Planta最新文献

{"title":"Integrative RNA sequencing uncovers the miRNA-mRNA landscape of water-deficit response in Setaria italica.","authors":"Juliana M Rodrigues, Vitor G B Theodoro, Gabriel G Carvalho, Igor Cesarino, Leandro F de Oliveira, Nathalia de Setta","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05117-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05117-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>In miRNA-mRNA regulatory modules of Setaria italica, the candidate novel miRNAs Sit-miR74-N/APX7 and Sit-miR132-N/PEPC involved in key pathways underlying water-deficit response have been detected. In the first module, APX7 expression was directly associated with water-deficit intensity, whereas in the second module, PEPC activation occurred under moderate water deficit. Drought severely constrains plant growth and productivity, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we determined the miRNA-mediated post-transcriptional landscape during water deficit in the panicoid grass Setaria italica. Two independent water-deficit experiments combined with small RNA and degradome sequencing identified 159 miRNAs, including 135 candidate novel sequences, of which 20 were differentially expressed under contrasting watering regimes. In silico analysis predicted 1,612 miRNA-mRNA regulatory modules, representing a broad landscape of potential post-transcriptional regulation. Complementarily, degradome sequencing identified 19 miRNA-mRNA modules, several of which exhibited inverse expression patterns, particularly under severe water-deficit conditions. Functional annotation of target mRNAs uncovered multiple functional processes, including transcriptional regulation, photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, and solute transport. Additionally, transient expression assays validated selected miRNA-mRNA modules, confirming the interaction between candidate novel miRNAs and water deficit-related mRNA targets. These modules are involved in key water deficit-responsive pathways, including oxidative stress regulation (Sit-miR74-N/APX7), photosynthetic carbon metabolism (Sit-miR132-N/PEPC), and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways (Sit-miR39-N/OMT). Together, these findings reveal a complex regulatory network in which miRNAs contribute to the coordination of water-deficit responses in S. italica, with post-transcriptional regulation underlying plant responses to abiotic stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13457271/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148707336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vitamin K in photosynthetic organisms.","authors":"Jerzy Kruk, Beatrycze Nowicka, Renata Szymańska, Michał Gabruk","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05122-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05122-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Recently, great progress in vitamin K research in plants was made, especially on vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) homolog, new functions of VK in plant plasma membrane and VK1 biosynthesis. Although vitamin K (VK) was discovered in the 1930s, only recently has significant progress in the research on this lipid-soluble vitamin been made both in mammals and in photosynthetic organisms. For example, the molecular structure and catalytic mechanisms of the cyanobacterial vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) homolog have been resolved. It has been recently shown that all organisms from bacteria to higher plants share common, phylogenetically related VKOR-type enzymes, engaged in the formation of disulfide bridges in various target proteins. This activity is related to the phylloquinone (VK1)-dependent regulation of the STN7 kinase, which is responsible for optimal energy distribution between two photosystems. Moreover, new functions of VK1 and menaquinone-4 (VK2) in plant plasma membrane electron transport chain were identified. Recently, the plastid-localized biosynthetic pathway of VK1 has been nearly completely recognized. However, there are also indications of an alternative, plasma membrane-targeted VK1 biosynthesis pathway.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13452876/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148697885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The zig-zag model of molecular defense and counterdefense in plant-herbivore interactions.","authors":"Prakash Kolanchi, Murugan Marimuthu, Punya Nachappa, Vamsi Nalam","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05119-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05119-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Plant-herbivore interactions follow zig-zag-like cycles in which herbivore- and damage-derived cues activate conserved defense signaling hubs, while insect effectors suppress or redirect these pathways, creating recurrent molecular bottlenecks that shape plant resistance. Plant-herbivore interactions are orchestrated through a dynamic molecular dialogue at the feeding interface, wherein insect attack triggers the generation of damage-derived signals from plant tissues and herbivore-derived signals from oral or salivary secretions. These cues can activate plant defense by sensing the damage- and herbivore-associated molecular patterns; however, they may also be mitigated by salivary effectors that suppress, redirect, or modulate host defense signaling. This review examines how plants interpret herbivory to synthesize defense decisions through receptor-mediated recognition, calcium and reactive oxygen species dynamics, membrane depolarization, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, and downstream hormonal integration, with a particular focus on the crosstalk