Environmental and Experimental Botany最新文献

{"title":"Higher ploidy coincides with inferior performance and no difference in drought tolerance in a mesocosm experiment with common reed (Phragmites australis)","authors":"Kerstin Haldan ,&nbsp;Kristina Kuprina ,&nbsp;Clemens Düsterhöft ,&nbsp;Franziska Eller ,&nbsp;Anke Fiehn ,&nbsp;Aron Garthen ,&nbsp;Nils Krauß ,&nbsp;Martin Schnittler ,&nbsp;Manuela Bog ,&nbsp;Jürgen Kreyling","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change leads to more extreme weather events. Therefore, high stress tolerance is becoming increasingly critical for plants. A higher ploidy level has been reported to lead to higher stress tolerance in plants. <em>Phragmites australis</em> is a species well known for its many ploidy levels and is a target species for paludiculture, i.e. the wet use of peatlands. We expected octoploid genotypes of <em>P. australis</em> to outperform tetraploid ones in a 15-month mesocosm experiment including a gradient of 0–100 days of drought. We used pairs of genotypes differing in ploidy from three different geographic regions. Increasing drought length led to a decrease in growth, biomass, morphological and ecophysiological traits in both ploidy levels. A ploidy level of 4x outperformed 8x in almost all traits under constant water supply, leading to more than doubled biomass production, and up to moderate drought (approximately 50 days). Under severe and prolonged drought, both ploidy levels performed equally poorly. This study suggests that lower ploidy levels can outperform higher ploidy levels of <em>P. australis</em>. In this species, ploidy alone may not explain performance, but the genotype can be as or more important than ploidy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"240 ","pages":"Article 106267"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145442609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chronic exposure to ionizing radiation elicits growth inhibition and a dynamic oxidative stress response in the shoots of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings","authors":"Brix De Rouck ,&nbsp;Esteban Suls ,&nbsp;Gustavo Turqueto Duarte ,&nbsp;Els Prinsen ,&nbsp;Nele Horemans","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Radioactive contamination represents a significant environmental stressor and can result in long-term exposure of terrestrial ecosystems to harmful levels of ionizing radiation. While Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em>) has become a cornerstone reference species for environmental radiation protection studies due to its pronounced radiosensitivity, the underlying physiological mechanisms governing its responses to chronic low-dose radiation exposure remain poorly characterized. We therefore investigated the effect of chronic gamma irradiation on the growth and the oxidative stress response of young pine seedlings. The plants were exposed to 682 μGy·h⁻¹ for 10 weeks, with phenotypical measurements and analysis of molecular and biochemical markers of oxidative stress measured at two-week intervals. Chronic exposure induced significant inhibition of shoot development and a transient reduction of axillar bud formation, correlating with a dynamic oxidative stress response. An initial stress phase involved a significant disruption of the antioxidant system, evidenced by elevated glutathione oxidation and suppressed antioxidative enzyme activities. Despite this disruption, seedlings demonstrated the capacity for swift stress acclimation, first re-establishing glutathione homeostasis through an increase in its reduced form and then transitioning to an enhanced defensive state characterized by elevated superoxide dismutase activity and increased expression of ascorbate peroxidase. Understanding the dynamic radiation stress response during seedling establishment of this keystone forest species may prove beneficial for predicting ecosystem resilience and informing environmental radiation protection strategies in radioactively contaminated environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106265"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated transcriptome and targeted metabolomics reveals floral coloration mechanisms in response to light intensity in Argyranthemum frutescens","authors":"Yuan Meng ,&nbsp;Jiaxin Liu ,&nbsp;Dan Huo ,&nbsp;Gege Ma ,&nbsp;Yuting Yuan ,&nbsp;Zihan Wang ,&nbsp;Yueping Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Light is a crucial environmental factor that influences the plant coloration, yet the mechanisms underlying the color variation responding to light intensity remain unclear. Here, morphology, biochemistry, transcriptome and targeted metabolome analyses were integrated to characterize flower petal color responses and the molecular basis of pigmentation in <em>Argyranthemum frutescens</em>, a worldwide ornamental plant under three light intensities (50, 150 and 600 μmol m^–2 s^–1). It was found that the petals pigmentation and total anthocyanin content significantly increased with the enhanced light intensity. Anthocyanin-targeted metabolome identified a total of 55 metabolites, and 36 differentially accumulated anthocyanins (DAA) were detected. The contents of cyanidins and procyanidins changed significantly in samples under different light