Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf304
Li Li, Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción, Salim Al-Babili
{"title":"Update on carotenoid and apocarotenoid metabolisms and functions in plants","authors":"Li Li, Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción, Salim Al-Babili","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf304","url":null,"abstract":"Carotenoids and their derivative apocarotenoids are diverse isoprenoid metabolites vital to plants and critical to humans. Recent discoveries have expanded our understanding of the intricate mechanisms modulating their metabolism and revealed their new functions in plants. Many new regulators and regulatory modules that potentially link carotenoid metabolism with developmental, hormonal and environmental cues have been unraveled. Emerging evidence also reveals the importance of loss of photosynthetic competence for carotenoid accumulation in chromoplasts. Moreover, apocarotenoids rapidly surface as important regulatory metabolites and signals involved in plant growth and development, stress responses, and communication. In this review, we focus on the latest research in elucidating multifaceted regulatory mechanisms governing carotenoid and apocarotenoid metabolism in plants, provide insights into the differentiation of plastids specialized for carotenoid accumulation, and update on the discoveries and functions of bioactive apocarotenoids. Future research directions to address remaining knowledge gaps are outlined. Collectively, we aim to highlight major advances and exciting discoveries in the field, with the goal of enabling precise and effective augmentation of carotenoids and apocarotenoids with improved growth and stress tolerance in crops.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144577907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Manipulation of the central autophagy component ZmATG8c affects thermotolerance in maize.","authors":"Li Ma,Ziran Zhang,Mengli Liu,Zhe Wang,Xinghua Zhang,Xinyang Guo,Jingyi Zhang,Junjie Hu,Wanchao Zhu,Qing Li,Shutu Xu,Jiquan Xue","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf299","url":null,"abstract":"Rising global temperatures present a substantial threat to crop production. Autophagy is an important catabolic process that promotes plant survival under stress, and AuTophaGy-related 8 (ATG8) proteins play key roles in plant autophagy, although the contributions of specific ATG8 isoforms to heat tolerance remain to be clarified. Here, we demonstrate that heat-induced expression of ZmATG8c promotes maize (Zea mays L.) thermotolerance during both vegetative and reproductive growth stages. ZmATG8c-knockout mutants showed lower seedling survival and grain yield under heat stress, whereas plants overexpressing ZmATG8c exhibited enhanced seedling survival and improved yield, which were attributable to greater autophagosome production, elevated levels of ATG8, and reduced accumulation of ubiquitinated protein aggregates. We also found that the heat-induced bZIP transcription factor ZmGBF1 could bind directly to the promoter of ZmATG8c and facilitate its expression. Maize gbf1 mutants showed significant inhibition of ZmATG8c thermal induction and increased sensitivity to heat stress. Our findings demonstrate that ZmATG8c and ZmGBF1 have a role in mediating thermotolerance, providing promising targets for engineering maize with improved resilience to thermal stress.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144586459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The rice transcription factor S40-14 regulates chloroplast and ROS-related gene networks and promotes dark-induced leaf senescence.","authors":" Habiba,Chunlan Fan,Wuqiang Hong,Weiqi Wang,Ximiao Shi,Xiaowei Wang,Wenfang Lin,Yanyun Li,Noor Ul Ain,Ying Miao,Xiangzi Zheng","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf296","url":null,"abstract":"Leaf senescence triggers major metabolic changes that recycle resources and ensure plant survival and is sensitive to environmental conditions. In this study, we characterized OsS40-14 using CRISPR/Ca9 mutants and overexpression lines to address its function in rice (Oryza sativa) flag leaf senescence. The oss40-14 mutants displayed a stay-green leaf phenotype under dark treatment, with preserved chlorophylls and photosynthetic capacity and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. In contrast, OsS40-14 overexpression lines exhibited accelerated leaf senescence. Transcriptome analysis of dark-treated flag leaf samples revealed that the 1585 differentially expressed genes in oss40-14 vs WT were enriched in macromolecular metabolism, photosynthesis, and stress responses. In addition, tsCUT&Tag-seq analysis using GFP-tagged OsS40-14 revealed 2311 genomic loci bound by OsS40-14, with approximately 40.95% of the binding signal enriched at transcription start sites. The consensus binding motif of OsS40-14 was identified as TACCCACAAGACAC, with a seed sequence of 'ACCCA'. Finally, integrated analysis of the transcriptome and tsCUT&Tag-seq datasets revealed that 153 OsS40-14-targeted candidates comprised 66 potentially repressed genes enriched in plastid organization and photosynthetic processes, and 41 putatively activated genes associated with stress signaling and senescence. Overall, our results suggest that OsS40-14 fine-tunes the photosynthetic machinery and ROS homeostasis during developmental senescence and under dark conditions, thereby accelerating leaf senescence, reducing photosynthetic assimilation and grain filling in rice.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"697 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144578794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-07DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf297
Bo Liu, Zhaoyun Song, Xiaoquan Qi
