Plant Physiology and Biochemistry最新文献

{"title":"Light spectrum differentially modulates physiology and secondary metabolism in underutilized leafy greens grown in aeroponics","authors":"Sara Anichini ,&nbsp;Andrea Bellini ,&nbsp;Giampiero Cai ,&nbsp;Marco Romi ,&nbsp;Sara Parri","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110546","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110546","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional agriculture faces growing concerns regarding sustainability, biodiversity, and nutritional quality. Aeroponic systems, coupled with optimized light spectra, present a potential solution for enhancing crop performance and minimizing environmental impact. This study examines the morphophysiological and antioxidant responses of four neglected and underutilized plant genetic resources leafy landraces (<em>Cichorium intybus</em> ‘Cicoria del Marzocco’, <em>Cichorium endivia</em> ‘Radicchia di Lucca’, and <em>Lactuca sativa</em> ‘Foglia di Cerro’ and ‘Rossina di Pescia’) grown aeroponically under different red:blue light ratios, with and without far-red light supplementation. Plants were grown under seven LED light treatments, and growth parameters, gas exchange, photosynthetic efficiency, and antioxidant profiles were assessed. The results showed genotype-specific responses to light quality. Far red light significantly increased biomass accumulation and leaf expansion in <em>L. sativa</em> but had little effect on <em>Cichorium</em> species. Blue light reduced growth but increased polyphenol and flavonoid content across all genotypes. Principal component analysis indicated that genotype had a greater effect on overall physiological variation than light treatment. These results suggest that manipulating the light spectrum can differentially affect growth and secondary metabolism in traditional leafy crops. Genotype-specific light strategies may promote the use of neglected germplasm and the development of sustainable, high-efficiency cultivation systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110546"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158007","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":"Photosynthesis induction varies along the canopies of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor: linking fast responses and non-photochemical quenching relaxation to biomass production","authors":"Rafael L. Almeida ,&nbsp;Neidiquele M. Silveira ,&nbsp;Heitor L. Sartori ,&nbsp;Tamires S. Martins ,&nbsp;Maximiliano S. Scarpari ,&nbsp;Aildson P. Duarte ,&nbsp;Eduardo Sawazaki ,&nbsp;Eduardo C. Machado ,&nbsp;Rafael V. Ribeiro","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Light variability throughout the canopy requires sophisticated control for the induction of photosynthesis and deactivation of photoprotective mechanisms, which could optimize CO₂ assimilation and crop yield. This study aimed to investigate the genotypic variation in photosynthesis induction and the relaxation of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) across the canopy of five <em>Zea mays</em> and <em>Sorghum bicolor</em> cultivars. CO₂ uptake, stomatal conductance, and NPQ dynamics were recorded every 60 s during photosynthetic induction. Initially, leaves at the top, middle and bottom canopy positions were dark-acclimated and subsequently exposed to irradiation of 2000 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, for 1420 s. The <em>Z. mays</em> cultivar AG8701 showed the highest dry matter (335.7 ± 7 g plant⁻¹) and the fastest light response across the canopy, reaching 85 ± 2 % of total CO₂ uptake 700 s after induction (<em>A</em>₇₀₀). This performance was attributed to the synchrony among CO₂ assimilation, stomatal conductance, effective quantum efficiency of photosystem II, and fast NPQ deactivation. In contrast, <em>S. bicolor</em> cultivars exhibited weak and negative correlations (r = ˗0.27 to ˗0.46) between dry matter and photosynthetic traits. DKB560 was the slowest cultivar (<em>A</em>₇₀₀ = 28 ± 7 %) for light response, exhibiting no NPQ relaxation throughout the canopy when light intensity varied. <em>S. bicolor</em> dry matter correlated with leaf area (r = 0.90), suggesting a compensatory mechanism for slower photosynthetic induction and NPQ relaxation. These findings provide valuable insights into breeding programs aiming to select new cultivars with higher photosynthesis, light responsiveness, and increased leaf area, key traits for higher yield.