Journal of plant physiology最新文献

{"title":"Next generation technologies for protein structure determination: challenges and breakthroughs in plant biology applications","authors":"Veronica G. Maurino","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154522","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154522","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advancements in structural biology have significantly deepened our understanding of plant proteins, which are central to critical biological functions such as photosynthesis, metabolism, signal transduction, and structural architechture. Gaining insights into their structures is crucial for unraveling their functions and mechanisms, which in turn has profound implications for agriculture, biotechnology, and environmental sustainability. Traditional methods in protein structural biology often fall short in addressing large protein assemblies and membrane proteins, and, in particular the dynamics and structural features of proteins in the native cellular context. This paper explores how next-generation technologies are transforming the field of plant protein structural biology, offering powerful tools to overcome longstanding obstacles and enabling remarkable scientific breakthroughs. Key technologies discussed include advanced X-ray crystallography, Cryo-Electron microscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, Cross-linking mass spectrometry, and Artificial Intelligence-driven approaches. These technologies are examined in terms of their challenges, innovations, and application with particular emphasis on their relevance to plant systems. Future directions in plant protein structural biology are also discussed. Although technical details are not covered in depth, readers are referred to the primary literature for more comprehensive information.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 154522"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144071960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Establishment of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and CRISPR/Cas9-guided gene editing in Elymus nutans","authors":"Cheng Li ,&nbsp;Xiaomei Peng ,&nbsp;Zhengshe Zhang ,&nbsp;Yaling Liu ,&nbsp;García-Caparrós Pedro ,&nbsp;Chunxiang Fu ,&nbsp;Yongping Yang ,&nbsp;Quanmin Dong ,&nbsp;Yuanwen Duan ,&nbsp;Xudong Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154513","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Elymus nutans</em>, an allohexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) species with a StStHHYY genome, is a native perennial in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and has been widely used for artificial pasture and ecological restoration as a forage grass with highest yield on the plateau. Nevertheless, the lack of a stable transformation system has impeded further efforts to trait improvement of <em>E. nutans</em>. In the present study, we established a reliable <em>Agrobacterium</em>-mediated genetic transformation system for <em>E. nutans</em>, and successfully generated <em>EnTCP4</em>-edited plants using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The editing efficiency achieved 19.23 % in <em>E. nutans</em>. Knocking out <em>EnTCP4</em> significantly delayed flowering and enhanced water-deficit stress resistance. This research represents a significant breakthrough in the genetic transformation and gene editing of <em>E. nutans</em>, laying a technological foundation to gain insight into gene functions and molecular breeding in <em>E. nutans</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 154513"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143923846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Systematical accumulating and regulating evaluations of leaf functional metabolites in geographically isolated edible medicinal plants of Piper sarmentosum","authors":"Liu Ziting ,&nbsp;Wu Xiaoqing ,&nbsp;Wang Kemei ,&nbsp;Bai Yachao ,&nbsp;Guo Aimin ,&nbsp;Linan Huang ,&nbsp;Liao Bin ,&nbsp;Zhang Jun","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154512","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154512","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The edible medicinal plant <em>Piper sarmentosum</em> is widely distributed in south China. This study raised a hypothesis of geographically isolated <em>P</em>. <em>sarmentosum</em> plants possessing potential site- or/and plant-dependent accumulating metabolites, expressing genes, and colonizing bacteria. Here, <em>P</em>. <em>sarmentosum</em> plants of Guangzhou City (PG, comparison group) and Hainan Island (PH, control group) were collected for assaying leaf metabolomes (LMs), leaf transcriptomes (LTs), and leaf-assembled bacterial communities (LABCs), respectively. In LMs and LTs, 930 metabolites and 82,606 unigenes were identified with 552 differently accumulated metabolites (DAMs) and 28,177 differently expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. In LABCs, cluster analysis yielded 822 PG-PH-common, 1114 PG-unique, and 203 PH-unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs). In contrast of PH-LMs, the elevated accumulations of alkaloids and lipids and the decreased accumulations of flavonoids and phenolic acids were observed in PG-LMs. Typically, the DAMs and DEGs were co-enriched in two metabolic pathways