{"title":"Plant Cytochrome P450 Enzymes for Bioactive Metabolites Biosynthesis, Growth Regulation and Stress Adaptation","authors":"Bo Liu, Zhaoyun Song, Xiaoquan Qi","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf297","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf297","url":null,"abstract":"Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs), a class of heme monooxygenases, are widely distributed across bacteria, archaea, viruses, as well as in higher plants and animals. They regulate the metabolism of various endogenous substances and exogenous compounds, accounting for approximately 1% of the protein-coding genes in plants. These enzymes play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of plant bioactive metabolites, growth regulation and stress adaptation. Currently, over 300,000 CYPs are recorded in databases, yet only a small fraction (less than 0.2 %) has undergone functional characterization. This review will summarize the latest research progress from two perspectives: the involvement of CYPs in the biosynthesis of important bioactive compounds in plants, and their significant physiological functions in plant growth, development, and stress adaptation. The aim is to enhance our understanding and provide examples for the functional exploration of CYPs in plants, thereby paving the way for innovative applications in the field of biotechnological breeding and synthetic biology.","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144577908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Photosynthetic acclimation of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to winter.","authors":"Yu-Ting Li, Yue-Nan Li, Qiang Zhang, Cheng Yang, Yan-Ni Xu, Shi-Jie Zhao, Xue-Li Qi, Xiang-Dong Li, Zi-Shan Zhang","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Overwintering performance limits the distribution range and yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). Systematic research on the overwintering strategies of wheat is lacking. We conducted a detailed analysis of structural, physiological, and metabolic changes in the wheat leaves of plants growing at coordinates 36°11'N, 117°7'E from autumn to the following spring. Light--heat resources and multiple stresses, including cold, bright light, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles, coexist in winter. Wheat leaves retained a complete photosynthetic apparatus, induced sustained nonphotochemical quenching during the cold period in winter, and relaxed nonphotochemical quenching rapidly during the warm period. Thus, the photosynthetic apparatus of wheat switched quickly between photosynthetic carbon assimilation and the photoprotective state during the winter. This response is different from that of evergreen conifers, which cease growth and photosynthetic carbon assimilation and are in a photoprotective state throughout the winter. The unique overwintering strategy of wheat allows it to effectively use light-heat resources in winter but leads to oxidative damage to the biomembrane and an imbalanced cellular redox, despite increased levels of the secondary metabolites phenylpropanoid and antioxidant flavonoids, restricting the expansion of winter wheat to colder regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144560791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf056
Samuel J Lovat, Εlad Noor, Ron Milo
{"title":"Vertical farming limitations and potential demonstrated by back-of-the-envelope calculations.","authors":"Samuel J Lovat, Εlad Noor, Ron Milo","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf056","DOIUrl":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Improving food security and reducing the environmental footprint of food production is urgently needed to satisfy the growing global population in a time of climate, biodiversity, and water pressures. Indoor vertical farming is largely independent of environmental conditions and is reported to reduce the land and water required for food production. However, vertical farming requires large amounts of energy. Based on the vertical farming energy cost, we derive from basic considerations a current minimum cost of ≈$10/kg dry plant matter. Vertical farming is therefore not currently competitive with dried cereals or pulses (e.g. wheat, rice, and soybeans). We also show limited current competitiveness for products like tomatoes and lettuce, despite a low dry matter content. Whereas the environmental implications of vertical farming depend on the electricity source. Using the average newly installed electricity mix in recent years (predominantly solar and wind, with some coal, natural gas, and bioenergy), vertical farming could substantially increase greenhouse gas emissions and has limited land benefits compared with conventional agriculture. Using exclusively electricity from photovoltaics, some environmental benefits could be achieved for crops with a low dry matter content like lettuce, but this is more limited for dried crops like wheat. The transparent calculations we provide here set out challenges for vertical farming and highlight that improvements in both the overall vertical farming energetic efficiency (≈1% to 2%), as well as low-impact electricity sources are needed in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12225668/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143773027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf295
Jennifer A N Brophy,Yann-Rong Lin,Jacqueline V Shanks,Alison G Smith,Mary Williams,Andrew D Hanson
{"title":"Focus Issue Editorial: Numeracy, Realism and Relevance in Plant Science.","authors":"Jennifer A N Brophy,Yann-Rong Lin,Jacqueline V Shanks,Alison G Smith,Mary Williams,Andrew D Hanson","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf295","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf262
Munkhtsetseg Tsednee
{"title":"On the move, direction matters: Polar localization of OsLsi1 for differential uptake of metalloids in rice.","authors":"Munkhtsetseg Tsednee","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf262","DOIUrl":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf262","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12225677/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144512335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf179
Merritt Khaipho-Burch, Steven J Burgess, R Clay Wright, Karsten Temme, Catalin Voiniciuc, Andrew D Hanson
{"title":"Editorial: How SynBio can *realistically* impact crop improvement and agriculture.","authors":"Merritt Khaipho-Burch, Steven J Burgess, R Clay Wright, Karsten Temme, Catalin Voiniciuc, Andrew D Hanson","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf179","DOIUrl":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf179","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12225675/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144006763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Plant PhysiologyPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf264
Anna Moseler, Blanca Jazmin Reyes-Hernández
{"title":"From peptides to patterning: Redox control of the master regulator PLT2 in Arabidopsis roots.","authors":"Anna Moseler, Blanca Jazmin Reyes-Hernández","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf264","DOIUrl":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf264","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12225671/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144512333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}