{"title":"Strategies for Enhancing Resilience in Horticultural Crops Against Combined Abiotic Stresses.","authors":"Yaiza Padilla, Vasileios Fotopoulos, Georgia Ntatsi, Ángeles Calatayud, Consuelo Penella, Leo Sabatino, Maryam Mozafarian","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70502","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ppl.70502","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Horticultural crops are increasingly exposed to simultaneous abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and temperature extremes, which often exacerbate each other's effects, leading to severe yield and quality losses. Addressing these multifaceted challenges necessitates the development and application of integrated and innovative strategies. This review highlights recent advancements in methodologies to enhance the resilience of horticultural crops against combined abiotic stresses. Key approaches include breeding and selection of stress-tolerant cultivars, grafting onto stress-tolerant rootstocks, and priming strategies such as the application of nanoparticles and biostimulants, which have shown promise in modulating physiological and biochemical responses under stress conditions. These techniques collectively improve plant water status, enhance nutrient uptake efficiency, and upregulate antioxidant enzymatic activities, thereby mitigating oxidative damage and sustaining plant growth and productivity. By integrating these strategies, it is possible to optimize the physiological resilience and biochemical robustness of horticultural crops, ensuring stable yields and quality under increasingly challenging environmental conditions. These findings provide actionable insights into sustainable crop management and contribute to global efforts to enhance food security in the face of climate variability.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70502"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415420/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016021","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}
Bruno Sousa, Cristiano Soares, Paulo Ricardo Oliveira-Pinto, Conceição Santos, Fernanda Fidalgo, Teresa Lino-Neto
{"title":"Transcriptional Dynamics of Tomato Plants Under Combined Heat and Salt Stress.","authors":"Bruno Sousa, Cristiano Soares, Paulo Ricardo Oliveira-Pinto, Conceição Santos, Fernanda Fidalgo, Teresa Lino-Neto","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70501","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ppl.70501","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Mediterranean Basin, a hotspot for tomato production, is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change, where rising temperatures and increasing soil and water salinization represent major threats to agricultural sustainability. Thus, to understand the molecular mechanisms behind plant responses to this stress combination, an RNA-Seq analysis was conducted on roots and shoots of tomato plants exposed to salt (100 mM NaCl) and/or heat (42°C, 4 h each day) stress for 21 days. The analysis identified over 8000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under combined stress conditions, with 1716 DEGs in roots and 2665 in shoots being exclusively modulated in response to this specific stress condition. Functional enrichment analysis revealed an apparent downregulation of genes associated with cell cycle progression, differentiation, and cell wall organization in both roots and shoots. This may explain the impaired plant growth and reduced performance observed under stress co-exposure. On the other hand, combined stress triggered a marked upregulation of genes involved in hormone signaling, protein stability, heat shock response, antioxidant defense, glutathione metabolism, and enzymatic regulation, suggesting a well-coordinated activation of protective mechanisms. Additionally, upregulation of genes related to RNA modification and ribosome-related processes indicates a tight transcriptional control over these responses, enabling plants to manage resources effectively and prioritize stress acclimation at the expense of growth. Overall, the data gathered in our study provide important insights into the complex molecular adjustments deployed by tomato plants under combined heat and salt stress, offering a foundation for future approaches to enhance tomato plants' resilience to climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70501"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415677/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016075","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}
Lei Li, Zizhuo Zhao, Weiqi Li, Qiang Wang, Yucheng Wang, Xiaoyu Ji
{"title":"The bHLH Transcription Factor PdbUNE12 Functions as a Positive Regulator of the Salt Stress Response in Populus davidiana × Populus bolleana.","authors":"Lei Li, Zizhuo Zhao, Weiqi Li, Qiang Wang, Yucheng Wang, Xiaoyu Ji","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70531","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70531","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) proteins, as one of the most common types of transcription factors in eukaryotes, play a crucial role in the stress response of plants. This study characterized the response of the bHLH transcription factor PdbUNE12 from Populus davidiana × P. bolleana to salt stress, and it revealed that this protein is localized in the nucleus and does not possess transcriptional activation activity. PdbUNE12 overexpression and knockout plants were generated to study its role in salt tolerance. The phenotypic and physiological indicators showed that the overexpression of PdbUNE12 enhanced the salt tolerance in P. davidiana × P. bolleana, while the knockout plants exhibited the opposite effect. These results showed that PdbUNE12 improves the osmotic regulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity of the plants by increasing the activity of defense enzymes such as peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), contributing to the improved resilience to salt stress. In addition, PdbUNE12 can regulate the salt tolerance gene PdbbHLH1 by binding to its promoter. In summary, PdbUNE12 is a key regulator of salt stress tolerance by enhancing the expression of relevant resistance genes, thereby improving the plant's ability to tolerate salt stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70531"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145131703","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}
