliberate use of mutations in plant breeding is known as "mutation breeding." Mutation breeding provides the advantage of improving a fault in an otherwise excellent cultivar without sacrificing its agronomic and qualitative features, in contrast to hybridization and selection. There is no simpler solution than mutation breeding to enhance seedless crops. These benefits have led to the development of a market for mutation breeding in plant breeding since the initial release of mutant cultivars derived from fundamental mutation research in Europe. Both physical and chemical mutagens have improved methods for inducing mutations in major crops, and strategies for selecting mutant populations have been detailed. A broad range of mutations that have not been previously documented have been detected, and new mutagenic factors like cosmic rays and ion beam radiation are being studied. However, ionising radiation and alkylating chemicals continue to be widely used. The efficiency of mutant breeding has increased as a result of the advent of reliable in vitro methods for numerous crop species. In vitro methods are particularly effective because they can manage sizable mutagenized populations in a small area, have a quicker progeny turnover rate in vegetatively propagated species, and can screen for a variety of biotic and abiotic stress factors in the culture environment. Over the last ten years, there have been significant advancements in mutant screening, with reverse genetic methods now being prioritised. Thus, the combination of molecular methods and mutation techniques is opening up new and intriguing possibilities for contemporary plant breeding.

Oat-an alternative crop under waterlogging stress?

Waterlogging is one vast environmental constraint that limits crop growth and yield worldwide. Most major crop species are very sensitive to waterlogging, leading to enormous yield losses every year. Much is already known about wheat, barley or maize; however, hardly any data exist on oat and its tolerance against waterlogging. Thus, this study aimed to investigate if oats can be an adequate alternative in crop rotation under conditions of temporal submergence and if cultivar differences exist. Furthermore, this study was to test (1) whether yield was differently affected when stress is applied at different developmental stages (BBCH 31 and 51), and (2) nutrient imbalances are the reason for growth restrictions. In a large-scale container experiment, three different oat varieties were cultivated and exposed to 14 consecutive days of waterlogging stress at two developmental stages. Even though vegetative growth was impaired after early waterlogging and which persists till maturity, mainly due to transient nutrient deficiencies, growth performance after late waterlogging and grain yield of all three oat varieties at maturity was not affected. A high tolerance was also confirmed after late waterlogging in the beginning generative stage: grain yield was even increased. Overall, all oat varieties performed well under both stress treatments, even though transient nutrient imbalances occurred, but which were ineffective on grain yield. Based on these results, we conclude that oats, independently of the cultivar, should be considered a good alternative in crop production, especially when waterlogging is to be expected during the cultivation phase.

UV-C Enhances Phenolics Metabolism and the Production of the Related Bioactive Compounds in Green Chi-fah Chili (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Chi-fah Kiaw) Fruit

One of the fruit vegetables that is a favorite for consumers of spicy food worldwide is chili (Capsicum annuum). Thus, the external and internal quality attributes of harvested chili fruit, such as peel color and fruit antioxidants, are of interest for different cooking needs. UV-C is the shortest wavelength of ultraviolet radiation that can harm the living organisms. However, short-term exposure to this physical stress might have many advantages for crop species. This research studied the post-harvest effect of UV-C exposure for different times (0, 10, and 20 min) on the green fruit of Chi-fah chili. The results showed that the percentage of fruit with red peel color increased rapidly during storage after UV-C irradiation, especially in the 10-minute treatment 75% of fruit had red color after 6 days. UV-C treatment also promoted phenolic biosynthesis in green Chi-fah chili fruit as 10 and 20 min of UV-C exposure elevated phenolic contents in both the pulp and placenta with the maximum of 30 and 45 mg gallic acid/gFW, respectively. Exposure to 20 min of UV-C irradiation seemed to inhibit flavonoid production, whereas 10 min UV-C irradiation increased flavonoids in both the pulp and placenta (0.72 and 0.87 mg rutin/gFW, respectively). Of particular interest to the consumers, UV-C treatment could increase the capsaicin amount in green Chi-fah chili fruit. Only the fruit irradiated with UV-C for 10 min had the highest level of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity in the pulp one day after storage, while the placenta had the highest level of PAL activity from day 1 to day 3. The 10 and 20 min UV-C irradiation led to the highest peroxidase (POD) activity in the pulp and the placenta, respectively. In conclusion, UV-C could be used to enhance the production of phenolics and related bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids and capsaicin in green Chi-fah chili fruit during postharvest storage.

