{"title":"Exploring osmotolerant-PGPR consortium based rhizospheric microbiome for understanding metabolomic shifts in drought-stressed Oryza sativa L.","authors":"Aditya Sharma, Sourav Debnath, Piyush Pandey, Pratyoosh Shukla","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100642","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100642","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drought is a key limiting factor affecting rice (<em>Oryza sativa</em> L.) yield, necessitating sustainable strategies to enhance crop resilience under changing climatic conditions. The potential of a drought-tolerant plant growth–promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) consortium, capable of withstanding up to 30% PEG-6000-induced osmotic stress, to alleviate drought stress in rice was investigated. Consortium inoculation significantly improved key physiological attributes of drought-stressed plants, including relative water content, proline accumulation, and total chlorophyll. Additionally, the activities of major antioxidant enzymes, catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), increased significantly, indicating enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress. Amplicon-based 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed treatment-associated restructuring of the rhizosphere microbiome, with increased abundance of beneficial taxa, including <em>Flavisolibacter</em>, <em>Azospirillum</em>, and <em>Novosphingobium</em>. Metabolomic profiling further demonstrated the accumulation of stress-responsive metabolites, including DL-arginine, glycine betaine, oxaloacetic acid, 2,3-butanediol glucoside, and 5-aminolevulinic acid. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the PGPR consortium enhances physiological resilience, reshapes rhizosphere microbial communities, and modulates plant metabolic responses under drought stress, demonstrating its applicability as an eco-friendly approach to increase rice yield under drought conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 100642"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148500240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-07-01Epub Date: 2026-06-04DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100632
Guillaume J. Bodjrenou, Matice Gbetoho, Félicien Amakpé, Fernande G. Honfo, Alain Hehn, Alexandre Olry, Enoch G. Achigan-Dako
{"title":"Toward omics-based breeding strategies for the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.)","authors":"Guillaume J. Bodjrenou, Matice Gbetoho, Félicien Amakpé, Fernande G. Honfo, Alain Hehn, Alexandre Olry, Enoch G. Achigan-Dako","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100632","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100632","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Shea tree (<em>Vitellaria paradoxa</em> C.F. Gaertn.), a semi-domesticated tree in Africa, is valued for its products, particularly shea butter, which represents a multibillion-dollar commodity with growing demand on the international market. However, limited scientific investigations have been undertaken about its domestication and improvement. In this review, we examine the current state of shea tree improvement in comparison to that of oil palm and coconut trees. We analyze its socioeconomic importance and the genetic diversity underpinning selection and cultivar development. The transferability of breeding methods from oil palm and coconut was examined, with emphasis on fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis pathways and associated genes. Insights from these crops highlighted the importance of integrating omics tools, targeting product quality traits, and structuring breeding programs around well-defined selection criteria for the shea tree. Factors influencing FA biosynthesis in the shea tree were also discussed. Beyond FA composition, traits such as specialized metabolite profiles were found to influence butter quality; integrating these as key traits supports a breeding strategy combining genomic selection, metabolite profiling, and environmental data as a concrete pathway forward. Omics tools have demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing oil palm and coconut breeding and could be applied in shea tree breeding. This integrated approach highlights the potential of the shea tree as a strategic resource for rural communities, as well as for the agri-food and cosmetics industries. Applying omics tools previously used in major oil crops to the shea tree opens new perspectives for selecting high-yielding and high-quality genotypes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 100632"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148500241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-28DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100618
Ruth Y. Akinmusola, Harvey Kilsby, Catherine-Axa Wilkins, Volkan Cevik, Rod Scott , James Doughty
{"title":"Busted: Maternal modifiers of the triploid block involved in seed size control","authors":"Ruth Y. Akinmusola, Harvey Kilsby, Catherine-Axa Wilkins, Volkan Cevik, Rod Scott , James Doughty","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The triploid block leads to seed abortion in crosses involving tetraploid Col-0 pollen. The genetic basis underlying this phenomenon is established in the endosperm and attributed to parental genomic imprinting. This research utilised the genetic variation in Arabidopsis to identify the genomic regions harbouring the maternal modifiers of the triploid block to produce viable large seeds. Distinct chromosomal regions were identified in Bla-1 and Tsu-0 accessions. The Bla-1 maternal modifier maps to the <em>TTG2</em> locus at the lower end of chromosome 2 to produce large viable seeds in response to a triploid block. Tsu-0 accession, on the other hand, recruits the <em>TTG1</em> locus on the upper arm of chromosome 5 as a maternal modifier of the triploid block. <em>TTG1</em> and <em>TTG2</em> mutations significantly increased the proportion of large viable seeds in interploidy crosses. Both genes are involved in transcriptional regulation in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. However, to regulate seed size in diploids, <em>TTG1</em> functions synergistically with auxin but does so independently of <em>TTG2</em>. This work contributed to the genetic framework for the <em>TTG1</em> and <em>TTG2</em> seed size roles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100618"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147803491","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}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-14DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100603
Benildo G. de los Reyes, Bijayalaxmi Mohanty, Venura Herath, Matthew Shenton