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110547"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157473","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":"Dynamic distribution and biosynthesis of bioactive compounds: Determining factors for their content in Rubus chingii fruit","authors":"Xiaobai Li ,&nbsp;Xiaofei Liu ,&nbsp;Zhen Chen ,&nbsp;Jingyong Jiang ,&nbsp;Wei Zeng ,&nbsp;Jianhui Cheng ,&nbsp;Gangqiang Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110542","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110542","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Rubus chingii</em>, is renowned for its dietary and medicinal properties. The fruit's flavonoids and ellagic acid/ellagitannins are essential for its taste, flavor, and pharmaceutical applications. This study investigates these phytochemicals across fruit tissues, maturation stages, and a germplasm collection using mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF IMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Furthermore, we integrated transcriptomic data and qPCR to explore the relationship between key biosynthetic genes. As a result, kaempferol aglycones were predominantly accumulated in the drupelets, while anthocyanins, quercetin aglycones, and ellagic acid/ellagitannins were primarily in the receptacle. Also, kaempferol aglycones were accumulated in numerous hairs attached to the outer layer of the drupelet. These compounds were the most abundant at the mature green stage (MG, the earliest stage of maturity) and decreased with fruit maturation in both drupelets and receptacles. In the flavonoid pathway, the key genes, <em>RchFLS,</em> had a higher expression in drupelets than in the receptacle, but conversely, <em>RchDRF</em> had a higher expression in the receptacle than in drupelets. In the ellagic acid pathway, the rate-limiting gene <em>RchGT2</em> had a higher expression in receptacles than in drupelets. Their different expressions between drupelets and receptacles were responsible for the uneven distribution of these flavonoids and ellagic acid/ellagitannins. Moreover, the expression of these genes was almost downregulated as the fruit matured, which was associated with a decline in flavonoids and ellagic acid/ellagitannin. Fruit shape index (FSI) reflecting the proportion of the receptacle was positively correlated with total ellagic acid content in the fruits (R = 0.704, P &lt; 0.0001). These findings could help breeders easily improve cultivars for pharmaceutical value with morphological selection, and producers harvest fruits at the right time for either medicinal purposes or the food market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110542"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157471","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":"Transcriptome analysis and functional validation reveal the mechanism of action of NtCaM13 in drought stress in tobacco plants","authors":"Yingying Li ,&nbsp;Zixuan Ge ,&nbsp;Kunhao Guan ,&nbsp;Can Liu ,&nbsp;Yuyin Zhang ,&nbsp;Jie Yang ,&nbsp;Jianbo Chang ,&nbsp;Zongliang Xia ,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110538","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110538","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought stress significantly affects tobacco growth and crop productivity; hence, studying the molecular processes of drought resistance is vital. Calmodulin plays a crucial role in plant stress responses as a calcium sensor. However, the functional role of <em>NtCaM13</em> in drought resistance remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that <em>NtCaM13</em> overexpression (OE) markedly increased plant resistance to drought, whereas knockout (KO) mutants exhibited heightened susceptibility to water deficit. OE of <em>NtCaM13</em> reduced drought-induced oxidative damage by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity. Furthermore, transgenic plants overexpressing <em>NtCaM13</em> exhibited increased antioxidant gene expression, decreased stomatal conductance, and improved water-retention capacity. Nevertheless, the opposite trend was observed in <em>NtCaM13</em> KO plants. Further RNA-seq analysis revealed that OE of <em>NtCaM13</em> enhanced the expression of genes involved in stomatal development and closure (<em>ERL1</em> and <em>SCRM2</em>), cuticle/cell wall reinforcement (<em>LCAO</em>, <em>CYP86A7</em>, <em>PRP1</em>, and <em>XTH9</em>), osmotic regulation (<em>AQP</em> and <em>ProDH2</em>), and antioxidant defense (<em>NUDT17</em>). Conversely, the expression of these genes was diminished in <em>NtCaM13</em> KO plants. These findings suggested that <em>NtCaM13</em> positively regulates drought stress in tobacco, providing new directions for identifying candidate genes for improving drought tolerance in tobacco.