Frontiers in Plant Science最新文献

{"title":"Assessing <i>Jatropha curcas</i> pollen viability: a comparative assessment of transgenic and non-transgenic pollen under various environmental conditions using rapid staining technique.","authors":"Sampath Kasthurirengan, Yan Hong, Srinivasan Ramachandran","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1543947","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1543947","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pollen plays a critical role in transgene flow between non-transgenic plants, influencing gene dispersal and environmental risk considerations. Jatropha (<i>Jatropha curcas</i>) is a promising biofuel crop, offers an opportunity to study pollen biology, particularly in transgenic lines. Understanding pollen viability under different environmental conditions is essential for assessing potential risks associated with transgenic Jatropha cultivation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Pollen viability of X8#34 transgenic and non-transgenic Jatropha was assessed using various staining techniques. An optimized double-staining technique with Fluorescein Diacetate (FDA) and Propidium Iodide (PI) was developed, effectively differentiated viable pollen (green fluorescence) from non-viable (red fluorescence). The effects of temperatures (18°C, 28°C, 30°C 35°C, 40°C and 45°C) and UV-B irradiation (3 to 15 W/m2) on pollen viability ware examined. Additionally, viability was assessed under field-relevant conditions, including sunny and cloudy/shady atmospheric environments.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A significant reduction in pollen viability was observed under extreme temperature and UV-B stress. Among different temperatures tested, high temperatures (35°C, 40°C and 45°C) led to a significant decline in pollen viability, with notable differences emerging from 15 min of incubation. Additionally, exposure to high-intensity UV-B irradiation (12 W/m2 and 15 W/m2) significantly reduced the pollen viability. Under a field relevant sunny condition, viability dropped to 19% in transgenic and 16% in non-transgenic after 45 min incubation and complete loss was recorded in 90 min in both genotypes. In cloudy/shady conditions, over 97% of pollen lost viability in 240 min incubation. Statistical analysis confirmed no significant difference is pollen viability between X8#34 and non-transgenic Jatropha across all tested conditions.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of pollen viability in transgenic and non-transgenic Jatropha. The findings highlight the significant influence of environmental factors, particularly temperature and UV-B exposure, on pollen longevity. The optimized double staining technique (FDA + PI) provides a reliable method for assessing pollen viability and may be useful in environmental risk evaluations of transgenic Jatropha. Given the rapid decline in pollen viability under field-relevant conditions, the likelihood of transgene flow via pollen appears limited.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1543947"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12069449/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144006603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating photosynthetic models and their potency in assessing plant responses to changing oxygen concentrations: a comparative analysis of <i>A</i> _n-<i>C</i> _a and <i>A</i> _n-<i>C</i> _i curves in <i>Lolium perenne</i> and <i>Triticum aestivum</i>.","authors":"Zi-Piao Ye, Xiao-Long Yang, Zi-Wu-Yin Ye, Ting An, Shi-Hua Duan, Hua-Jing Kang, Fu-Biao Wang","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1575217","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1575217","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Accurate determination of photosynthetic parameters is essential for understanding how plants respond to environmental changes. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry (FvCB) model and introduced a novel model to fit photosynthetic rates against ambient CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentration (&lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt;) and intercellular CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentration (&lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt;) curves for &lt;i&gt;Lolium perenne&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Triticum aestivum&lt;/i&gt; under 2% and 21% O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conditions. We observed significant discrepancies in the FvCB model's fitting capacity for &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; curves across different oxygen regimes, particularly in estimates of key parameters such as the maximum carboxylation rate (&lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;cmax&lt;/sub&gt;), the day respiratory rate (&lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;day&lt;/sub&gt;), and the maximum electron transport rate for carbon assimilation (&lt;i&gt;J&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;A-max&lt;/sub&gt;). Notably, under 2% and 21% O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conditions, the values of &lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;cmax&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;day&lt;/sub&gt; derived from &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; curves using the FvCB model were 46.98%, 44.37%, 46.63%, and 37.66% lower than those from &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; curves for &lt;i&gt;L. perenne&lt;/i&gt;, and 47.10%, 44.30%, 47.03%, and 37.36% lower for &lt;i&gt;T. aestivum&lt;/i&gt;, respectively. These results