P S Jeevan Ram, Sudhir Singh, Seyid Amjad Ali, Muhammad Aasim, Anitha Kumari Rajendran, Suresh Govindan, Ramesh Manikandan
{"title":"Machine Learning-Driven Screening of Promising Mutants in Nilgirianthus ciliatus Callus Cultures for Enhanced Phytochemicals Production.","authors":"P S Jeevan Ram, Sudhir Singh, Seyid Amjad Ali, Muhammad Aasim, Anitha Kumari Rajendran, Suresh Govindan, Ramesh Manikandan","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70536","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70536","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The unsustainable exploitation of Nilgirianthus ciliatus for its pharmaceutically important bioactive compounds has led to its endangered status, necessitating innovative strategies for its conservation and utilization. This study establishes a scalable in vitro platform for enhanced biomass and phytochemical production through induced mutagenesis and AI-driven predictive modeling. Callus cultures were subjected to individual and combinatorial chemical mutagenesis using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and sodium azide (SA) under optimized treatment regimes. Callus cultures were evaluated for enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant responses using standard biochemical assays, while squalene accumulation was quantified via high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Machine learning (ML) models: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM), were trained on experimental datasets to predict key growth and metabolite parameters. The optimized treatment (0.05% EMS + 0.05% SA, 30 min) led to a 3.76-fold increase in squalene yield (308.39 μg mg<sup>-1</sup>), with concurrent improvements in biomass and antioxidant indices. MLP demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.971), validating its application for forecasting complex biological outcomes. This integrated framework not only offers a scalable in vitro strategy for sustainable metabolite production but also minimizes pressure on wild populations. The framework offers strong translational potential for industrial-scale metabolite production and serves as a model for data-driven optimization in medicinal plant biotechnology.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70536"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145131722","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}
Zhiwei Wang, Ruixin Qu, Yue Sun, Zhilong Li, Fawei Tang, Xinrui Zhou, Shuo Ye, Fang Yang, Zhe Chen, Zhijia Gai, Meijun Ren, Yang Wang, Zhidan Zhang, Lei Liu
{"title":"Alkalinity Inhibits Maize Low-Temperature Resistance Through Nitrogen and ROS Metabolism.","authors":"Zhiwei Wang, Ruixin Qu, Yue Sun, Zhilong Li, Fawei Tang, Xinrui Zhou, Shuo Ye, Fang Yang, Zhe Chen, Zhijia Gai, Meijun Ren, Yang Wang, Zhidan Zhang, Lei Liu","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70557","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maize, a pivotal cereal crop, undergoes growth impediments due to alkaline stress or low-temperature conditions. Particularly under the compounded duress of alkalinity (elevated pH stress) and low temperature, the underlying responsive mechanisms remain inadequately understood. This study investigated the effects of varying alkaline treatments (pH 7.2, 7.9, and 8.9) on the growth and tolerance of maize seedlings under low-temperature conditions (4°C). The results demonstrated that alkaline stress exacerbated the degradation of photosynthetic pigments, impaired photosynthetic electron transport and carbon assimilation, and consequently inhibited plant biomass accumulation under low-temperature conditions. Compared to low-temperature stress alone, alkaline treatment further suppressed the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase (GS-GOGAT) cycle under low-temperature stress, as evidenced by reduced activities of nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), along with downregulated expression of related genes. Simultaneously, high-alkaline treatment markedly down-regulated the expression of asparagine synthetase genes (ZmAS3 and ZmAS4), as well as aspartase 2 (ZmASN2), by 54.5%, 51.5%, and 76.4%, respectively, while simultaneously suppressing amino-acid biosynthesis and disrupting ionic homeostasis. Furthermore, high-pH stress elicited a significant accumulation of superoxide anion (O<sub>2</sub>·<sup>-</sup>) by 35.7% in leaves and 30.4% in roots, and of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) by 37% in leaves and 7.3% in roots. This may be due to alkaline stress inhibiting the expression of key low-temperature stress-responsive genes in maize, including the c-repeat binding factor (CBF) expression inducer (ZmICE1) and transcription factors dehydration-responsive element binding protein 1.3 and 1.5 (ZmDREB1.3 and ZmDREB1.5). Therefore, alkaline stress diminished the low-temperature tolerance of maize plants, highlighting the detrimental effects of combined alkalinity and low-temperature stress on maize growth and stress resistance, with significant implications for agricultural productivity and crop yield.