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110538"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117869","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":"Genomic analysis reveals the interplay between ABA-GA in determining fresh seed dormancy in groundnut","authors":"D. Khaja Mohinuddin ,&nbsp;Sunil S. Gangurde ,&nbsp;Hasan Khan ,&nbsp;Deekshitha Bomireddy ,&nbsp;Vinay Sharma ,&nbsp;Priya Shah ,&nbsp;U. Nikhil Sagar ,&nbsp;Namita Dube ,&nbsp;Ramachandran Senthil ,&nbsp;B.V. Tembhurne ,&nbsp;V. Hanumanth Nayak ,&nbsp;Ovais Hamid Peerzada ,&nbsp;A. Amaregouda ,&nbsp;Kisan Babu ,&nbsp;Kuldeep Singh ,&nbsp;Pasupuleti Janila ,&nbsp;Baozhu Guo ,&nbsp;Boshou Liao ,&nbsp;Rajeev K. Varshney ,&nbsp;Manish K. Pandey","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110539","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110539","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Groundnut is an important oilseed crop; however, its productivity and seed quality are frequently reduced due to lack of fresh seed dormancy (FSD). To address this challenge, a mini-core collection of 184 accessions was phenotyped to identify potential donors in each agronomic type. In addition, whole genome re-sequencing and multi-season phenotypic evaluations were analyzed to identify stable marker-trait associations (MTAs) linked to FSD. Phenotypic analysis revealed substantial variability in dormancy durations, with days to 50 % germination (DFG) ranging from 1 to 30 days. Multi-locus genome-wide association study (ML-GWAS) identified 27 MTAs in individual seasons and 12 MTAs in pooled seasons data, respectively. Key candidate genes identified included <em>Cytochrome P450 superfamily proteins, protein kinase superfamily proteins,</em> and <em>MYB transcription factors</em> involved in the Abscisic acid (ABA) pathway, as well as <em>F-box interaction domain proteins, ATP-binding ABC transporters,</em> associated with the Gibberellic acid (GA) pathway. SNP-based KASP (Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase chain reaction) markers were developed for 12 SNPs, of which four markers (snpAH00577, snpAH00580, snpAH00586 and snpAH00588) were found useful for the selection of FSD. The combination of favourable allele from four genes namely <em>Ahfsd1 (Arahy.8B3CAL), Ahfsd2 (Arahy.NRZN5K), Ahfsd3 (Arahy.JJ8FJQ),</em> and <em>Ahfsd4 (Arahy.PI0JM6)</em> provides stable 24–30 days of dormancy. Incorporating favourable dormant alleles into breeding programs could enable the development of high-yielding cultivars with a dormancy period of more than two weeks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110539"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145186517","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":"Lysine-Histidine Transporter 4 (AtLHT4) facilitates the uptake of narciclasine, a bioactive alkaloid, in Arabidopsis","authors":"Junjie Li ,&nbsp;Zhenyu Cheng ,&nbsp;Ruiqing Shi ,&nbsp;Chang Qi ,&nbsp;Ziyu Liu ,&nbsp;Meiyun Pu ,&nbsp;Juan Qin ,&nbsp;Shengwang Wang ,&nbsp;Hao Sun ,&nbsp;Haoxuan Pan ,&nbsp;Xiaoqi He ,&nbsp;Xiaomin Wang ,&nbsp;Yurong Bi ,&nbsp;Xiaofan Na","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110541","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110541","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Members of the <em>Lysine-Histidine Transporter</em> (<em>LHT</em>) family are known to mediate amino acid uptake, nitrogen acquisition, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. However, their potential roles in responding to other plant-derived metabolites remain largely unexplored. Here, we identify <em>AtLHT4</em> as a key contributor to Arabidopsis sensitivities to narciclasine (NCS), a bioactive alkaloid derived from the Amaryllidaceae family. Through genetic mapping and functional analyses, we found that loss of <em>AtLHT4</em> function significantly enhances plant resistance to NCS, while mutations in other <em>AtLHT</em> members have no detectable effect. LC-MS analysis showed that <em>lht4</em> mutants accumulate ∼70 % less NCS in roots after 4 h of exposure, whereas <em>AtLHT4</em> overexpression increases NCS accumulation. Yeast cells heterologously expressing <em>AtLHT4</em> also accumulated higher intracellular concentrations of NCS compared to vector controls, confirming its role in mediating NCS uptake. Spatial expression analysis revealed that <em>AtLHT4</em> is predominantly expressed in seeds, the root meristematic zone, vascular tissues, floral receptacles, and silique ends, suggesting potential roles in root growth regulation and NCS redistribution. Notably, exogenous application of specific amino acids—including Gly, Glu, Asp, Phe, Asn, and Arg—partially or fully alleviated NCS-induced root growth inhibition in both wild-type and <em>lht4-2</em> seedlings, indicating possible interactions between amino acid and alkaloid signaling or uptake