among jasmonate, salicylic acid, and ethylene pathways. Additionally, we highlighted how insect-derived elicitors and effectors repeatedly converge on a limited set of defense-regulatory bottlenecks, including receptor proximal signaling, hormonal balance, callose deposition, and cell death-associated defense responses. Rather than categorizing elicitors and effectors as fixed molecular entities, we underscore that their biological significance is often context-dependent and influenced by host species, feeding mode, associated microbes, and the temporal dynamics of attack. Collectively, these patterns portray plant-insect interactions as a coevolutionary process involving signal generation, interpretation, and counterdefense. A comprehensive understanding of this molecular dialogue will facilitate the identification of key control points in defense and support the development of durable, ecologically informed strategies to enhance crop resistance against pests.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148697763","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":"Stable and temporally shifted DNA methylation differences between 14-year-old Norway spruce epitypes under common garden conditions.","authors":"Igor A Yakovlev, Marcos Viejo, Torstein Tengs, Jorunn E Olsen, Carl G Fossdal","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05116-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05116-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Dynamic DNA methylation differences between epitypes throughout the annual cycle, circannual clocks affect methylation levels, stable methylation marks in the promoters of 30 candidate genes, embryo-adult transmission of methylation marks. DNA methylation can change DNA properties, affecting chromatin accessibility, gene expression, and phenotypic variation. In clonal Norway spruce, warmer (WE) versus cooler (CE) embryogenic conditions produce phenotypically different trees. This climatic memory, induced during embryogenesis, remains stable in the resulting epitype trees, and the epigenetically altered timing of bud phenology persists between WE and CE epitypes even after decades under common garden conditions. We examined DNA methylation patterns in 14-year-old epitypes throughout the annual developmental cycle. Using targeted bisulfite sequencing, we screened for differential DNA methylation over a 3000 bp region in 2744 genes related to the epigenetic machinery, circadian clock, and phenology. Clustering DNA methylation differences in the CG context clearly separated epitype trees, confirming epigenetic mark differences. Differences in methylation of cytosines in all contexts were highly dynamic and varied markedly among annual developmental stages, suggesting the existence of circannual clocks affecting methylation levels in the studied genomic regions. Most stable methylation marks were identified in CG contexts, fewer in CHG and none in CHH contexts, consistent with differences in inheritance among methylation contexts. We identified stable CG and CHG methylation marks in the promoter regions of 30 specific genes. Two ARGONAUTE genes and 4 other genes exhibited stable marks across all time points for CE or WE, and putative embryo-adult transmission for some genes. These findings indicate that DNA methylation marks maintained in genomic regions throughout the annual cycle may contribute to an induced epigenetic memory established in embryos and later manifested as phenologically different epitype trees.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13451259/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148689820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterizing the intrinsic parameters, mass, volume and density, of single pollen grains as a base for mechanical analysis of pollen adhesion.","authors":"Martin Becker, Stanislav Gorb","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05111-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05111-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>This study combines own experimental data with an extensive literature research to characterize the average single pollen grain mass, volume and density as parameters for future force measurements on pollen. The analysis of pollen grain mechanical properties and adhesion and detachment forces is important to understand the process of pollination in general. However, it requires knowledge of pollen grain mass, volume and density. Despite their importance for research, mass and density have rarely been measured directly, but there is vast data about pollen grain size and shape. Thus, an average value of pollen grain density can provide an estimation of single grain mass for a given volume. However, in this study, we directly measured mass and volume of pollen grains from five anemophilous species by using the weigh-and-count approach and the projected-particle-area approach. This data was used to calculate the density for fresh and dry grains. Furthermore, we combined these results with an extensive literature research to provide a range for the average density of pollen from eudicots, monocots and gymnosperms. We found an uncertainty of up to ± 30% for density calculation, as well as some significant differences between the three plant groups. Methodical details and side effects that can influence pollen grain parameters are discussed. This study is an attempt to extend existing geometrical data about pollen size with the physical parameters, such as mass and density, to provide a background for further biomechanical analysis of pollen grains and pollination process.