Plant Physiology and Biochemistry最新文献

{"title":"Quercetin enhances tomato seed germination via phenylpropanoid-dependent regulation of ROS, hormone signaling, and starch hydrolysis","authors":"Yu Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuxian Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110590","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seed germination is a critical transition in plant development, tightly regulated by metabolic and signaling networks. The phenylpropanoid pathway is central to diverse plant physiological processes, yet its specific role in seed germination remains poorly understood. RNA sequencing analysis (RNA-seq) revealed that key phenylpropanoid pathway genes are upregulated during germination, particularly <em>SlPAL5</em> and <em>SlF3H</em> act as the main regulators. Exogenous phenylpropane metabolites associated with <em>SlPAL5</em> and <em>SlF3H</em> genes, including chalcone, dihydroquercetin, and quercetin, could promote seed germination. Overexpression of <em>SlPAL5</em> and <em>SlF3H</em> in tomato (<em>SlPAL5-OE</em> and <em>SlF3H-OE</em>) accelerated germination, increased phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, elevated quercetin accumulation, increased hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) content, and modulated gene expressions linked to reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, phytohormone signaling (ethylene, gibberellins, auxin), and starch hydrolysis. Notably, exogenous quercetin treatment also promoted germination and influenced these transcriptional networks, consistent with the phenotypic outcomes observed in <em>SlPAL5-OE</em> and <em>SlF3H-OE</em> lines. Overall, our results demonstrated quercetin, a central metabolite in phenylpropanoid pathway, enhanced germination by coordinating phenylpropanoid-mediated ROS homeostasis, phytohormone signaling, and starch hydrolysis in tomato. This work provides new insights into phenylpropanoid functions in germination and refines quercetin as proactive regulators for improving tomato seed vigor and agricultural productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"230 ","pages":"Article 110590"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145236307","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":"Corrigendum to “PbARP1 enhances salt tolerance of ‘Duli’ pear (Pyrus betulifolia Bunge) through abscisic acid signalling pathway” [Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 227 (2025) 110075]","authors":"Rui Liu ,&nbsp;Ziyi Li ,&nbsp;Huaixuan Wang ,&nbsp;Haixia Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianfeng Xu ,&nbsp;Yuxing Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110585","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110585","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110585"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227465","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":"Cycloartenol-derived triterpenoid pathway genes alter the root metabolome and microbiome in tomato","authors":"Alessandra Guerrieri ,&nbsp;Davar Abedini ,&nbsp;Fred White ,&nbsp;Jurre Bleeker ,&nbsp;Gertjan Kramer ,&nbsp;Lemeng Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110584","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110584","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant triterpenoids derived from cycloartenol are central to sterol homeostasis and specialized metabolite production, yet their roles in shaping rhizosphere interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the function of key cycloartenol-derived triterpenoid biosynthetic genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by transiently silencing <em>CYCLOARTENOL SYNTHASE 1</em> (<em>SlCAS1</em>), <em>STEROL METHYLTRANSFERASE 1</em> (<em>SlSMT1</em>), <em>STEROL SIDE CHAIN REDUCTASE 2</em> (<em>SlSSR2</em>), <em>and PHYTOENE DESATURASE</em> (<em>SlPDS</em>). <em>SlCAS1</em> suppression caused severe growth inhibition, confirming the essential role of cycloartenol for plant development. Silencing of <em>SlSMT1</em> and <em>SlSSR2</em> altered root sterol composition, with <em>SlSMT1</em> reducing β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, and <em>SlSSR2</em> causing decreases in cholesterol as well as significant reductions in steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) and steroidal saponins (SAs). By contrast, <em>SlPDS</em> silencing unexpectedly led to elevated sterol levels and broad metabolome shifts. Untargeted metabolomics revealed gene-specific alterations in root and exudate profiles, while molecular networking highlighted the rapid loss of SGAs in exudates, suggesting microbial degradation. Integration of metabolomic and 16S rRNA sequencing data showed that changes in sterols, SGAs, and saponins were associated with distinct bacterial families, including Comamonadaceae and Sphingomonadaceae. Together, these findings demonstrate that cycloartenol-derived triterpenoid pathway genes strongly influence root metabolite composition and shape the assembly of tomato root-associated microbial communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110584"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227452","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":"Development of multi-sensing technologies for