Plant Stress最新文献

{"title":"Saving water for more crop per drop: high-throughput phenotyping reveals plastic regulation of transpiration in wheat under natural evaporative demand","authors":"Brian Collins ,&nbsp;Karine Chenu","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improving transpiration efficiency (TE) offers a mechanistic pathway to enhance yield under drought by modulating the balance between carbon assimilation and water loss. This study quantified genotypic variation in TE and dissected the physiological processes underlying this variation across a diverse panel of wheat genotypes. Following an initial experiment with six cultivars, 105 genetically diverse lines were evaluated under well-watered conditions across naturally fluctuating vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Transpiration was measured at 10-minute intervals using a high-throughput lysimeter platform and normalised daily at low VPD to minimise confounding effects arising from genotypic differences in canopy size. Variation in TE was strongly associated with reduced normalised transpiration rate at high VPD (TR_norm-highVPD). No relationship was detected with maximum photosynthetic capacity, indicating that TE differences were driven primarily by regulation of water loss rather than carbon gain. High-TE genotypes achieved either greater biomass for a given water use or equivalent biomass with reduced water use, consistent with conservative stomatal regulation under high evaporative demand. A complementary experiment conducted under low VPD revealed limited genotypic variation in intrinsic TE, suggesting that genetic control of TE is predominantly expressed under high atmospheric demand. The consistency of TE–TR_norm-highVPD relationships across experiments highlights TR_norm-highVPD as a robust and physiologically meaningful phenotyping target. Several high-TE genotypes outperformed modern cultivars, offering novel sources of allelic variation for transpiration regulation. Collectively, these results define a mechanistically grounded, scalable phenotyping framework to target VPD-responsive water-use traits and support breeding strategies aimed at improving drought resilience and water productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101396"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Melatonin as a biostimulant to alleviate combined drought and high temperature stresses in crops","authors":"M. Umapathi ,&nbsp;K. Arun Kumar ,&nbsp;M.K. Kalarani ,&nbsp;A. Senthil ,&nbsp;K. Anitha ,&nbsp;R. Sivakumar ,&nbsp;R. Karthikeyan ,&nbsp;VBR Prasad","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101378","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101378","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Globally, low precipitation and intense heat waves caused destructive impact on plant growth and reproduction. Combined heat and moisture stress exhibited intense effect on morpho-physiological, relative leaf water and enzymatic functions of crop plants especially their interaction effect meets during reproductive stage revealed drastic change on yield characteristics. Therefore, more attention has been directed towards exploring the combined stress effect on crop plants. Hence, breeders and biotech companies are improving tolerance varieties against drought and heat combinations. Currently, using functional molecules like melatonin (MT) is an emerging bioactive molecule to mitigate the antagonistic effect of abiotic stress in the agriculture sector. MT is a multifactorial signaling molecule that functions likely to the indoleamine compound and promotes the plant function and growth of many plant species. However, a detailed perspective of MT on directing physiological functions under combined stress is not yet explored more. Hence, this review aims to unveil the major function of MT on plant growth and yield, also its involvement in the regulation of physiological process of plants grown under combined drought and high temperature (HT). Moreover, this review suggested that the exogenous application of MT and its interaction with antioxidants had a positive effect on plant growth and yield under sole and interaction of drought and HT. In further, additional investigations are required to fully understand how MT affects resistance to combined drought and HT stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101378"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147798111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated transcriptomic and lipidomic analyses reveal coordinated regulation of phosphatidic acid dynamics and membrane lipid remodeling in salt-tolerant tomato","authors":"Pingping Xu,&nbsp;Shu Zhang,&nbsp;Lirong He,&nbsp;Hongjun Lv,&nbsp;Kaining Sun,&nbsp;Jun Miao,&nbsp;Lifeng Liu,&nbsp;Junfeng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil salinization represents a significant abiotic stressor impairing crop productivity. During the initial phase of salt stress response, lipids act as pivotal functional molecules engaged in osmoregulation, energy storage, and signal transduction. They contribute to the maintenance of energy stability at the extracellular solution-plasma membrane interface and may depolarize cell surface potential, resulting in the opening of transmembrane calcium channels. Elucidating early plant responses, particularly lipid metabolic processes linked to membrane integrity and signal transduction, is crucial for