of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids, visibly displaying the related DEGs, such as chalcone synthase (<em>CHS</em>), chalcone isomerase (<em>CHI</em>) and phenylalanine amino lyase (<em>PAL</em>), with regulating the functional DAMs, such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, p-coumaric acid, and naringenin. Noticeably, these DAMs were also significantly correlated with a number of different types or/and abundances of leaf-assembled bacteria (DTAB) between PG- and PH-LABCs, such as <em>Flavobacterium</em> and <em>Pseudomonas</em>. Therefore, this study clearly elucidated the functional metabolite accumulations and the close relationships with plant mRNA expressions and bacterial colonizations in geographically isolated plants of <em>P. sarmentosum</em>, providing new insight of selectively utilizing leaf food- and medicine-associated metabolites in different habitats of edible medicinal plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"310 ","pages":"Article 154512"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143932248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drought-induced changes in antioxidant capacity, mineral content, and plant development in basal leafy cactus: comparisons between Pereskia aculeata miller and Pereskia bahiensis Gürke","authors":"Daniel S. Gomes ,&nbsp;Antônio N. Andrade ,&nbsp;Estephanni F.O. Dantas ,&nbsp;Vanessa A. Soares ,&nbsp;Damiana J. Araujo ,&nbsp;Sabrina K. Santos ,&nbsp;Adriano S. Lopes ,&nbsp;José E.S. Ribeiro ,&nbsp;Valquiria C.S. Ferreira ,&nbsp;Juliane M. Henschel ,&nbsp;Walter E. Pereira ,&nbsp;Thiago J. Dias ,&nbsp;Diego S. Batista","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154503","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154503","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Pereskia aculeata</em> is known for its high levels of proteins, minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds, qualifying it as an unconventional food. In contrast, the nutritional potential of <em>P. bahiensis</em> remains much less explored. Drought and defense-related bioregulators like salicylic acid (SA) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) can influence plant composition and antioxidant responses, but their effects on <em>Pereskia</em> species are still unclear. This study aimed to assess the growth and nutritional profiles of <em>P. aculeata</em> and <em>P. bahiensis</em> under water deficit, SA, and SNP, testing whether <em>P. bahiensis</em> also holds food potential and whether these treatments enhance antioxidant capacity. For this, plants were grown under two irrigation regimes: well-watered (80 % water retention capacity – WRC) and water deficit (15 % WRC for 8 days, followed by total water restriction for 16 days). Additionally, plants were foliar sprayed with 100 μM SA, 100 μM SNP, or water (control). <em>P. bahiensis</em> exhibited greater phenolic compounds content and antioxidant capacity, but lower biomass production, and contents of sugars and minerals compared to <em>P. aculeata</em>. Drought increased the antioxidant capacity but decreased mineral content and biomass in the two <em>species;</em> while SA and SNP only affected Mn contents, not affecting the antioxidant capacity and growth. These findings highlight the great antioxidant capacity of <em>P. bahiensis</em>, surpassing that of <em>P. aculeata</em>, which underscores its potential as a nutraceutical plant. Moreover, water deficit can be used as a strategy to improve antioxidant capacity of both species, while SA and SNP treatments have no effects in their quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"309 ","pages":"Article 154503"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143900088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The look insight – magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the inner life of plants","authors":"Ljudmilla Borisjuk ,&nbsp;Thomas Neuberger","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154502","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154502","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most versatile and widely used imaging techniques in modern medicine, but its incredible potential remains underutilized in plant science. Many aspects of the inner life of plants are still unknown and are waiting to be discovered by new innovative technological solutions. The ability of MRI to non-invasively explore processes inside living organisms offers an unparalleled opportunity to investigate metabolism, nutrient allocation, growth and development. Enabling the visualization of complex dynamics in living organisms in unprecedented ways could transform how we study and perceive plants. This article highlights the critical advancements and strategies that are paving the way for MRI to become an essential tool in plant research, unlocking new frontiers in biology and agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"309 ","pages":"Article 154502"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143900089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selection and validation of reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR analysis across tissues at different developmental stages in Taraxacum kok-saghyz","authors":"Yongmei Li ,&nbsp;Yuan Yao ,&nbsp;Tiancheng Xu ,&nbsp;Xue Yang ,&nbsp;Yuting He ,&nbsp;Shengmin Zhang ,&nbsp;Qingbiao Xie ,&nbsp;Jie Cao ,&nbsp;Chaorong Tang ,&nbsp;Hui Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is a highly sensitive and widely used method for analyzing gene expression profiles. Accurate qRT-PCR normalization requires the identification of stable reference genes under specific experimental conditions. Although seven reference genes have been used in <em>Taraxacum kok-saghyz</em> (TKS), an alternative natural rubber-producing crop, a systematic identification of reliable internal references for gene expression analysis across tissues at distinct developmental stages of TKS has not been conducted. In this study, we screened 12 candidate reference genes (CRGs) based on RNA-seq data from 26 TKS samples, representing five tissue types and nine developmental stages. The expression levels of the 12 CRGs, along with 7 previously reported reference genes (RRGs), were quantified by qRT-PCR across various tissues and developmental stages. The expression stability of the 19 genes was further evaluated by four commonly used algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, comparative delta Ct, and BestKeeper), and their results were integrated by RefFinder to generate a comprehensive stability ranking. The final results revealed that <em>TkADF1</em> and <em>TkRPT6A</em> were the most suitable internal control genes for the all-tissue group and leaf samples. <em>TkUPL</em> and <em>TkSIZ1</em> were found to be optimal for root samples, while <em>TkADF1</em> and <em>TkSRPRA</em> were preferred choices for latex samples. Moreover, validation using two rubber biosynthesis-related genes (<em>TkFPS1</em> and <em>TkSRPP2</em>) confirmed the reliability of these recommended genes, showing a strong positive correlation with the RNA-seq data. This study provides reliable reference genes for qRT-PCR normalization in TKS, facilitating future research on developmental regulation and natural rubber biosynthesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"309 ","pages":"Article 154501"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143903919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Laser microdissection and fluorescence in situ hybridization reveal the tissue-specific gene expression in the ovules of P. tabulaeformis Carr","authors":"Xinyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Binli Chen ,&nbsp;Xiaoxin Song ,&nbsp;Yingqi Wang ,&nbsp;Caixia Zheng ,&nbsp;Zaixin Gong","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154500","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154500","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ovules are important carriers for seed plant reproduction, and ovules of gymnosperms are composed mainly of female gametophyte (FG) and adjacent diploid tissue (ADT). To investigate tissue-specific genes in the ovules of <em>Pinus tabulaeformis</em> Carr., we used laser microdissection (LMD) to separate FGs and ADTs, and performed linear amplification to construct cDNA libraries, obtaining a total of 156 expressed sequence tags (EST). Furthermore, some differentially expressed genes between FG and ADT of <em>P. tabulaeformis</em> ovule were screened by the analysis of EST. In addition, the expression levels of key genes in fertile line (FL) and sterile line (SL) ovules during development were verified by RT-qPCR, and we found that both <em>PtRPL7a</em> and <em>PtDHN4</em> were more highly expressed in FL in each period (at least 1.7 times that of SL). Finally, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to reveal the temporal and spatial expression patterns of <em>PtRPL7a</em> and <em>PtDHN4</em> in the ovules of <em>P. tabuliformis</em> during ovule development between FL and SL. Our results indicate that the expression levels and the locations of <em>PtRPL7a</em> and <em>PtDHN4</em> show significant differences in different tissues during ovule development between FL and SL. This study further elucidates the molecular mechanism of the ovule abortion of <em>P. tabulaeformis</em> and provides a theoretical basis for the germplasm optimization of gymnosperms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"309 ","pages":"Article 154500"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AmCERK1 and AmLYK3 interaction mediates CIP-induced defense responses in A. macrocephala","authors":"Lei Chen ,&nbsp;Xuyan Fu ,&nbsp;Kun Wu ,&nbsp;Xiangbing Chang ,&nbsp;Wei Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Southern blight caused by <em>Sclerotium rolfsii</em> (<em>S. rolfsii</em>) represents a significant threat to the medicinal plant <em>Atractylodes macrocephala</em> Koidz. (<em>A. macrocephala</em>), with effective control measures remaining limited. <em>Chrysanthemum indicum</em> polysaccharides (CIP) have been identified as an elicitor capable of inducing defense responses in <em>A. macrocephala</em> against <em>S. rolfsii</em> infection. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CIP recognition remain poorly understood. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis revealed two potential <em>LysM</em>-receptor kinases, Am<em>CERK1</em> and Am<em>LYK3</em>, as candidate receptors for CIP recognition. These genes, which are orthologous to <em>Arabidopsis CERK1</em> and <em>Medicago truncatula LYK3</em>, exhibited significant up-regulation upon CIP treatment. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays demonstrated that Am<em>CERK1</em> and Am<em>LYK3</em> interact in a CIP-dependent manner. Transient overexpression experiments further confirmed that CIP treatment markedly enhanced the expression of these receptor genes. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assays indicated that CIP treatment could partially compensate for the suppression of Am<em>CERK1</em> and Am<em>LYK3</em>, highlighting their critical role in CIP-induced defense responses. Collectively, these findings suggest that Am<em>CERK1</em> and Am<em>LYK3</em> form a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) complex essential for CIP perception, potentially facilitating pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) in <em>A. macrocephala</em>. These findings reveal a novel receptor recognition complex comprising Am<em>CERK1</em> and Am<em>LYK3</em>, offering crucial insights into the mechanisms of innate immune recognition in plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"308 ","pages":"Article 154497"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143863560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Xanthophyll cycle and photosynthetic electron transport enhanced by galactolipid modification alleviate drought-induced leaf senescence","authors":"Jili Xu ,&nbsp;Guanqiang Zuo ,&nbsp;Shuaikang Liu ,&nbsp;Hao Shi ,&nbsp;Lina Yin ,&nbsp;Shiwen Wang ,&nbsp;Xiping Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous studies have demonstrated galactolipid modification was involved in drought-induced leaf senescence. Under drought stress, overactivation of the photosynthetic electron transfer chain leads to excessive light energy absorption, resulting in photooxidative damage to crops. The xanthophyll cycle, a key photoprotective mechanism, mitigates light-induced damage by dissipating excess energy as heat. However, the role of the xanthophyll cycle pigments and photosynthetic electron transport in the process of galactolipid modification alleviates drought-induced leaf senescence has not yet been clarified clearly. In this study, a comparative experiment was conducted to investigate changes in the xanthophyll cycle and photosynthetic electron transport during drought and re-watering in two maize varieties: a drought-tolerant variety (Liangyu66) and a senescent variety (Liangyu99). Drought stress induced more severely wilted and leaf senescence in Liangyu99, with lower shoot biomass, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll <em>a</em>/b, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) content, corresponding gene expression level and DGDG/MGDG ratio compared to Liangyu66. Furthermore, PSII electron transport rate (ETRⅡ), the PSI electron transport rate (ETRⅠ), and cyclic electron flow (CEF) in Liangyu66 were 14 %, 47 %, and 83 % higher, respectively, than in Liangyu99 under drought stress. Notably, the de-epoxidation state of the xanthophyll cycle (A + Z)/(A + Z + V) was significantly higher in Liangyu66 than in Liangyu99. Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) increased in both varieties under drought stress, Liangyu66 displayed a higher NPQ than Liangyu99. These findings suggest that galactolipid modification alleviates drought-induced leaf senescence by enhancing the xanthophyll cycle and optimizing photosynthetic electron transport.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"308 ","pages":"Article 154499"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143859224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabolome guided treasure hunt - learning from metabolic diversity","authors":"Esra Karakas,&nbsp;Mustafa Bulut,&nbsp;Alisdair Fernie","doi":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154494","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154494","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metabolomics is a rapidly evolving field focused on the comprehensive identification and quantification of small molecules in biological systems. As the final layer of the biological hierarchy following of the genome, transcriptome and proteome, it presents a dynamic snapshot of phenotype, influenced by genetic, environmental and physiological factors. Whilst the metabolome sits downstream of genes and proteins, there are multiple higher levels—tissues, organs, the entire organism, and interactions with other organisms, which need to be considered in order to fully comprehend organismal biology. Advances in metabolomics continue to expand its applications in plant biology, biotechnology, and natural product discovery unlocking many of nature's most beneficial colors, tastes, nutrients and medicines. Flavonoids and other specialized metabolites are essential for plant defense against oxidative stress and function as key phytonutrients for human health. Recent advancements in gene-editing and metabolic engineering have significantly improved the nutritional value and flavor of crop plants. Here we highlight how advanced metabolic analysis is driving improvements in crops uncovering genes that influence nutrient and flavor profile and plant derived compounds with medicinal potential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16808,"journal":{"name":"Journal of plant physiology","volume":"309 ","pages":"Article 154494"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}