high-throughput morphological, physiological, and biochemical phenotyping of drought-stressed watermelon plants","authors":"Mohammad Akbar Faqeerzada ,&nbsp;Eunsoo Park ,&nbsp;Jinsu Lim ,&nbsp;Kihyun Kim ,&nbsp;Ramaraj Sathasivam ,&nbsp;Sang Un Park ,&nbsp;Hangi Kim ,&nbsp;Byoung-Kwan Cho","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) technologies are rapidly transforming plant science by enabling real-time, non-invasive, and large-scale monitoring of complex morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits. However, existing platforms often lack integration across sensing modalities and analytical depth necessary for early and comprehensive phenotypic trait analysis. In this study, we developed a fully automated, multimodal HTPP system combining RGB, shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral, multispectral fluorescence imaging (MSFI), and thermal imaging to characterize drought-stressed watermelon (<em>Citrullus lanatus</em>) plants. RGB imaging facilitated detailed morphological analysis by extracting color-based traits, quantifying plant height and canopy area, and accurately distinguishing growth stages. SWIR hyperspectral imaging (HSI) enabled non-invasive biochemical assessment by detecting drought-responsive compounds, such as flavonoids, phenolics, and antioxidant activities, while also supporting the classification of stress severity. This spectral profiling revealed key biochemical alterations triggered by water deficit. MSFI liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF-based) measured chlorophyll <em>a</em> (Chl-a), chlorophyll <em>b</em> (Chl-b), and total chlorophyll (t-Chl) levels, providing critical insights into photosynthetic performance under drought stress. Thermal imaging further enhanced drought assessment by capturing canopy temperature variations, which were used to derive thermal indices for indirect estimation of soil volumetric water content (SVWC). By integrating complementary imaging modalities, the proposed system captured comprehensive phenotypic responses with high predictive accuracy for early detection of drought stress and assessment of plant health. Advanced machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models further enhanced trait extraction and classification, enabling robust analysis of complex, high-dimensional data. This automated, multimodal platform offers scalable, non-invasive crop monitoring, providing precise insights to support drought resilience and precision agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110577"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227451","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":"Functional characterization of TaNAC6-3B: A key regulator of drought tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)","authors":"Nan Chen ,&nbsp;Xiang Li ,&nbsp;Yong-jia Feng ,&nbsp;De-jun Han ,&nbsp;Wei-jun Zheng ,&nbsp;Zhen-sheng Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought stress is a major abiotic constraint limiting wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.) productivity. Previous studies have shown that reducing irrigation water use by approximately 40 % can cause a 20.6 % decrease in wheat yield. Therefore, improving drought resistance is a priority in wheat breeding programs. For genetic improvement of drought tolerance, systematic investigation of drought-responsive molecular mechanisms is crucial. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was conducted on leaf and root tissues of the drought-tolerant wheat cultivar ChangWu134 under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions. Further systematic analysis identified a key drought tolerance gene <em>TaNAC6-3B.</em> Functional characterization of the candidate NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) family transcription factor <em>TaNAC6-3B</em> revealed its nuclear localization. Transgenic overexpression lines had significantly enhanced drought tolerance, and transcriptome profiling revealed up-regulation of NCED and ABA responsive genes and drought-responsive genes. Mechanism studies have revealed that <em>TaNAC6-3B</em> activates the expression of the LEA (Late embryogenesis abundant) protein gene <em>TaLEA1-2B</em> via direct binding to its promoter. The results of this study provide clues for analysis of the genetic basis of drought tolerance in ChangWu134, and also provide candidate genetic resources for breeding for drought tolerance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110578"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227453","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":"Integrated breeding strategies for blue lotus based on petal pH, anthocyanin profiling, and gene expression analysis.","authors":"Qingqing Liu, Hanchun Li, Houchen Zhang, Yumeng Zhao, Wen Shao, Yu Kong, Li Tu, Fengluan Liu, Naifeng Fu, Daike Tian, Dasheng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110583","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lotus (Nelumbo Adans.) is an important aquatic ornamental plant, yet it exhibits limited color diversity and lacks blue or purple flowers. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying flower coloration and to develop targeted strategies for breeding blue lotus through integrating analyses of petal anatomy, pigment profiles, vacuolar pH, and anthocyanin biosynthetic gene expression. We found that petal pigments in the palisade parenchyma primarily determine color, with epidermal cell structure playing a negligible role. A freeze-induced color shift from red to blue was attributed to a pH increase following vacuole rupture rather than to changes in anthocyanin composition. Anthocyanin profiling verified the presence of delphinidin-based pigments in red cultivars, indicating an intact biosynthetic pathway for blue pigments. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed that the absence of anthocyanins in yellow and white flowers was linked to severely reduced expression of 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), while downstream genes, including the crucial F3'5'H, DFR and ANS, were highly expressed in yellow petals. Using grey relational analysis, we selected nine elite parental candidates suitable for breeding blue lotus. In conclusion, a promising strategy for breeding blue lotus involves hybridizing Asian lotuses (exhibiting high 4CL expression) with American lotus (showing high F3'5'H, DFR, ANS expression), which is anticipated to promote delphinidin accumulation, combined with future efforts to elevate vacuolar pH to near that of the petal sap through genetic techniques. This study provides a theoretical foundation and practical germplasm resources for the molecular breeding of blue lotus flowers.</p>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 Pt C","pages":"110583"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145239416","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":"Co-inoculation of Bradyrhizobium and Azospirillum mitigates the deleterious effects of waterlogging in soybean plants in a scenario of enhanced atmospheric CO2","authors":"Eduardo Pereira Shimoia ,&nbsp;Douglas Antônio Posso ,&nbsp;Cristiane Jovelina da-Silva ,&nbsp;Adriano Udich Bester ,&nbsp;Nathalia Dalla Corte Bernardi ,&nbsp;Junior Borella ,&nbsp;Ivan Ricardo Carvalho ,&nbsp;Ana Claudia Barneche de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Luis Antonio de Avila ,&nbsp;Luciano do Amarante","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations directly influence photosynthesis and productivity in C₃ plants, contributing to global warming and altering hydrological cycles, which in turn increase extreme rainfall events. Soybean, a waterlogging-sensitive crop, exhibits marked yield reductions under such conditions. Legumes establish symbioses with diazotrophic bacteria and are increasingly co-inoculated with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) to enhance stress resilience. While elevated CO₂ (e[CO₂]) and PGPB generally stimulate photosynthesis and growth, waterlogging often counteracts these benefits by intensifying photorespiratory activity. This study investigated the effects of <em>Bradyrhizobium</em> inoculation (IB) and co-inoculation with <em>Azospirillum brasilense</em> (CA) on soybean carbon and nitrogen metabolism under waterlogging and e[CO₂] (750 μmol mol⁻¹ vs. ambient 420 μmol mol⁻¹). At the V4 stage, plants were subjected to seven days of waterlogging followed by four days of drainage. Measurements included gas exchange, glycolate oxidase (GO), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT), and biometric traits. e[CO₂] significantly enhanced gas exchange, an effect further amplified by CA. The synergistic interaction between e[CO₂] and CA improved photosynthetic performance during both stress and recovery. GO activity was reduced under CA and e[CO₂], though it increased transiently under waterlogging. Waterlogging upregulated GS-GOGAT activity, which returned to baseline after the post-drainage. Under e[CO₂], GS-GOGAT activity declined, but CA maintained higher activity than IB. Co-inoculated plants improved the growth metrics under all conditions, with e[CO₂] further enhancing performance. Overall, e[CO₂] improved photosynthesis and suppressed photorespiration, while CA mitigated waterlogging-induced photorespiratory stress and preserved nitrogen metabolism. These results demonstrate that co-inoculation with <em>Azospirillum</em> and e[CO₂] synergistically enhances soybean resilience to waterlogging, offering a sustainable strategy for climate-smart agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110579"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227335","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":"Decoding redox pathways in plants: Structural and functional comparison of peroxiredoxins and glutathione peroxidases","authors":"Thomaz Stumpf Trenz,&nbsp;Marcia Margis-Pinheiro","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants face constant environmental challenges that lead to fluctuations in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Among these, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) stands out as a stable and diffusible signaling molecule that modulates the redox state of key proteins. To prevent oxidative damage while maintaining signaling functions, plants rely on thiol peroxidases (TPXs), particularly glutathione peroxidase-like proteins (GPXLs) and peroxiredoxins (PRXs). Both enzyme families catalyze peroxide reduction and share thiol-based redox mechanisms, seemingly converging on similar functions. This review highlights both the convergence