enhancing salt tolerance in tomato. Here, we compared a salt-tolerant cultivar (LA0716, R) and a salt-sensitive cultivar (Jingfan 309, S) using integrated physiology, transcriptomics (RNA-seq), and untargeted lipidomics (LC-MS/MS). R exhibited a more rapid, coordinated, and efficient systemic response. Transcriptomics revealed early (1 h) and sustained activation of pathways such as glutathione metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in R, alongside a more stable global gene expression profile. Lipidomics showed that R rapidly restored lipid homeostasis, with orderly membrane remodeling characterized by conversion of phosphatidylcholine (PC) to lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and coordinated responses in phosphatidic acid (PA) signaling. Integrated co-expression network analysis identified key gene clusters active during early and mid-late stress stages, significantly correlated with sphingolipid and glycerolipid levels and regulated temporally by MYB/Dof and ERF transcription factors. This study delineates dynamic gene expression and lipid metabolism changes in tomato roots under salt stress, demonstrating that tolerance is associated with rapid signal transduction and efficient membrane lipid remodeling. These findings provide key targets and a theoretical basis for molecular breeding of salt-tolerant crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101399"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of novel biostimulants on the growth and transcriptomic response of maize seedlings under stress conditions","authors":"María Salud Justamante ,&nbsp;Eduardo Larriba ,&nbsp;Ernesto Alejandro Zavala-González ,&nbsp;Almudena Aranda-Martínez ,&nbsp;José Manuel Pérez-Pérez","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human-induced climate change in the Mediterranean region poses major challenges for crop adaptation and breeding strategies. Biostimulants are promising, sustainable solutions for improving crop performance under such conditions. In this study, the effects of five formulations (AE13–07, AE04, BPAC, ACLP, ECOF2) and two commercial mixtures of <em>Trichoderma</em> spp. (Atlanticell Trichomix [ATM]), and <em>Pochonia</em> spp. (Atlanticell Pochomix [APM]) on maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L.) seedlings grown under standard conditions, drought, and moderate salinity were evaluated. All the treatments increased the plant water content and increased both shoot and root biomass under standard conditions. Under moderate salinity, ATM treatment had distinct effects on root and shoot development and led to the deregulation of several genes, including those involved in defense responses, jasmonic acid pathways, and oxidative stress regulation. The upregulation of <em>JAZ</em> transcription factor genes suggests potential suppression of MYC2-mediated defense responses, facilitating positive interactions between <em>Trichoderma</em> spp. and maize roots. ATM also repressed genes linked to cytokinin degradation, which may explain the increase in shoot growth. Additionally, ATM increased the expression of genes associated with DNA replication and cell cycle regulation, whose expression is typically reduced by salinity stress. These findings provide new insights into the biological processes modulated by these treatments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101410"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The mitogen-activated protein kinase PbrMAPK5 functions as a positive regulator of resistance to Cytospora pyri in pear","authors":"Yuexing Ren ,&nbsp;Meiyun Zhang ,&nbsp;Ruiqi Xu ,&nbsp;Shulin Chen ,&nbsp;Xinpeng Chen ,&nbsp;Cheng Xue ,&nbsp;Shaozhuo Xu ,&nbsp;Jun Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101385","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101385","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Cytospora pyri</em>-induced pear Valsa canker represents a destructive stem disease causing substantial economic losses in pear cultivation, yet its molecular pathogenesis remains poorly characterized. Transcriptomic profiling of <em>C. pyri</em>-inoculated pear calli in this study revealed significant activation of the <em>MAPK</em> signaling pathway following pathogen challenge. To identify pivotal <em>MAPK</em> components mediating this response, we systematically identified 23 <em>PbrMAPK</em> genes using a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) haplotype-resolved genome of the susceptible cultivar 'Dangshansuli' (<em>Pyrus bretschneideri</em>). Phylogenetic classification organized these genes into four distinct clades, while collinearity analysis demonstrated that family expansion was primarily driven by tandem duplication (TD) and whole-genome duplication (WGD) events, promoting functional diversification through subfunctionalization. Expression dynamics identified <em>PbrMAPK5</em> as the most strongly upregulated gene during infection. Functional validation via <em>Agrobacterium</em>-mediated overexpression in pear calli and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in seedlings confirmed that <em>PbrMAPK5</em> acts as a positive regulator of disease resistance. Further investigation using yeast two-hybrid assays revealed that PbrMAPK5 interacts with PbrWRKY1, PbrWRKY5, and PbrWRKY9, suggesting that PbrMAPK5 may phosphorylate these transcription factors to regulate resistance responses. These findings provide mechanistic