pathways. Together, our findings uncover a specific role of <em>AtLHT4</em> in alkaloid uptake and expand the known functional repertoire of the LHT family beyond amino acid transport in plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110541"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158002","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":"The Zm4CL2 gene regulates drought stress response in Zea mays L","authors":"Yuankai Wang ,&nbsp;Jiayi Fan ,&nbsp;Zhaohao Guo ,&nbsp;Tianyu Wang ,&nbsp;Ruijie Duan ,&nbsp;Zhipeng Luo ,&nbsp;Peng Jiao ,&nbsp;Siyan Liu ,&nbsp;Shuyan Guan","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>4-Coumarate coenzyme A ligase (4CL), a core enzyme in the lignin biosynthesis route, has a significant role of regulation in plant capacity to cope with drought. 4CL has been less studied in corn resistance to drought stress. This study screened the maize drought tolerance-related gene <em>Zm4CL2</em> by pre-laboratory transcriptome sequencing data (PRJNA793522). The dynamics of <em>Zm4CL2</em> gene expression in maize leaves was studied under three different abiotic stress conditions (drought, salinity and exogenous ABA). The qRT-PCR analysis revealed that <em>Zm4CL2</em> positively regulates drought stress responses in maize. Yeast two-hybrid and luciferase complementation assays confirmed the interaction between Zm4CL2 and ZmCCoAOMT proteins. Transgenic plants overexpressing <em>Zm4CL2</em> exhibited significantly lower malondialdehyde content, H₂O₂ levels, and O²⁻content compared to wild-type and knockout plants. Subsequently, We propose that <em>Zm4CL2</em> enhances drought stress resilience by mitigating reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Additionally, <em>Zm4CL2</em> modulates drought stress adaptation by regulating lignin biosynthesis-related gene expression, thereby altering lignin accumulation. This investigation identifies novel candidate genes for strategic breeding of drought-tolerant maize cultivars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110389"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157474","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":"The coupling of light and potassium supplements optimize strawberry fruit performance through plant nitrogen uptake, assimilation and translocation to fruit","authors":"Xiangnan Xu ,&nbsp;Ye Tian ,&nbsp;Jing Dong ,&nbsp;Meng Zhao ,&nbsp;Yanmei Li ,&nbsp;Yanxin Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The greenhouse strawberry usually had undesirable quality in deep-winter due to inefficiency nitrogen use, so this experiment investigated if light and potassium supplements could alleviate this drawback and the mechanism beneath. The plants were subjected to two light conditions coupling with two leaf sprays, yielding 4 different groups: 1) control (NDN), 2) 10 mM KCl spray (NDK), 3) 3h supplemental light (SDN) and 4) 10 mM KCl spray + 3h supplemental light (SDK). The supplemental light enhanced leaf nitrate uptake (36.5 %), fruit nitrogen concentration (8.9 %), per fruit nitrogen accumulation (41.3 %) and single fruit mass (50.1 %); the KCl spray decreased leaf nitrogen concentration (4.0 %) but improved the activity of leaf nitrate reductase (60.0 %), nitrite reductase (12.9 %) and glutamine synthase (19.3 %), and fruit sugars concentration (19.7 %). Comparing with NDN, SDK increased both fruit size (38.6 %) and sugars content (23.8 %). The leaf transcriptomic analysis suggested the differentially expressed genes in SDK vs NDN were significantly enriched in nitrogen metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism and tryptophan metabolism based on the KEGG pathways. The key genes were screened out from these pathways and examined by qRT-PCR test, and the results confirmed that the SDK had up-regulated the leaf expression of <em>Nitrate reductase</em>, <em>Ferredoxin</em>-<em>nitrite reductase</em> and <em>(NADH) glutamate synthase</em>. Hence, the combination of supplemental light and potassium spray enhanced plant source-sink nitrogen coordination through nitrogen uptake, assimilation, translocation and key genes expression, thereby improving strawberry fruit performance in deep-winter greenhouse.