intensities. Specifically, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside and cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-malonyl-beta-D-glucoside) showed a gradual increase with enhanced light intensity, whereas Procyanidin A2 decreased. Transcriptomics showed a gradual increase in the expression of <em>CHI, F3H</em> as well as <em>DFR,</em> which involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways, corresponding to the accumulation of anthocyanin content as light intensified. Moreover, 186 differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs) were identified. The correlation network of gene-to-metabolite between TFs and DEGs encoding biosynthetic enzymes, as well as DAA indicated that the family genes of ERF, bZIP, WRKY, MYB, and NAC play crucial roles in activating light intensity-responsive genes and regulating the flower color in <em>A. frutescens</em>. These findings revealed the potential mechanisms underlying light intensity-induced flower color changes in <em>A. frutescens</em>, which provide a theoretical foundation for its landscape use and flower color improvement of <em>A. frutescens</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106261"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological and multi-omics profiling uncovers the sulfur tolerance mechanism in Tamarix ramosissima","authors":"Ruiqi Zheng ,&nbsp;Tingting Zhang ,&nbsp;Shaoming Wang ,&nbsp;Mohsin Tanveer ,&nbsp;Xiang Shi ,&nbsp;Lei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Tamarix ramosissima</em>, a xerophytic shrub with significant ecological-economic value, exhibits marked soil sulfur (S) accumulation capacity, yet its shoot transcriptional-metabolic responses to varying S levels remain uncharacterized. This study integrates physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses to investigate S-mediated adaptation mechanisms in <em>T. ramosissima</em> cuttings. High S exposure significantly inhibited growth and induced oxidative stress, evidenced by reduced activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX), increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH, GSSG) levels, and decreased ascorbic acid (AsA, DHA) content. Transcriptome analysis identified key S-responsive pathways, including secondary metabolism and signal transduction, with differential expression of genes encoding POD, GR, GST, and photosystem proteins. Metabolome profiling quantified 489 differentially accumulated metabolites, primarily flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids. Crucially, integrative multi-omics analysis revealed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and plant hormone signal transduction were the core pathways significantly enriched at both the transcript and metabolite levels. This study elucidates the complex molecular networks underlying sulfur tolerance and accumulation in <em>T. ramosissima</em>, deepening our understanding of plant adaptation in S-rich desert ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106264"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is moss-associated nitrogen fixation controlled by the same factors across shoots, species and sites?","authors":"Jørgen Ulrik Graudal Levinsen ,&nbsp;Mingyue Yuan ,&nbsp;Anders Michelsen ,&nbsp;Kathrin Rousk","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biological N₂ fixation performed by moss-associated cyanobacteria is among the main sources of new nitrogen (N) input in pristine subarctic ecosystems. Yet, until now there has been a lack of knowledge on the drivers of biological N₂ fixation on small spatial scales (moss segment) in relation to the drivers at larger scales (moisture ecosystem). To investigate this, we assessed the capacity of N₂ fixation along shoots of two common moss species, <em>Pleurozium schreberi</em> and <em>Hylocomium splendens,</em> collected along a steep precipitation gradient in the Subarctic. Furthermore, concentrations of nutrients and pH were analysed along the same moss shoot-gradients. We found the highest nitrogenase activity in <em>H. splendens</em> collected at the location with the highest mean annual precipitation. Nitrogenase activity varied significantly along the moss shoots, and between species and location along the precipitation gradient. <em>P. schreberi</em> had the highest nitrogenase activity in the middle segments, while for <em>H. splendens</em>, it was highest in the lowest segments (below 3 cm). Contents of iron, molybdenum and N generally increased with moss segment depth, but phosphorus concentrations decreased and pH was stable across segments. Taken together, the factors that drive nitrogenase activity at small scales differ between moss species, whereas precipitation predominantly controls nitrogenase activity at larger scales (across habitats).