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13451457/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148685429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent physiological, genetic, and management perspectives on lodging resistance in rice.","authors":"Ranjan Kumar Jena, Baneeta Mishra, Soumya Mohanty, Nalini Kanta Choudhury, Swagatika Das, Darshan Panda, Nitish Kumar Jena, Abinash Mishra, Amrita Sharma, B N Devanna, Rameswar Prasad Sah, Awadesh Kumar, C Anilkumar, K R Reshmi Raj, Sushant Kumar Dash, Jitendriya Meher, Sharat Kumar Pradhan, Sanghamitra Samantray, Mirza J Baig, Lambodar Behera","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05124-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05124-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Developing climate-resilient, lodging-resistant rice requires integrating strong culm and root related genetics, high-throughput and trait-based phenotyping, and optimized agronomic practices. Coordinated use of molecular breeding, gene editing, and management strategies offers sustainable solutions to mitigate lodging under variable environments. Lodging is a major abiotic stress that significantly reduces grain yield and quality in rice, while also increasing vulnerability to pests. Human-induced intensification, including high planting densities, excessive nitrogen application, off-season sowing, and cultivation in upland areas, further increases rice susceptibility to lodging, posing a major management challenge. Sole reliance on the sd1 gene has proven insufficient for ensuring effective lodging resistance. This review examines the diverse factors influencing lodging susceptibility and resistance in rice, including morphological, physiological, biochemical, genetic, agronomic, and environmental aspects, and integrates current advances to guide future research and breeding strategies for lodging-resistant rice. Among these factors, the stem has emerged as a key tissue influencing lodging resistance. Advances in molecular breeding have identified several QTLs and genes, such as SCM1, SCM2, SCM3, SCM4, APO1, and prl4, that are associated with lodging resistance, enabling the use of marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. The review also discusses integrated strategies that combine advanced phenotyping tools, optimized agronomic practices, mathematical modelling, and genetic approaches including molecular breeding and gene editing to effectively develop lodging-resistant rice varieties.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148689790","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":"In vitro CRISPR/Cas9-RNP cleavage of CcYUC1 in Coffea canephora.","authors":"Miguel A Uc-Chuc, Víctor Aguilar-Hernández, Irma A Jiménez-Ramírez, Ligia Brito-Argaez, Víctor M Loyola-Vargas","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05115-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05115-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>An in vitro CRISPR/Cas9-RNP system efficiently cleaves CcYUC1 in Coffea canephora, establishing a foundation for DNA-free genome editing in coffee. Somatic embryogenesis depends on auxin biosynthesis and signaling; however, functional validation of candidate genes remains limited. In this study, we identified CcYUC1, a putative flavin monooxygenase gene associated with indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis, during SE induction in Coffea canephora. CcYUC1 transcripts accumulated during the early stages of SE, suggesting a role in embryogenic induction. To establish a genome editing platform in coffee, we designed a CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) system targeting exon 4 of CcYUC1. In vitro cleavage assays confirmed specific and efficient digestion of the target, achieving over 80% cleavage under optimized Cas9/sgRNA conditions. These findings establish a proof-of-concept CRISPR/Cas9-RNP platform for DNA-free genome editing in coffee and provide a basis for future functional studies of auxin biosynthesis during somatic embryogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148679614","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":"Trace element accumulation in bryophytes from Allchar (North Macedonia): contamination or genuine hyperaccumulation?","authors":"Ksenija Jakovljević, Marko S Sabovljević, Katerina Bačeva Andonovska, Lucas Henquet, Antony van der Ent","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05092-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05092-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Genuine accumulation of metals/metalloids in bryophytes is limited and highly susceptible to surficial contamination with soil particles. Washing with an apolar solvent removes most surficial contamination prior to elemental analysis. Bryophytes are often the first colonisers of soils toxic from metals/metalloids derived from natural mineralisation or mining wastes. They are ostensibly highly tolerant to the prevailing high concentrations of metals and metalloids in the substrate, but little is known about their ability to (hyper)accumulate these metals/metalloids. Terrestrially growing bryophytes were collected from arsenic-thallium mineralised soils at the Allchar site in North Macedonia. Samples were analysed for elemental concentrations using monochromatic X-ray fluorescence analysis (MXRF) after stringent washing with an apolar solvent and subjected to synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) elemental imaging. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were additionally used to assess extraneous contamination and test the efficiency of the washing procedure. The results show that surficial contamination with soil particles is a major challenge for assessing metal and metalloid concentrations in (terrestrial) bryophytes from metalliferous soils. Washing with an apolar solvent (hexane) removes most surficial contamination prior to elemental analysis, indicating some potential for elemental accumulation, as found in Rhynchostegium megapolitanum for thallium. Genuine accumulation of arsenic and thallium is relatively low despite the ability to grow on extremely arsenic-thallium enriched soils. Measured elemental concentrations in bryophyte samples are strongly affected by the washing procedure, highlighting the importance of appropiate sample preparation.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13437567/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148679583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exogenous auxin mediates the NnARF9-NnSUS2 module to regulate sucrose synthesis in lotus leaves (Nelumbo nucifera).","authors":"Peng Wu, Yuda Guo, Wenjing Ling, Chenyan Qu, Mengnan He, Jin Hao, Jing Zhang, Liangjun Li","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05118-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05118-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>NnARF9 directly represses NnSUS2 transcription via TGTCTC motif binding, inhibiting sucrose cleavage; NAA activates this pathway to boost sucrose storage in photosynthetic tissues. Sucrose is the most common type of sugar produced in photosynthetic organs and plays a crucial role in the growth and development of plants. Auxin can mediate various physiological effects, but the regulatory mechanism of auxin on sucrose synthesis remains unclear. In this study, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) treatment promoted photosynthesis in lotus leaves, thereby facilitating the accumulation of sucrose. Through in vitro enzymatic activity determination experiments, the results showed that NnSUS2 could decompose sucrose using sucrose and UDP as substrates in vitro, demonstrating its decomposition function. Transient overexpression of NnSUS2 in the leaves significantly reduces the sucrose content in the leaves, while silencing NnSUS2 leads to a significant increase in the sucrose content. NnARF9 activates and inhibits the gene expression of sucrose synthase (NnSUS2) by directly binding to the TGTCTC element in the promoter of NnSUS2. Moreover, overexpression of NnAFR9 would decrease the expression level of NnSUS2 in the resting tissue, thereby inhibiting the decomposition of sucrose by NnSUS2, and ultimately leading to an increase in the sucrose content. This study revealed the molecular mechanism by which NnARF9 regulates NnSUS2 and thereby affects the sucrose metabolism of the source organs of lotus plants. NAA promotes the expression of NnARF9 to inhibit the expression of NnSUS2, thereby increasing the sucrose accumulation in the source tissues. This discovery provides a theoretical basis for the breeding of new high-quality and high-yield lotus varieties.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148679500","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":"Introgression of teosinte branched1 gene from wild-progenitor enhances prolificacy in subtropically-adapted maize.","authors":"Firoz Hossain, Rajkumar Uttamrao Zunjare, Rashmi Chhabra, Irum Gul, Amitkumar D Kyada, Elizabeth Mathew, Ravindra K Kasana, Nitish R Prakash, Vinay Bhatt, Sunil Neelam, Vignesh Muthusamy","doi":"10.1007/s00425-026-05102-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00425-026-05102-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Main conclusion: </strong>Introgression of the tb1-T allele from teosinte into subtropically adapted maize inbreds led to an ~3-fold enhancement in prolificacy in reconstituted hybrids, underscoring its significant utility in baby corn breeding. Traditional maize generally possesses one ear per plant in contrast to >100 ears found in its wild relative - teosinte. The teosinte branched1 (tb1) gene has been identified as the master regulator for prolificacy (>1 ears per plant) in maize. So far, tb1 gene has not been introgressed into subtropical maize germplasm for enhancement of prolificacy using marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB). Here, tb1-T allele present in teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) has been introgressed into seven elite parental inbreds using molecular breeding. Seven inbreds with tb1-M allele were parents of nine popular maize hybrids. We developed an InDel functional marker (MGU-tb1-Hopscotch) that successfully differentiated the tb1-T (722 bp) allele from tb1-M (559 bp) allele, and used in BC₁F₁, BC₂F₁ and BC₂F₂ generations. Severe segregation distortion of tb1 gene was observed in segregating generations across crosses. Background selection using 98-113 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) led to 90.2-97.9% recovery of recurrent parent genome (RPG) among introgressed progenies. The introgressed inbreds possessed a mean of 2.79 (range: 2.27-3.47) ears per plant over 1.56 (range: 1.00-2.07) across recurrent parents. Multi-environment evaluation revealed that the reconstituted hybrids also possessed higher prolificacy (average: 3.22, range: 2.42-3.96) over their original hybrids (average: 1.30, range: 1.00-2.11). MABB-derived hybrids also showed higher prolificacy (2.52-fold) over their introgressed inbreds (1.79-folds). Improved inbreds and hybrids were at par with their original versions for morphological traits. No visible linkage drag was observed among the MABB-derived genotypes. These tb1-T-derived maize hybrids with higher prolificacy possess great potential especially in baby corn breeding. The present study highlighted the role of wild progenitors for genetic improvement in modern maize.</p>","PeriodicalId":20177,"journal":{"name":"Planta","volume":"264 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148664416","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}