highlight that the FvCB model yields significantly different &lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;cmax&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;day&lt;/sub&gt; values when fitting &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; versus &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; curves for these two C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; plants. In contrast, the novel model demonstrated superior fitting capabilities for both &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; curves under 2% and 21% O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conditions, achieving high determination coefficients (&lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;≥ 0.989). Key parameters such as the maximum net photosynthetic rate (&lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;max&lt;/sub&gt;) and the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; compensation point (&lt;i&gt;Γ&lt;/i&gt;) in the presence of &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;day&lt;/sub&gt;, showed no significant differences across oxygen concentrations. However, the apparent photorespiratory rate (&lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;pa0&lt;/sub&gt;) and photorespiratory rate (&lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;p0&lt;/sub&gt;) derived from &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt; curves consistently exceeded those from &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; curves for both plant species. Furthermore, &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;pa0&lt;/sub&gt; values derived from &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; curves closely matched observed values, suggesting that &lt;i&gt;A&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;n&lt;/sub&gt; &lt;i&gt;-C&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sub&gt;a&lt;/sub&gt; curves more accurately reflect the physiological state of plants, particularly for estimating photorespiratory rates. This study underscores the importance of selecting appropriate CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-resp","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1575217"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12069373/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144011463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanism of mixed oligosaccharides in the response of rice seedlings to abiotic stresses.","authors":"Yanan Xu, Yigang Yang, Yeran Bai, Makoto Saito, Wei Han, Yuanpei Zhang, Guohua Lv, Jiqing Song, Wenbo Bai","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1546679","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1546679","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Salinity and alkalinity stresses severely suppress rice seedling growth and substantially reduce rice yield; whereas the application of oligosaccharides as plant growth regulators has been demonstrated to remarkably enhance crop tolerance to abiotic stresses. To investigate the potential growth-promoting effects of KP-priming (mixed-oligosaccharides, 1.12 mg mL^-1) on rice seedlings under salinity (100 mmol L^-1 NaCl) and alkalinity (10 mmol L^-1 Na₂CO₃) stresses, plant morphology and physiology assessments, and transcriptome analyses were performed. The KP-priming significantly improved rice seedling tolerance to salinity and alkalinity stresses, evidenced by increases in plant height, dry matter weight, and fresh weight, and improved root morphology (root length, surface area) and vitality by 10.27-89.06%. Leaf cell membrane stability was improved in KP-priming by increasing the soluble sugar content and superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities by 2.74-97.32%, and reducing accumulation of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide by 17.67-49.70%. KP-priming treatment significantly enhanced leaf photosynthetic capacity through promoting photosynthetic pigments and maximum photochemical efficiency by 2.34-135.76%, and enhancing leaf stomatal aperture by 21.58-75.84%. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes in response to KP-priming under salt and alkaline stresses were predominantly associated with photosynthetic pathways. Total 4125 (salinity) and 1971 (alkalinity) DEGs were identified under stresses compared to KP-priming. Transcriptional profiling of KP-priming-treated leaves demonstrated significant up-regulation of key photosynthetic genes, including <i>OsRBCS5</i>, <i>PGR5</i>, <i>Se5</i>, <i>OsPORA</i>, <i>GRA78</i>, <i>OsLhcb7</i>, and <i>OsPS1-F</i>. This coordinated gene expression was functionally associated with enhanced leaf photosynthesis capacity and mitigated oxidative damage through improved electron transport and reactive oxygen species scavenging mechanisms. Our findings demonstrated that KP-priming initiated a self-regulatory mechanism in plants, orchestrating a dual protective response that simultaneously mitigated oxidative damage while enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience. This study provided initial insights into using KP-priming to alleviate salinity and alkalinity stresses and its underlying molecular mechanisms, which is valuable for both field management practices and understanding rice tolerance to abiotic stresses.