and, more importantly, the divergence between GPXLs and PRXs in plants, including their evolutionary histories, domain architectures, and substrate and reductant specificities. While 2-Cys PRXs are well-established redox sensors capable of relaying oxidative signals to target proteins or via thioredoxin networks, relatively few examples have confirmed that GPXLs can also oxidize specific target proteins, positioning them as potential redox signal transducers. We explore documented cases of GPXL- and PRX-mediated redox signaling in stress responses and emphasize the need for further investigation into TPX interactomes and posttranslational modifications. Unraveling the distinct and overlapping functions of PRXs and GPXLs will provide deeper insight into how plants fine-tune redox signals to cope with environmental stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110580"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145225958","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":"Integrated transcriptomic analyses reveals LpmiR397 and caffeic acid play positive roles in drought and heat stresses tolerance in perennial ryegrass","authors":"Mingzhi Xu ,&nbsp;Yanan Gao ,&nbsp;Qinying Zhou ,&nbsp;Yuzhou Hou ,&nbsp;Feng Yuan ,&nbsp;Xu Guan ,&nbsp;Yanrong Liu ,&nbsp;Wanjun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Perennial ryegrass, is an important turf and pasture grass, often faces stagnant growth and even death in summer due to heat and/or drought stress. Highly heterogeneous genomes and the difficulty of performing stable genetic transformation create challenges for the study of drought- and heat-tolerant gene function. In this study, we sequenced full-length transcripts of perennial ryegrass and identified a total of 24,782 transcripts, including 15,330 new transcripts of known genes and 1504 transcripts of novel genes. In RNA-seq, 16,919 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) appeared in heat treatment and 1063 DE-mRNAs appeared in drought treatment, which significantly enriched in phenylalanine metabolic pathway and triggers to produce caffeic acid, an intermediate product produced during lignin synthesis. Further study showed that exogenous application of caffeic acid significantly enhanced drought and heat tolerance in ryegrass. By miRNA-seq, 118 known miRNAs and 568 newly predicted miRNAs were detected, and 120 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) appeared in heat treatment and 15 DE-miRNAs appeared in the drought treatment. 22 miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks response to drought and/or heat treatment. Among them, LpmiR397 showed a negative response to heat treatment and was predicted to cleavage, <em>LONELY GUY</em> (<em>LpLOG</em>), a new target gene that regulating cytokinin content and metabolism. Further, we confirmed that miR397 could cleavage the <em>LpLOG</em> mRNA, and blocking LpmiR397 by using AS-ODN to reduce perennial ryegrass heat tolerance and increased its cytokinin content. This study provides a basis for genomic studies of perennial ryegrass and key molecular pathways for coping with heat and drought and demonstrates the positive effects of caffeic acid and LpmiR397 in improving heat tolerance of perennial ryegrass and the function of low concentrations of caffeic acid in improving drought tolerance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110572"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145213292","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":"Self-interaction pattern and targeted potential protein interaction networks of Arabidopsis CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase 1","authors":"Qiong Xiao,&nbsp;Juli Wang,&nbsp;Guanqun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a fundamental component of eukaryotic membranes, and its biosynthesis is tightly regulated to maintain membrane integrity and function. Despite the key role of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT) in the rate-limiting step of PC synthesis, little is known about how CCT is modulated through protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this study, we selected <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> CCT1 (AtCCT1) to investigate the potential regulatory network governing PC biosynthesis. Using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays, we discovered that AtCCT1 forms self-association and interacts with its isoform AtCCT2. Importantly, AtCCT1 was also found to interact with importin α and β proteins, implying a potentially regulated transport mechanism. In addition, AtCCT1 and an Arabidopsis Sec14 family protein may also have interactions, which weakly activated reporter genes in the Y2H system but exhibited relatively stronger fluorescence in transformed tobacco leaf cells. Collectively, this study provides the first evidence of specific PPIs involving AtCCT1, offering new insight into the post-translational regulation of PC synthesis. These findings lay a foundation for future studies exploring how dynamic protein assemblies fine-tune membrane lipid metabolism, possibly in response to developmental or environmental conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110574"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227442","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}