A global dataset for assessing nitrogen-related plant traits using drone imagery in major field crop species

Enhancing rapid phenotyping for key plant traits, such as biomass and nitrogen content, is critical for effectively monitoring crop growth and maximizing yield. Studies have explored the relationship between vegetation indices (VIs) and plant traits using drone imagery. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding data availability, accessible datasets. Based on this context, we conducted a systematic review to retrieve relevant data worldwide on the state of the art in drone-based plant trait assessment. The final dataset consists of 41 peer-reviewed papers with 11,189 observations for 11 major crop species distributed across 13 countries. It focuses on the association of plant traits with VIs at different growth/phenological stages. This dataset provides foundational knowledge on the key VIs to focus for phenotyping key plant traits. In addition, future updates to this dataset may include new open datasets. Our goal is to continually update this dataset, encourage collaboration and data inclusion, and thereby facilitate a more rapid advance of phenotyping for critical plant traits to increase yield gains over time.

Recent advances in exploring transcriptional regulatory landscape of crops.

Crop breeding entails developing and selecting plant varieties with improved agronomic traits. Modern molecular techniques, such as genome editing, enable more efficient manipulation of plant phenotype by altering the expression of particular regulatory or functional genes. Hence, it is essential to thoroughly comprehend the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that underpin these traits. In the multi-omics era, a large amount of omics data has been generated for diverse crop species, including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and single-cell omics. The abundant data resources and the emergence of advanced computational tools offer unprecedented opportunities for obtaining a holistic view and profound understanding of the regulatory processes linked to desirable traits. This review focuses on integrated network approaches that utilize multi-omics data to investigate gene expression regulation. Various types of regulatory networks and their inference methods are discussed, focusing on recent advancements in crop plants. The integration of multi-omics data has been proven to be crucial for the construction of high-confidence regulatory networks. With the refinement of these methodologies, they will significantly enhance crop breeding efforts and contribute to global food security.

Agricultural waste-based modified biochars differentially affected the soil properties, growth, and nutrient accumulation by maize (Zea mays L.) plants

Biochar (BC) is an organic compound formed by the pyrolysis of organic wastes. Application of BCs as soil amendments has many benefits including carbon sequestration, enhanced soil fertility and sustainable agriculture production. In the present study, we acidified the different BCs prepared from rice straw, rice husk, wheat straw, cotton stalk, poultry manure, sugarcane press mud and vegetable waste; following which, we applied them in a series of pot experiments. Comparisons were made between acidified and non- acidified BCs for their effects on seed germination, soil properties (EC, pH) nutrient contents (P, K, Na) and organic matter. The treatments comprised of a control, and all above-described BCs (acidified as well as non-acidified) applied to soil at the rate of 1% (w/w). The maize crop was selected as a test crop. The results showed that acidified poultry manure BC significantly improved germination percentage, shoot length, and biomass of maize seedlings as compared to other BCs and their respective control plants. However, acidified BCs caused a significant decrease in nutrient contents (P, K, Na) of soil,maize seedlings, and the soil organic matter contents as compared to non- acidified BCs. But when compared with control treatments, all BCs treatments (acidified and non-acidified) delivered higher levels of nutrients and organic matter contents. It was concluded that none of the BCs (acidified and non-acidified) had caused negative effect on soil conditions and growth of maize. In addition, the acidification of BC prior to its application to alkaline soils might had altered soil chemistry and delivered better maize growth. Moving forward, more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of modified BCs on nutrient dynamics in different soils. In addition, the possible effects of BC application timings, application rates, particle size, and crop species have to be evaluated systemtically.