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1546679"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066455/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143983601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of DREB gene family in foxtail millet (<i>Setaria italica</i>) and analysis of its expression pattern in response to abiotic stress.","authors":"Yanan Yang, Yun Li, Zhenqing Guo, Yuxue Zhao, Xiaoke Zhou, Yucui Han, Xiaohu Lin","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1552120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1552120","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dehydration response element binding proteins (DREBs) play a vital role in transcriptional regulators in enhancing plant tolerance to abiotic stress. To investigate the biological functions of the DREB gene family (<i>SiDREBs</i>) in foxtail millet (<i>Setaria italica</i>), this study performed bioinformatics and gene expression analysis on <i>SiDREBs</i> under abiotic stress. A total of 166 family members of <i>SiDREBs</i> were identified, which were classified into six subfamilies. <i>SiDREBs</i> were unevenly distributed on nine chromosomes, and were designated as <i>SiDREB1</i>-<i>166</i> based on their chromosomal positions. Covariance analysis revealed that <i>SiDREBs</i> were much more closely related to monocotyledonous plants sorghum, maize, and rice than to dicotyledonous plants <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, tomato, and soybean. Promoter <i>cis</i>-acting element analysis showed that <i>SiDREBs</i> contained stress-related <i>cis-</i>acting elements. Under saline-alkali stress, <i>SiDREB153</i> exhibited significantly different expression levels between the resistant and susceptible materials, indicating that it plays a positive regulatory role in the response of foxtail millet to saline-alkali stress. Among different abiotic stresses, the expression of <i>SiDREB80</i> increased under drought, saline-alkali, and shade stress, that of <i>SiDREB4/129/131</i> rose under saline-alkali and high temperature stress, and that of <i>SiDREB159</i> increased under herbicide and saline-alkali stress. These genes play an important role in the response of foxtail millet to stress. These findings provide a theoretical basis for further studies on the function of <i>SiDREBs</i> in response to abiotic stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1552120"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066435/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143962203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling nitrogen preferences in <i>indica</i> rice: a classification study of cultivars in South China.","authors":"Chu-Sheng Lu, Jia-Jun Lai, Xian-Ting Fan, Kai-Ming Liang, Yuan-Hong Yin, Qun-Huan Ye, Hong Shen, You-Qiang Fu","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1568383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1568383","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Do <i>indica</i> rice cultivars prefer ammonium or nitrate? Understanding this preference is key to optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in rice production. Ammonium and nitrate are crucial for plant nitrogen nutrition, as rice cultivars exhibit varying preferences. However, few studies have classified ammonium and nitrate preferences within <i>indica</i> cultivars.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>For the first time, this study classifies <i>indica</i> rice cultivars based on their ammonium and nitrate preferences, revealing significant differences in biomass production under various nitrogen treatments. This study investigated the effects of ammonium-only nutrition (100:0), ammonium-nitrate mixed nutrition (75:25), and nitrate-only nutrition (0:100) on the maximum root length, shoot length, SPAD value, and biomass of 24 widely cultivated <i>indica</i> cultivars in South China.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Compared to ammonium-only nutrition, a mixed ammonium-nitrate treatment significantly boosted root and shoot growth, while nitrate-only nutrition led to a decline in chlorophyll content. Compared with the 100:0 treatment, the maximum root length, shoot length, root dry weight, shoot dry weight, and total dry weight in the 75:25 treatment significantly increased by 29.85%, 4.11%, 7.65%, 1.71% and 3.03% (p < 0.01), respectively; and the SPAD value in the 0:100 treatment significantly decreased by 4.22% (<i>p</i> < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These results demonstrate distinct responses of rice cultivars to different nitrogen treatments. Through correlation, principal component, and cluster analyses, the rice cultivars were categorized into three types: ammonium-preferring type (APT), ammonium- and nitrate-preferring type (ANPT), and nitrate-preferring type (NPT). The APT, ANPT, and NPT showed the highest biomass in the 100:0, 75:25, and 0:100 treatments, respectively, with the biomass in the ANPT significantly exceeding that of the APT (<i>p</i> < 0.01). These insights provide a foundation for breeding high-yield <i>indica</i> rice, optimizing nitrogen fertilizer strategies, and improving nitrogen use efficiency in sustainable agriculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1568383"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066440/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143987671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using XGBoost-SHAP for understanding the ecosystem services trade-off effects and driving mechanisms in ecologically fragile areas.","authors":"Peiyu Du, Heju Huai, Xiaoyang Wu, Hongjia Wang, Wen Liu, Xiumei Tang","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1552818","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1552818","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Understanding the spatial and temporal variability of Ecosystem services (ES), along with the trade-offs and synergies among different services, is crucial for effective ecosystem management and sustainable regional development. This study focuses on Wensu, Xinjiang, China, as a case study to address these challenges.