insights into pear's defense mechanisms against <em>C. pyri</em> and offer valuable molecular targets for breeding resistant cultivars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101385"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147798110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-walled carbon nanotubes-induced modulation of growth, antioxidant enzymes, and triterpenoid pathway gene expression in in vitro cultured Glycyrrhiza glabra L","authors":"Hanieh Saadatdar Arani ,&nbsp;Ziba Bakhtiar ,&nbsp;Hassan Esmaeili ,&nbsp;Masoud Tohidfar ,&nbsp;Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Glycyrrhiza glabra</em>, a well-known medicinal plant belonging to the Fabaceae family, has attracted considerable attention due to its valuable triterpenoids, particularly glycyrrhizic acid. In this study, the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNs) concentrations (25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 µg/mL) on growth, biochemical, and phytochemical traits of <em>in vitro</em> cultured <em>G. glabra</em> regenerates were investigated. Furthermore, the expression levels of key genes involved in the triterpenoid biosynthetic pathway–including squalene synthase (<em>SQS1</em> and <em>SQS2</em>), β-amyrin synthase (<em>bAS</em>), cycloartenol synthase (<em>CAS</em>), lupeol synthase (<em>LUS</em>), β-amyrin 11-oxidase (<em>CYP88D6</em>), and β-amyrin 24-hydroxylase (<em>CYP93E6</em>)–were evaluated. The 100 µg/mL MWCNs had the most significant effect on fresh weight (343.32 ± 0.50 mg) and dry weight (52.03 ± 0.90 mg) showing significant increases. Maximum antioxidant enzyme activity (µmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein) measured for catalase (12.27 ± 0.13) and peroxidase (25.45 ± 0.50) occurred at 500 µg/mL, whereas the highest ascorbate peroxidase (1.74 ± 0.05) and superoxide dismutase (18.27 ± 0.06) activities were found at 250 µg/mL. The contents (mg/g DW) of glycyrrhizic acid (28.24 ± 0.170), liquiritin (0.11 ± 0.009), and liquiritigenin (1.55 ± 0.009) were highest in the 100 µg/mL MWCNs treatment, showing respective increases of 1.52-, 1.83-, and 1.25-fold compared to the control. Significant upregulation of <em>SQS1</em> (2.53-fold), <em>bAS</em> (3.12-fold), <em>CAS</em> (2.25-fold), <em>LUS</em> (2.35-fold), and <em>CYP88D6</em> (4.05-fold) at 100 µg/mL, correlating strongly with enhanced production of metabolites. These findings demonstrate that nanocarbon can be a promising elicitor for enhancing growth and triterpenoid biosynthesis in <em>G. glabra</em> under <em>in vitro</em> conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101409"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Root system architecture and integrated stress responses underlying drought tolerance in the cypriot grapevine cultivar xynisteri","authors":"Michalis Christoforou ,&nbsp;Maria Tsolakidou ,&nbsp;Charis Djama,&nbsp;Ahmet Gökçebel,&nbsp;Nikolaos Nikoloudakis","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101390","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101390","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change poses a significant challenge to viticulture, particularly in drought-prone Mediterranean regions, necessitating cultivar-specific insights for sustainable management. This study investigates cv Xynisteri, an indigenous and ungrafted Cypriot grapevine variety, at morphological, biochemical, and transcriptomic levels, compared with the drought‑sensitive cv Chardonnay. Root analyses revealed Xynisteri’s deeper, denser system with enhanced fine root development, supporting superior water uptake as opposed to the Chardonnay variety. Biochemical profiling revealed an early accumulation of soluble sugars and amino acids, which help maintain chlorophyll and photosynthetic pigment stability under drought stress. Transcriptomic analysis revealed constitutive priming of defense and redox pathways under moderate watering and targeted activation of osmotic adjustment and cell wall reinforcement pathways under drought, supporting adaptation to abiotic stressors. Together, these findings establish a molecular basis for Xynisteri’s resilience under the challenging climate of the eastern Mediterranean and provide insights relevant to global viticulture in the era of climatic change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101390"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147798121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diurnal timing influences metabolic reprogramming and resistance of Brassica oleracea to Xanthomonas campestris infection","authors":"Carmen Vega-Álvarez ,&nbsp;Pilar Soengas ,&nbsp;Lorena Álvarez-Iglesias ,&nbsp;Rosaura Abilleira ,&nbsp;Taciana Rial ,&nbsp;Marta Francisco","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101392","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101392","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants integrate circadian cues to coordinate metabolism and defense, yet the impact of infection timing on crop immunity remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that <em>Brassica oleracea</em> exhibits strong diurnal variation in resistance to <em>Xanthomonas campestris</em> pv. <em>campestris</em> (<em>Xcc</em>): inoculation at the end of the photoperiod (PM) consistently reduced disease severity compared with morning (AM) infections. Integrating physiological measurements, targeted primary-metabolite