Genome-wide identification and investigation of monosaccharide transporter gene family based on their evolution and expression analysis under abiotic stress and hormone treatments in maize (Zea mays L.)

BackgroundMonosaccharide transporter (MST) family, as a carrier for monosaccharide transport, plays an important role in carbon partitioning and widely involves in plant growth and development, stress response, and signaling transduction. However, little information on the MST family genes is reported in maize (Zea mays), especially in response to abiotic stresses. In this study, the genome-wide identification of MST family genes was performed in maize.ResultA total of sixty-six putative members of MST gene family were identified and divided into seven subfamilies (including SPT, PMT, VGT, INT, pGlcT, TMT, and ERD) using bioinformatics approaches, and gene information, phylogenetic tree, chromosomal location, gene structure, motif composition, and cis-acting elements were investigated. Eight tandem and twelve segmental duplication events were identified, which played an important role in the expansion of the ZmMST family. Synteny analysis revealed the evolutionary features of MST genes in three gramineous crop species. The expression analysis indicated that most of the PMT, VGT, and ERD subfamilies members responded to osmotic and cadmium stresses, and some of them were regulated by ABA signaling, while only a few members of other subfamilies responded to stresses. In addition, only five genes were induced by NaCl stress in MST family.ConclusionThese results serve to understand the evolutionary relationships of the ZmMST family genes and supply some insight into the processes of monosaccharide transport and carbon partitioning on the balance between plant growth and development and stress response in maize.

Optimizing Agriculture: A Review of Chemical Priming in Crop Production

Agricultural productivity faces increasing challenges due to climate change, soil degradation, and the need for sustainable practices. Chemical priming, a technique involving the pre-treatment of seeds or plants with specific compounds, has emerged as a promising approach to enhance crop resilience, productivity, and stress tolerance. This review synthesizes current literature on the application of chemical priming in crop production, focusing on its mechanisms, effects on plant physiology, and its potential to optimize agricultural practices. Chemical priming operates through diverse mechanisms, including the induction of stress-responsive genes, enhancement of antioxidant activity, and modulation of hormone signaling pathways. These mechanisms result in improved germination rates, accelerated seedling growth, increased nutrient uptake, and enhanced tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Moreover, chemical priming has been shown to promote crop yield and quality under adverse environmental conditions, making it a valuable tool for sustainable agriculture. The effectiveness of chemical priming depends on various factors, such as the type of priming agent, concentration, timing of application, and the specific crop species. Furthermore, interactions with other agricultural practices, such as irrigation regimes and fertilization strategies, can influence its outcomes. Therefore, optimizing chemical priming protocols requires a comprehensive understanding of crop-specific responses and environmental factors. Despite its potential benefits, the widespread adoption of chemical priming in agriculture faces challenges related to cost-effectiveness, regulatory approval, and potential ecological impacts. Addressing these challenges requires further research to refine priming protocols, assess long-term effects on soil health and ecosystem functioning, and develop sustainable approaches for large-scale implementation.

Green light is similarly effective in promoting plant biomass as red/blue light: a meta-analysis.

Whether green light promotes or represses plant growth is an unresolved but important question, warranting a global meta-analysis of published data. We collected 136 datasets from 48 publications on 17 crop species, and calculated the green light effect for a range of plant traits. For each trait the effect was calculated as the ratio between the trait value attained under a red/blue background light plus green, divided by the value attained under the background light only, both having the same light intensity. Generally, green light strongly increased intrinsic water use efficiency (15%), the shoot-to-root ratio (13%), and decreased stomatal conductance (-15%). Moreover, green light increased fresh weight to a small extent (4%), but not plant dry weight, resulting in a reduced dry matter content (-2%). Hence, green light is similarly effective at increasing biomass as red and blue light. Green light also showed to increase leaf area (7%) and specific leaf area (4%; i.e. thinner leaves). Furthermore, effects of green light were species-dependent, with positive effects on biomass for lettuce and microgreens, and negative effects in basil and tomato. Our data suggest that future research should focus on the role of green light in modulating water loss, its putative role as a shade signal, and the causes for its species-specific effects on crop biomass.