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>ES and their trade-offs were systematically assessed from 1990 to 2020. Explainable machine learning models (XGBoost-SHAP) were employed to quantify the nonlinear effects and threshold effects of ES trade-offs, with specific attention to identifying their driving factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>(1) From 1990 to 2020, water yield (WY) and soil conservation (SC) exhibited an inverted \"N\"-shaped downward trend in Wensu County: mean annual WY decreased from 22.99 mm to 21.32 mm, and SC per unit area declined from 1440.28 t/km² to 1351.3 t/km². Conversely, windbreak and sand fixation (WS) showed an \"N\"-shaped increase from 2.32×10⁷ t to 3.11×10⁷ t. Habitat quality (HQ) initially improved then deteriorated, with values of 0.596, 0.603, 0.519, and 0.507 sequentially. (2) Relationships between WY-WS, WY-HQ, WS-HQ, SC-WS, and SC-HQ were primarily tradeoffs, whereas WY-SC interactions were synergistic. Trade-offs for SC-HQ, WY-HQ, and WS-HQ were stronger, while WY-SC trade-offs were weaker. (3) The XGBoost-SHAP model revealed land use type (Land), precipitation (Pre), and temperature (Tem) as dominant drivers of trade-offs, demonstrating nonlinear responses and threshold effects. For instance, WY-SC trade-offs intensified when precipitation exceeded 17 mm, while temperature thresholds governed WY-HQ trade-off/synergy transitions.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study advances the identification of nonlinear and threshold effects in ES trade-off drivers. The model's interpretability in capturing these complexities clarifies the mechanisms underlying ES dynamics. Findings are generalizable to other ecologically vulnerable regions, offering critical insights for ecosystem management and conservation strategies in comparable environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1552818"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066793/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143984546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere diminished the phytotoxicity of neodymium in wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.).","authors":"Ahmed M Saleh, Maha S A Haridy, Afrah E Mohammed, Lewis Ziska, Modhi O Alotaibi, Ahmed M A Khalil, Mahmoud M Y Madany, Hamada Abd Elgawad, Hanaa E A Amer","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1521460","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1521460","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Neodymium (Nd), a rare earth element (REEs), is widely utilized in industry. Although the detailed biological role of Nd in plant biology is unclear, recent reports have noted its oxidative phytotoxicity at concentrations higher than 200 mg kg^-1 soil. At present it is unclear if these detrimental effects could be offset by the global rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO₂]) which has been shown to enhance photosynthesis and growth in a wide range of C3 plant species.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To assess any amelioration effects of [CO₂], a phytotoxic dose of Nd (III) was given to wheat grown under two scenarios of atmospheric CO₂, ambient levels of CO₂ (aCO₂, 420 ppm) and eCO₂ (620 ppm) to assess growth and photosynthesis.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>Our results suggest that at ambient [CO₂], Nd treatment retarded wheat growth, photosynthesis and induced severe oxidative stress. In contrast, eCO₂ reduced the accumulation of Nd in wheat tissues and mitigated its negative impact on biomass production and photosynthesis related parameters, i.e., photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content, Rubisco activity and photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm). Elevated [CO₂] also supported the antioxidant defense system in Nd-treated wheat, enhanced production of enzymatic antioxidants, and more efficient ascorbate-glutathione recycling was noted. While additional data are needed, these initial results suggest that rising [CO2] could reduce Nd-induced oxidative stress in wheat.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1521460"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12076478/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144077534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comprehensive UHPLC-MS/MS and extraction method reveals flavonoid profile and concentration are diverse in spinach (<i>Spinacia oleracea L.</i>).","authors":"Michael P Dzakovich, Elaine A Le, Alvin L Tak, Shaji K Chacko","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1496200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1496200","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Spinach produces an array of unique flavonoids not commonly found in other fruits and vegetables. These molecules likely serve as defense agents against biotic and abiotic stress and may have health beneficial properties for humans. Current methods to analyze spinach flavonoids are incomplete and only capture a portion of this uncharacterized pathway. A comprehensive analysis method is needed to determine how genetics, environmental conditions, and other factors influence spinach flavonoid biosynthesis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed and validated a high-throughput extraction and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method to separate and quantify 39 spinach flavonoid species in 11.5 minutes. Spinach flavonoids without authentic standards were putatively identified using MS/MS fragmentation experiments, precursor scans, and matches to high-resolution MS literature reports.