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110518"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158003","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":"Genome-wide analysis of phasiRNAs in tea plant reveals a miR482k-PHAS regulatory pathway in response to gray blight","authors":"Changhao Chen ,&nbsp;Guodong Li ,&nbsp;Lei Wang ,&nbsp;Kongze Wei ,&nbsp;Jia Yu ,&nbsp;Zhu Liu ,&nbsp;Weihua Sun ,&nbsp;Yuxin Chu ,&nbsp;Attila Molnar ,&nbsp;Yue Fei","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The tea plant (<em>Camellia sinensis</em>) is an important beverage crop, with substantial economic value and proven health benefits. Its predominant distribution in tropical and subtropical regions exposes it to numerous pathogens, making disease resistance crucial for tea cultivation. Phased secondary small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs, generated in a phased manner from specific genomic regions termed phasiRNA-producing loci (<em>PHAS</em> loci). PhasiRNAs have been demonstrated to participate in disease response across various plant species. However, the disease resistance function of phasiRNAs in tea plants remains unexplored. Here, we present a genome-wide characterization of <em>PHAS</em> loci and phasiRNA biogenesis pathways in <em>Camellia sinensis</em>. Using sRNAminer, we analyzed all publicly available tea small RNA sequencing data, identifying 305 <em>PHAS</em> loci and four highly conserved phasiRNA biogenesis pathways in tea plants. Among these, a miR482/2118-triggered 21-nt phasiRNA biogenesis pathway was investigated in detail. We identified 16 members of the miR482/2118 family in tea plants, with miR482k exhibiting significantly higher expression levels. Pathogen infection studies showed that a miR482k-targeted <em>PHAS</em> locus regulated the disease resistance gene <em>CsCAR</em> through phasiRNA production. Further analysis across tea cultivars revealed that the activity of this phasiRNA biogenesis pathway correlates with their disease resistance levels. These findings highlight the critical role of the miR482k-<em>PHAS</em> pathways in disease resistance mechanisms, providing new insights into how phasiRNAs contribute to tea plant immunity and defense responses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110530"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145095165","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":"On-vine grape withering as a sustainable innovation to premium wine and maturity decoupling","authors":"Davide Bianchi ,&nbsp;Guglielmo Puccio ,&nbsp;Valentina Ricciardi ,&nbsp;Carola Pozzoli ,&nbsp;Giovanni Tinervia ,&nbsp;Maria Teresa Sardina ,&nbsp;Francesco Sunseri ,&nbsp;Lucio Brancadoro ,&nbsp;Francesco Mercati ,&nbsp;Gabriella De Lorenzis","doi":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Withering, a traditional post-harvest practice for premium wines such as Amarone and Recioto, involves grape dehydration to enhance concentration and complexity. This study compared two techniques applied to Corvina grapes: dehydration in <em>fruttaio</em> (FD) and on-vine withering after peduncle twist (PD), evaluating their effects on grape composition, wine quality, and transcriptome dynamics. FD accelerated sugar accumulation and berry weight loss compared to PD, though both methods ultimately reached similar sugar levels. In grapes, no significant differences emerged between FD and PD for total anthocyanins (1–1.5 mg kg⁻¹), polyphenols (2.5–3 mg kg⁻¹), or antioxidant capacity (≈1.5 mM g⁻¹). These results indicate that changes were largely driven by water loss, with anthocyanins and polyphenols remaining stable while antioxidant activity declined under both treatments. In wines, differences became more evident. FD-derived wines contained higher anthocyanin levels (1000–1900 mg L⁻¹) and polyphenols (20–29 mg L⁻¹), compared with PD wines, which retained greater antioxidant activity. The enrichment in FD wines reflects both solute concentration due to dehydration and ethanol-enhanced extraction during fermentation. Differences in antioxidant capacity could be linked to tannin structure and polymerization, affecting wine smoothness and astringency. Transcriptomic analysis identified approximately 10,000 differentially expressed genes, with significant shifts in stilbene and pectin metabolism, highlighting roles in stress adaptation and cell wall remodeling. FD berries exhibited stronger transcriptional responses, with more pronounced activation of stress-related genes, reflecting the faster dehydration dynamics of <em>fruttaio</em> conditions. In conclusion, while both withering methods produced grapes with comparable phenolic content, they resulted in distinct wine compositions and transcriptomic signatures. On-vine withering emerges as a promising sustainable approach, reducing energy demand while maintaining wine quality, an important advantage in the context of climate change and low-impact viticulture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20234,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology and Biochemistry","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 110523"},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145109442","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}