Improve food, water, and economic benefits in China’s oases through crop switching

China’s oases are the center of human life and economic development for tens of millions of inhabitants in drylands. However, oases have experienced a significant expansion of cropland during the past three decades, which has resulted in rapidly increasing agricultural water demand and increasing water shortages in the region. Although crop switching is recognized as a promising strategy for improving the sustainability of agricultural production, little is known about how much it can improve the sustainability of oasis cropping systems and whether there are trade-offs among multiple sustainability goals. Here, we used a crop-water-use model, data on crop production and nutrient content, observational data on streamflow, and oasis land-use data to assess the impacts of different crop switching scenarios on water demand, nutrient supply, and income. The results showed that oasis agricultural water demand increased from 28.5 km3 to 41.1 km3 between 1987 and 2017, with 74.6 % of the oasis counties experiencing increasing agricultural water stress. By replacing all crops with those having the lowest water demand in each respective county, the demand for irrigation can be reduced by 23.1 %, and the demand for groundwater reduced by as much as 72.8 %. Crop switching scenarios that also consider crop species diversity, in which replacing the highest water demand crops with alternative crops (those with the lowest water demands, highest protein production, or highest calorie production) in each county can effectively reduce irrigation water demand (8.5–12.9 % for streamflow and 32.7–43.3 % for groundwater), while increasing protein (21.3–35.8 %) and calorie (27.5–42.7 %) production as well as income (1.4–2.4 %). Our research provides potential solutions to effectively alleviate the conflict between agricultural development and the environment in oasis regions.

Wild Oat ( Avena fatua ): Crop Mimicry and Herbicide Resistance

Abstract Wild oat ( Avena fatua ) is a weed species that through crop mimicry survive in conventional managed farmlands, particularly in cereal crops such as wheat and barley. Adaptation of wild oat likely dates back around 9000 years when domestication of cereal species began in the Fertile Crescent and around the Mediterranean Sea. So far, wild oat has been described as a troublesome weed in 44 countries across temperate parts of the world. Wild oat reduces crop yields due to its competition for nutrients, water and light. Variable seed dormancy results in early maturing plants that add to the soil’s seed bank, and later maturing plants that contaminate the harvested grain. Since wild oat seeds resembles cereal grain, they are difficult to remove by mechanical seed cleaning. Seed lots contaminated with wild oat seeds are downgraded since it reduces the suitability as food and feed. Contaminated seedlots used for planting is a source of long distance spread of the weed. Herbicide application is an important part of wild oat control in areas with intensive wheat and barley production. Herbicide labels typically recommend the optimal size of wild oat seedlings and crop plants for best control. However, timing of an application can be difficult when wild oat plants are at different growth stages. The majority of herbicides are grouped according to the mode-of-action in cells of weed plants either inhibiting specific enzymes or entire metabolic pathways. Repeated use of herbicides with the same mode-of-action creates a selection pressure that can result in development of wild oat populations resistant to these herbicides. There is a direct relationship between the number of wild oat plants treated with herbicides and the risk of selecting for resistant plants. Thus, best management practices (BMP) aim to reduce the number of wild oat seed in the field, and include rotating between herbicides with different mode-of-action, and following recommendations on herbicide labels regarding plant growth stages and dosage. Cultural practices include rotating crop species and optimizing crop health, planting of weed-free seed, and cleaning of machinery between fields. Wild oat’s adaptations for crop mimicry and herbicide resistance make it problematic to manage but incorporating BMPs into an integrated approach can help. Information © His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Gene expression, transcription factor binding and histone modification predict leaf adaxial–abaxial polarity related genes