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our extraction method enables up to 48 samples to be extracted in 60 minutes with recovery estimates between 100.5 - 107.8%. To assess the suitability of our method and generate benchmark estimates for 39 spinach flavonoids, we grew a panel of 30 genetically diverse spinach accessions and compared quantification data generated with a traditional or our high-throughput approach. Data generated by either approach were comparable, estimating total flavonoid averages of 75.1 - 170.1 or 93.1 - 187.26 mg/100 g fresh weight for the high-throughput and traditional method, respectively.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Many estimates generated by our analysis method represent the first quantitative literature reports of these compounds. These experiments indicate that our extraction and analysis method is efficient, robust, and an important tool needed to study the biosynthesis and biological role of spinach flavonoids.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1496200"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066573/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143990613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seed-to-plant-tracking: automated phenotyping of seeds and corresponding plants of Arabidopsis.","authors":"Daniel Klasen, Andreas Fischbach, Viktor Sydoruk, Johannes Kochs, Jonas Bühler, Robert Koller, Gregor Huber","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1539424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1539424","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants adapt seed traits in response to different environmental triggers, supporting the survival of the next generation. To elucidate the mechanistic understanding of such adaptations it is important to characterize the distributions of seed traits by phenotyping seeds on an individual scale and to correlate these traits with corresponding plant properties. Here we introduce a seed-to-plant-tracking pipeline which enables automated handling and high precision phenotyping of Arabidopsis seeds as well as germination detection and early growth quantification of emerging plants. It includes previously published measurement platforms (<i>pheno</i>Seeder, Growscreen), which were improved for very small seeds. We demonstrate the performance of the pipeline by comparing seeds from two consecutive generations of elevated temperature during flowering with control seeds. Relative standard deviation of repeated seed mass measurements was reduced to 0.2%. We identified an increase in seed mass, volume, length, width, height, and germination time as well as a darkening of the seeds under the treatment. A correlation analysis revealed relationships between seed and plant traits, e.g., a highly significant negative correlation between seed brightness and germination time, and a positive correlation between seed mass and early growth rate, but no correlation between time of emergence and morphometric seed traits (e.g., mass, volume). Thus, the seed-to-plant tracking provides the basis for investigating the mechanism of seed and plant trait variation and transgenerational inheritance.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1539424"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066762/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143997155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term dynamics and driving mechanisms of plant communities in a temperate estuary in eastern China based on pollen analysis: a case study of the Liaohe Estuary.","authors":"Haoran Liu, Weiwei Liu, Jinzhi Wang, Wei Li, Jingwen Zhang, Jian Gong, Lijuan Cui","doi":"10.3389/fpls.2025.1578390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1578390","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The Liaohe Estuary, a representative estuarine ecosystem in eastern China, has experienced significant shifts in plant community characteristics due to climate change and anthropogenic influences in recent decades.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study employed sediment 210Pb dating, pollen analysis, and environmental factor indicators to comprehensively assess the composition, trends, and drivers of plant communities in the Liaohe Estuary from 1944 to 2022.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings revealed that herbaceous plants dominated the estuary's vegetation under a cool and humid climate, though humidity exhibited a declining trend over time. Between 2001 and 2022, pollen concentration and herbaceous plant prevalence increased significantly. Key environmental drivers-mean annual temperature (MAT), salinity, grain size, pH, and agricultural production-were strongly correlated (p < 0.001) with plant community dynamics. Natural factors (grain size, salinity) enhanced the dominance of key species but reduced overall pollen concentration. Conversely, agricultural activities diminished dominant species proportions while increasing pollen concentration.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These results highlight the dual influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors on estuarine vegetation. The study provides a theoretical basis for restoring degraded estuarine ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":12632,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Plant Science","volume":"16 ","pages":"1578390"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12066701/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143998677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}