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106262"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptome analysis and genome-wide identification of WD40 transcription factor family provide new insights into the salt tolerance of Melilotus albus","authors":"Caibin Zhang,&nbsp;Pan Xu,&nbsp;Fan Wu,&nbsp;Qi Yan,&nbsp;Shengsheng Wang,&nbsp;Bao Ao,&nbsp;Yangyang Han,&nbsp;Zhenfei Yan,&nbsp;Yanning Wu,&nbsp;Yuncan Qu,&nbsp;Jiyu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Salt stress is one of the major factors limiting the growth and yield of <em>Melilotus albus</em>, a legume valued for its high protein content, medicinal coumarins, and salinity tolerance. To investigate the molecular basis of salt adaptation, we conducted a time-course transcriptome analysis under prolonged salt stress (0, 7, 14, and 21 d), combined with phenotypic and physiological measurements. Transcriptome profiling, WGCNA, and STEM analyses identified differentially expressed genes enriched in stress-response pathways, with members of the WD40 transcription factor family exhibiting particularly notable salt-responsive expression patterns. We identified WD40 genes at the genome-wide level and characterized their promoter structures, chromosomal distributions, and evolutionary relationships. Three members (MaWD40.16, MaWD40.45, and MaWD40.116) were further validated for their expression patterns by qRT-PCR and tissue-specific analysis, which confirmed their preferential expression in roots. Functional assays, including yeast complementation, subcellular localization, and analyses of transgenic hairy root lines, demonstrated that the encoded proteins are localized in the nucleus and enhance salt tolerance. In addition, they modulate physiological traits such as root length, MDA, and Pro content under stress. Together, these findings highlight the role of MaWD40 genes in salt-stress adaptation and provide a foundation for future functional characterization and molecular breeding of <em>M. albus</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106256"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145327019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Overexpression of the alfalfa gene MsTIFY10a confers thrips resistance in Medicago truncatula","authors":"Qi Chen ,&nbsp;Yan Zhang ,&nbsp;Rui Dai ,&nbsp;Fengyan Yi ,&nbsp;Shuang Shuang ,&nbsp;Xiaowei Huo ,&nbsp;Zhenyi Li ,&nbsp;Cuiping Gao ,&nbsp;Fengling Shi ,&nbsp;Zhiqiang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants have evolved diverse defense mechanisms to counteract herbivore damage. While plant responses to phloem-feeding or leaf-chewing herbivores have been extensively studied, defense strategies against cell-content-feeding insects, such as thrips (Thysanoptera), remain poorly characterized. Thrips represent one of the most significant herbivores of alfalfa (<em>Medicago sativa</em>) owing to their substantial impact on both yield and quality. In this study, we cloned <em>MsTIFY10a</em>, a 178-amino-acid zinc-finger protein-encoding gene from alfalfa, and investigated its functional role in thrips resistance. Results demonstrated that <em>MsTIFY10a</em> exhibited peak expression levels in tender leaves of alfalfa and was significantly induced by thrips feeding. Further analysis showed that MsTIFY10a resides in the nucleus and had no transcriptional activation ability. Overexpression of the <em>MsTIFY10a</em> gene in <em>Medicago truncatula</em> exhibited reduced thrips number and oviposition on the leaves following 14 days of infestation. Additionally, antioxidant enzyme activities (including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, and lipoxygenas) and secondary metabolite levels (such as flavonoids and total phenolics) significantly increased in <em>MsTIFY10a</em> overexpressed plants compared to wild-type. Moreover, the transgenic plants enhanced the length and density of leaf trichomes. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes and metabolites enriched in the flavonoid biosynthesis and hormone signalling pathway when comparing <em>MsTIFY10a</em> overexpressed plants and wild type. This study demonstrates that MsTIFY10a confers enhanced thrips resistance in transgenic <em>Medicago truncatula</em> through fortification of the physiological defense system, augmented clearance of stress-induced metabolites, and modulating hormone signal transduction pathways. These findings elucidate key molecular mechanisms underlying MsTIFY10a-mediated defense against thrips resistance in alfalfa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106260"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing chloride and ammonium nutrition in Poncirus trifoliata: Balancing growth enhancement and toxicity mitigation","authors":"Xiaoman Liu ,&nbsp;Ge Zan ,&nbsp;Xiaodong Liu ,&nbsp;Zhihao Dong ,&nbsp;Mohamed G. Moussa ,&nbsp;Chengxiao Hu ,&nbsp;Qiling Tan ,&nbsp;Xuecheng Sun ,&nbsp;Songwei Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Due to the similar phytotoxicity symptoms induced by chloride (Cl⁻) and ammonium (NH₄⁺) in citrus, which complicate diagnosis and nutrient management, this study examined the individual and combined effects of NH₄⁺ (4, 8, 16 mM) and Cl⁻ (0, 8, 32 mM) on the growth, nitrogen metabolism, and antioxidant responses of <em>Poncirus trifoliata</em> seedlings. Moderate concentrations of 8 mM Cl⁻ and 4 mM NH₄⁺ (Cl₈N₄) significantly increased growth parameters, including plant height, biomass, and leaf chlorophyll content, while reducing oxidative stress indicators such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline in leaves. In contrast, higher ion concentrations led to leaf chlorosis, membrane damage, and impaired nitrogen metabolism, with NH₄⁺ exhibiting a stronger toxic effect than Cl⁻. Nitrogen metabolism analysis demonstrated that the