Leaf adaxial–abaxial (ad–abaxial) polarity is crucial for leaf morphology and function, but the genetic machinery governing this process remains unclear. To uncover critical genes involved in leaf ad–abaxial patterning, we applied a combination of in silico prediction using machine learning (ML) and experimental analysis. A Random Forest model was trained using genes known to influence ad–abaxial polarity as ground truth. Gene expression data from various tissues and conditions as well as promoter regulation data derived from transcription factor chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) was used as input, enabling the prediction of novel ad–abaxial polarity-related genes and additional transcription factors. Parallel to this, available and newly-obtained transcriptome data enabled us to identify genes differentially expressed across leaf ad–abaxial sides. Based on these analyses, we obtained a set of 111 novel genes which are involved in leaf ad–abaxial specialization. To explore implications for vegetable crop breeding, we examined the conservation of expression patterns between Arabidopsis and Brassica rapa using single-cell transcriptomics. The results demonstrated the utility of our computational approach for predicting candidate genes in crop species. Our findings expand the understanding of the genetic networks governing leaf ad–abaxial differentiation in agriculturally important vegetables, enhancing comprehension of natural variation impacting leaf morphology and development, with demonstrable breeding applications.

Robust soybean leaf agroinfiltration.

A robust agroinfiltration-mediated transient gene expression method for soybean leaves was developed. Plant genotype, developmental stage and leaf age, surfactant, and Agrobacterium culture conditions are important for successful agroinfiltration. Agroinfiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana has emerged as a workhorse transient assay for plant biotechnology and synthetic biology to test the performance of gene constructs in dicot leaves. While effective, it is nonetheless often desirable to assay transgene constructs directly in crop species. To that end, we innovated a substantially robust agroinfiltration method for Glycine max (soybean), the most widely grown dicot crop plant in the world. Several factors were found to be relevant to successful soybean leaf agroinfiltration, including genotype, surfactant, developmental stage, and Agrobacterium strain and culture medium. Our optimized protocol involved a multi-step Agrobacterium culturing process with appropriate expression vectors, Silwet L-77 as the surfactant, selection of fully expanded leaves in the VC or V1 stage of growth, and 5min of vacuum at -85kPa followed by a dark incubation period before plants were returned to normal growth conditions. Using this method, young soybean leaves of two lines-V17-0799DT, and TN16-5004-were high expressors for GUS, two co-expressed fluorescent protein genes, and the RUBY reporter product, betalain. This work not only represents a new research tool for soybean biotechnology, but also indicates critical parameters for guiding agroinfiltration optimization for other crop species.We speculate that leaf developmental stage might be the most critical factor for successful agroinfiltration.

Early impacts of cover crop selection on soil biological parameters during a transition to organic agriculture

AbstractAlthough Texas is not widely known for organic production, it is responsible for most organic peanut production in the United States. When managed effectively, this can be a lucrative practice due to consumer demands. However, farmers pursuing organic management must undergo a 3‐year transition period to obtain United States Department of Agriculture certification, which is often associated with depressed yields. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of organic management and cover crop selection on biological indicators of soil health during the second year of transitioning to an organic cotton–peanut rotation in West Texas. We conducted a field study at two locations, and soil health indicators including in situ respiration, carbon mineralization, enzyme activities, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) were measured. The use of a cover crop resulted in generally greater biological activities compared to the fallow after only one cover crop rotation, representing early elevated biological activities under plots treated with a cover crop. However, cover crop species selection typically does not affect soil biological parameters. Cover crop use also did not contribute to yield losses when compared to a fallow treatment. When comparing organic management to conventional management, both sites experienced elevated PLFA counts under organic management. Importantly, results indicated that although reduced peanut yields could be expected under transitional organic management, this was not cover crop species‐specific, nor was it a guarantee. Given the economic risk of organic management for farmers, this study will benefit producers deciding whether to pursue organic production and cover cropping.