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70557"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145213382","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 Method to Quantify Relative Stomatal, Mesophyll, and Biochemical Limitations to C<sub>3</sub> Leaf Photosynthesis in a Specific Growth Environment.","authors":"Xinyou Yin","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70552","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ppl.70552","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Determining relative limitations of stomatal, mesophyll, and biochemical components (l<sub>s</sub>, l<sub>m</sub>, and l<sub>b</sub>, respectively) to photosynthetic rate (A) can help understand leaf ecophysiology for specific growth conditions. The differential method has been widely applied to estimate the relative limitations in C<sub>3</sub> plants, first for comparing two contrasting growth conditions, but also increasingly for a single condition. In addition to the common practical issue that estimating mesophyll conductance is sensitive to measurement noise, the method has a theoretical feature when applied to photosynthesis for a single condition, that is, one of the three in-serial underlying parameters differs from the other two in nature. A new method was proposed, in which a coupled CO<sub>2</sub>-diffusion and photosynthesis model was fitted to data for A, using intercellular-CO<sub>2</sub> and ambient-air-CO<sub>2</sub> levels as input, respectively. From two parameter estimates from model-fitting, l<sub>s</sub>, l<sub>m</sub>, and l<sub>b</sub> can be calculated analytically, conditional on that l<sub>s</sub> + l<sub>m</sub> + l<sub>b</sub> = 100%. This method was illustrated using data sets for plants grown under various water, nitrogen, and temperature conditions. The theoretical feature caused the differential method to have a 50% higher estimate of l<sub>b</sub> and ~25% lower estimate of l<sub>s</sub> and l<sub>m</sub> than the new method. Such significant differences were interpreted to result from the differential method defining the limitations in terms of increments in A (dA), whereas the new method defines them in terms of A itself. The measurement noise-sensitive estimation of mesophyll conductance caused an average error of another ~8%. Common misuses and misinterpretations of the differential method were analyzed and discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70552"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12489300/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145207383","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}
Noah Ditz, Markus Niehaus, Nieves Medina Escobar, Marco Herde, Holger Eubel
{"title":"Proteomic Analysis Infers Optimized ATP-Production in Guard Cell Mitochondria.","authors":"Noah Ditz, Markus Niehaus, Nieves Medina Escobar, Marco Herde, Holger Eubel","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70529","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ppl.70529","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Guard cells are highly specialised leaf cells which regulate leaf transpiration and carbon fixation. As such, they are instrumental in balancing water use efficiency and photosynthetic activity. This unique function of guard cells requires them to quickly accumulate solutes for ATP-dependent stomatal opening, but how this affects mitochondrial energy metabolism remains elusive. Using cell-type-specific affinity purification of Arabidopsis thaliana guard cell and mesophyll cell mitochondria, we aim at unravelling the enzymatic configuration of guard cell mitochondria in order to provide a first glance at the metabolic properties of these specialised organelles. When compared to their mesophyll cell counterparts, the use of alternative substrates for NADH production, a shift away from non-proton pumping respiratory enzymes, and a lower NADH re-oxidation rate suggest a specialised mode of ATP production in guard cell mitochondria. In addition, a lowered abundance of the mitochondrial import machinery also indirectly implies lower protein turnover rates in these organelles.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70529"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12464808/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145150502","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}
Xianyou Wang, Li Li, Yujun Yan, Rongyao Fan, Ruijin Zhou
{"title":"Metabolome and Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Mechanisms of Leaf Red Spot Formation in Peach (Prunus persica).","authors":"Xianyou Wang, Li Li, Yujun Yan, Rongyao Fan, Ruijin Zhou","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70534","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The peach tree (Prunus persica), which originated in China, has a long history of cultivation and holds significant economic value. However, Peach Red Leaf (PRL) disease adversely affects the growth, development, and commercial quality of peach fruits. In this study, we performed metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, with a focus on anthocyanins, to investigate the mechanisms underlying Leaf Red Spot (LRS) formation in peach leaves. Our results revealed that compared to control samples, slight red spots and red leaf samples accumulated higher levels of anthocyanins. The most prominent anthocyanins were procyanidin, cyanidin, pelargonidin, delphinidin, and peonidin. Anthocyanin accumulation peaked annually during October and November in PRL-affected leaves. Furthermore, we identified 28 differentially expressed genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, with 19 being upregulated and nine downregulated. Our findings suggest that the LRS symptoms in peach are primarily driven by the accumulation of anthocyanins. Additionally, through comparison with the peach genome and virus database, we identified the grapevine red globe virus and tomato spotted wilt virus as potential viral contributing factors to the PRL disease. These viruses exhibited a seasonal pattern of accumulation, closely linked to temperature changes, with suppression occurring during the winter months. Overall, this study shed light on the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying LRS symptoms in peach leaves.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70534"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145186585","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}