combined treatment Cl₈N₄ optimized the levels of soluble sugar, glutamate, and free amino acids, while maintaining the activity of key enzymes such as nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase. Additionally, Cl₈N₄ enhanced photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), reduced MDA levels, and boosted antioxidant enzyme activity, thereby minimizing oxidative damage. In contrast, other combined treatments significantly inhibited plant growth and disrupted metabolic functions. Redundancy analysis further confirms the beneficial role of the Cl₈N₄ combination in enhancing plant adaptation to ionic stress. These findings highlight the importance of balanced NH₄⁺ and Cl⁻ levels in promoting citrus growth and stress resilience. Accordingly, chloride containing fertilizers may be beneficial in citrus cultivation, but their application alongside excessive NH₄⁺ should be avoided due to the risk of increased toxicity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106254"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145360884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A calmodulin-like protein (MsCML50) confers cold tolerance through interacting with MsTPP8 to moderate sugars accumulation and ROS scavenging in alfalfa","authors":"Lei Yang ,&nbsp;Hongjian Sun ,&nbsp;Bo Xu ,&nbsp;Yaling Liu ,&nbsp;Haifeng Zhu ,&nbsp;Zhenfei Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs) are Ca²⁺ sensors involved in plant growth, development and environmental stress responses, however, the function of most of CMLs remains unknown. The role of <em>MsCML50</em> from alfalfa (<em>Medicago sativa</em>) in regulation of cold tolerance was documented in the present study. <em>MsCML50</em> transcript was induced after cold treatment at 5 °C. Compared to the wild type (WT), <em>MsCML50</em>-overexpressing (OE) alfalfa and RNAi lines had increased or decreased cold tolerance, respectively. MsCML50 showed interaction with trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase 8 (MsTPP8). Compared to WT, higher levels of TPP activities, trehalose, sucrose, raffinose and proline concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activities but lower accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were observed in OE lines under cold conditions, while the opposite trends were observed in RNAi lines. Furthermore, the defect of RNAi lines in cold tolerance and trehalose, sucrose, raffinose and proline accumulation as well as antioxidant enzyme activities were rescued by exogenous application of trehalose. The results suggest that MsCML50 positively regulates cold tolerance through activating MsTPP8, leading to improved sugars accumulation and promoted ROS scavenging during cold treatment at 5 °C. Our work revealed a novel MsCML50-MsTPP8 module that regulates cold tolerance in alfalfa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106255"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145323555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The recovery phase duration shapes plant responses to recurring heat stresses in winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)","authors":"L. Kougiteas ,&nbsp;B. Julien ,&nbsp;B. Bernay ,&nbsp;Q. Dupas ,&nbsp;N. Elie ,&nbsp;M. Le Guedard ,&nbsp;JC Avice ,&nbsp;S. Brunel-Muguet","doi":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envexpbot.2025.106263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The accelerating pace of climate change increases heatwave frequency, challenging crop acclimation. A greenhouse experiment in oilseed rape investigated how prior heat exposure influences seed yield and quality after an intense heat stress (HS). Three sequences of two heat events were tested, differing in recovery duration. We hypothesized that the interval between stresses would determine the priming effect of an initial mild stress (early, intermediate, late) on subsequent HS. Results showed that yield components were not much affected by the heat modalities reflecting the high plasticity of oilseed rape. However, HS-containing sequences significantly reduced seed biomass, with the extent of reduction depending on the timing of the first mild stress. Seed concentration of fatty acids and the seed storage capacity were impacted by the cumulated duration of heat days but the sequence with the intermediate recovery duration (ca. 45°Cd before the intense heat) led to mitigate HS-induced negative effects. Dynamic measurements of fluorescence-based chlorophyll parameters were shown to be able to catch the specificities of the heat sequences and to reflect the differences in final seed biomass accumulation. Overall, our study highlights the critical role of the time interval between stress events in sustaining priming effects induced by the initial stress. More broadly, this work demonstrates the fine tuning of stress priming and advances our understanding of this often-overlooked aspect of stress memory by uncovering the climate-related determinants that shape crop acclimation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11758,"journal":{"name":"Environmental and Experimental Botany","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106263"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145463666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}