profiling, and untargeted UHPLC-QToF metabolomics, we show that PM-infected plants display enhanced metabolic flexibility, characterized by increased TCA-cycle intermediates, branched-chain amino acids, jasmonate-related lipids, and fatty acid primary amides. Among these, oleamide emerged as a key time-dependent metabolite, accumulating specifically in PM-infected plants. Exogenous oleamide application partially reproduced the PM-resistant metabolic state, attenuating disease symptoms and inducing stable lipid and phenylpropanoid remodeling. Metabolomics also indicated increased endogenous oleamide after treatment, while in vitro assays revealed direct growth inhibition of <em>Xcc</em>, suggesting complementary antimicrobial activity. Together, our results uncover a temporal dimension in <em>B. oleracea</em> immunity and identify oleamide as a promising lipid-derived modulator of diurnal defense reprogramming with potential for time-optimized disease management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101392"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unravelling the genetic basis of water deficit stress tolerance in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) using genome-wide association study and haplotype analysis","authors":"Sabreena A. Parray ,&nbsp;Ajay Prasanth Ramalingam ,&nbsp;Desalegn D. Serba ,&nbsp;P.V. Vara Prasad ,&nbsp;Ramasamy Perumal","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought and heat stress are major challenges to crop productivity, especially in semi-arid regions with limited water and erratic rainfall. Pearl millet, the sixth most widely cultivated cereal for food, forage, and feed, has emerged as a promising climate-resilient crop to address these challenges. However, the genomic regions associated with its drought-tolerance remain largely unknown. This study utilizes genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to identify drought related quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) in 187 pearl millet germplasms, genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), yielding 35,071 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers. Phenotypic variation was observed between irrigated and rainfed treatments, and the stress tolerance index (STI) derived from these data was used for GWAS. Ninety-five QTNs were mapped across all seven chromosomes using four GWAS models (MLMM, FarmCPU, Blink, and 3VmrMLM). These QTNs co-localized in close proximity with 86 candidate genes, including <em>PMF1G04719</em> and <em>PMF2G07960</em> (rubisco binding protein), <em>PMF1G07862</em> (actin-7). These were involved in drought response mechanisms, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, and abscisic acid signaling pathway. Candidate gene haplotype analysis, complemented by in silico expression profiling under drought stress using milletdb, identified 11 highly expressed candidate genes. These candidate genes represent promising targets for further functional validation and breeding efforts. Overall, these findings provide valuable genetic and genomic resources for improving pearl millet for climate resilience and sustainable production in semi-arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101401"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147850446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing genetic diversity for enhanced breeding of Paspalum vaginatum: a comprehensive review","authors":"Qing Zhu ,&nbsp;Fawad Ali ,&nbsp;Mohsin Nawaz ,&nbsp;Amjad Ali ,&nbsp;Minqiang Tang ,&nbsp;Junqing Zong ,&nbsp;Li Liao ,&nbsp;Muhammad Azhar Nadeem ,&nbsp;Faheem Shehzad Baloch ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101391","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.stress.2026.101391","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Genetic diversity, encompassing heritable variations within and among populations, is the focus of this paper, which delineates the heritable variations among <em>Paspalum vaginatum</em> germplasm resources. <em>P. vaginatum</em>, a warm-season perennial C4 grass of the Poaceae family, is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical coastal regions such as the southern United States, Australia, and southern China. Known for its ease of propagation and robust salt tolerance, this species is commonly used as a turfgrass in coastal areas and shows significant potential for phytoremediation and amelioration of saline-alkali soils. The germplasm resources of <em>P. vaginatum</em> display extensive variability in morphological traits and stress resistance characteristics. To effectively harness this variability for developing new cultivars and improving existing ones, various methods have been employed in recent years to assess the extent of variation and elucidate patterns of genetic diversity among <em>P. vaginatum</em> germplasm. This review paper provides a concise summary of advancements in the study of genetic diversity in <em>P. vaginatum</em> through morphological, cytological, and molecular approaches. It also presents the current status of genomic research on <em>P. vaginatum</em> and discusses prospects for future breeding directions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34736,"journal":{"name":"Plant Stress","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 101391"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147798112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}