Mariela Pérez-Sepúlveda, Alena P Jones, Maria I Higuita-Aguirre, Amelia Holdstock, Arjun Kafle, Amanda A Cardoso, Rachel Vann, Michael D Mullen, Kevin Garcia
{"title":"Nodulation Is Maintained and Salinity Tolerance Enhanced in Two Soybean Cultivars Inoculated With Sinorhizobium fredii Under Brackish Water.","authors":"Mariela Pérez-Sepúlveda, Alena P Jones, Maria I Higuita-Aguirre, Amelia Holdstock, Arjun Kafle, Amanda A Cardoso, Rachel Vann, Michael D Mullen, Kevin Garcia","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70570","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70570","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Salinity is an increasing threat to agriculture, particularly in coastal regions affected by seawater intrusion and sea-level rise. This study evaluated the halotolerance and symbiotic potential of Sinorhizobium fredii USDA 208 in two soybean cultivars (includer and excluder) under three salinity levels-low (freshwater), moderate (brackish water), and high (seawater). The results demonstrated that S. fredii not only tolerates but also exhibits enhanced growth under moderate salinity. Nodulation was successfully established when salinity and inoculation occurred simultaneously. Nodulation was also maintained when salinity occurred after the inoculation, particularly in fresh and brackish water. Root development declined with increasing salinity, but the includer cultivar showed better root system architecture plasticity in brackish water, while the excluder cultivar exhibited higher shoot and root biomass across salinity levels. Bacterial inoculation improved shoot phosphorus uptake, the potassium: sodium ratio, and carotenoid retention, particularly in the includer cultivar, suggesting an enhanced physiological tolerance to moderate salinity. Inoculation also resulted in higher shoot nitrogen and maintained pigment content. Using a seawater recipe provides a better understanding of salinity than traditional NaCl-based studies and highlights the role of S. fredii USDA 208 in supporting soybean performance when salts accumulate in coastal agricultural soils.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70570"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145252231","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}
Amudhan Aravind Balaji, Bhuvaneshwara R Patil, Hemalatha Sanivarapu, Sanjeev K Deshpande, Shamarao Jahagirdar, Ramanagouda Gaviyappanavar, Mamta Sharma, Prakash I Gangashetty, Kalenahalli Yogendra
{"title":"Uncovering Proteomic Insights Into Cell Wall Thickening Genes for Phytophthora Blight Resistance in Pigeon Pea.","authors":"Amudhan Aravind Balaji, Bhuvaneshwara R Patil, Hemalatha Sanivarapu, Sanjeev K Deshpande, Shamarao Jahagirdar, Ramanagouda Gaviyappanavar, Mamta Sharma, Prakash I Gangashetty, Kalenahalli Yogendra","doi":"10.1111/ppl.70565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.70565","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phytophthora blight is a destructive disease affecting pigeon pea, often leading to significant yield losses. Resistance to this disease is complex, quantitative, and controlled by multiple genes, although the molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Cell wall thickening is a crucial aspect of quantitative resistance, regulated by receptors, transcriptional networks, and phytohormones. In this study, we conducted a comparative proteomic analysis on two contrasting pigeon pea genotypes-ICPL99010 (resistant) and ICPL7119 (susceptible)-to explore plant-pathogen interactions at the molecular level. The analysis identified key differentially expressed proteins associated with receptors, transcription factors, phytohormones, and secondary biosynthetic pathways, all of which play roles in lignin and callose deposition. Higher accumulation of phenylpropanoids (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase), ATP-Binding Cassette G (ABCG) transporters, 1,3-β-glucan synthase, and respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs) was observed in the resistant genotype. Lignin and callose were deposited as polymers and contribute to cell wall thickening to prevent pathogen establishment. Histochemical staining further confirmed secondary cell wall thickening through lignin and callose accumulation. Quantitative real-time PCR studies revealed higher expressions of caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, NAC72, cysteine-rich receptor-like kinase 29, phospholipase D, calcium-dependent protein kinase 1, abscisic-aldehyde oxidase, and phospholipid-transporting ATPase 1 in the pathogen-inoculated resistant genotype than in the susceptible genotype. This study is the first to use comparative proteomics to investigate the molecular mechanisms of resistance in the Phytophthora-Pigeonpea interaction, offering valuable insights into the plant's defense strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":20164,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia plantarum","volume":"177 5","pages":"e70565"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145252287","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}