{"title":"Crop yield resilience under marginal environments and climate change","authors":"Benildo G. de los Reyes, Bijayalaxmi Mohanty, Venura Herath, Matthew Shenton","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100603","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100603","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100603"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148178415","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}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-05-06DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100620
Ben Kohnert , Antonia Lisker , Wiebke Sannemann , Laura Schmidt , Ebrahim Kazman , Hilmar Cöster , Josef Holzapfel , Erhard Ebmeyer , Nina Pfeiffer , Monika Spiller , Andreas Maurer , Klaus Pillen
{"title":"Haplotype-based genetic dissection of baking quality in the MAGIC winter wheat population WM-800 under contrasting nitrogen treatments","authors":"Ben Kohnert , Antonia Lisker , Wiebke Sannemann , Laura Schmidt , Ebrahim Kazman , Hilmar Cöster , Josef Holzapfel , Erhard Ebmeyer , Nina Pfeiffer , Monika Spiller , Andreas Maurer , Klaus Pillen","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100620","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100620","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improved wheat baking quality under reduced nitrogen (N) inputs is an essential requirement for climate smart and environmentally sustainable agriculture. To enhance wheat nitrogen use efficiency, a detailed understanding of the underlying quantitative genetic architecture is required. The MAGIC (Multi-parent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross) population WM-800, derived from intercrossing eight diverse German elite winter wheat cultivars, provides a powerful resource for high-resolution trait dissection. Here, Zeleny sedimentation volume (SED) and grain protein content (GPC) were assessed across seven environments under low and high N supply. The multi-parental design of WM-800 enabled the detection of highly resolved haplotype effects. Under N limited conditions, the haplotype-based GWAS revealed significant associations at three <em>Glu-1</em> loci, which encode the high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits. Beyond this, a previously unreported QTL on chromosome 3A with large, additive effects on both GPC (increased by 0.46%) and SED (increased by 2.49 mL) was identified. Additional QTL with stable, N independent effects across environments were detected. The predominantly additive contributions across all QTL highlight the suitability of WM-800 for dissecting quality traits and provide effective targets for breeding more resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable wheat cultivars. These findings expand the known genetic determinants of wheat baking quality. Moreover, they show that the targeted accumulation of favourable haplotypes may enable a wheat quality improvement under reduced N fertilization, contributing directly to lower N fertilizer demand and a reduced carbon footprint.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100620"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147951998","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":"Integrative roles of miRNAs and omics in crop responses to abiotic and biotic stresses","authors":"Gyanika Shukla , Amardeep Singh , Namita Basnal , Abhinav Moghiya , Shailendra Singh Gaurav , Pankhuri Singhal , Jitender Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100614","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100614","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global agriculture is increasingly threatened by the combined impacts of abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, temperature extremes, nutrient deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, and flooding, as well as biotic stresses caused by pathogens and pests. These stresses account for substantial yield losses in major staple crops, posing serious risks to food security under changing climatic conditions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators that fine-tune gene expression networks governing plant growth, development, and stress adaptation. This review synthesizes current knowledge on miRNA biogenesis, modes of action, and their regulatory roles in coordinating plant responses to stresses. We highlight how advances in multi-omics technologies have enabled comprehensive dissection of miRNA-mediated regulatory networks. Integration of miRNA profiling with multi-omics datasets provides a systems-level understanding of stress-responsive pathways, revealing key regulatory hubs, molecular crosstalk, and stress memory mechanisms. The review also discusses computational tools and databases that facilitate miRNA discovery, target prediction, and data integration, while addressing current challenges related to data heterogeneity and computational complexity. By bridging fundamental biology with applied strategies, this review underscores the potential of integrated miRNA and omics approaches to accelerate the development of stress-resilient crops, supporting sustainable agriculture and global food security.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100614"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147803489","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}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-05-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100626
Md Hasibul Hasan Hasib , Nabila Masud , Angona Biswas , Talukder Zaki Jubery , Carson Stanley , Sivakumar Swaminathan , Corrinne E. Grover , Jonathan F. Wendel , Soumik Sarkar , Olga A. Zabotina , Anwesha Sarkar
{"title":"Sewing the future of cotton: An integrated omics study combining nanomechanics, transcriptomics, and phenotypic traits","authors":"Md Hasibul Hasan Hasib , Nabila Masud , Angona Biswas , Talukder Zaki Jubery , Carson Stanley , Sivakumar Swaminathan , Corrinne E. Grover , Jonathan F. Wendel , Soumik Sarkar , Olga A. Zabotina , Anwesha Sarkar","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100626","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100626","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls are essential for mechanical strength and overall quality of cotton fibers. This study quantified and compared the <em>nano-omics</em>: nanoscale structural, and mechanical properties of cellulose microfibrils such as microfibril dimensions, crossover count and angles, roughness, and Young’s modulus for two popular cotton species: <em>Gossypium hirsutum</em> (Gh) and <em>Gossypium barbadense</em> (Gb) fibers across four stages of growth (8, 12, 18, and 22 days post-anthesis) using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our results revealed that Gb fibers exhibited better alignment, finer surface, and higher stiffness compared to Gh fibers at the nanoscale, resulting in smoother fiber surfaces and improved quality at the macroscale. We have also developed an integrative machine learning (ML) framework combining nanoscale AFM-derived features with gene expression data to model variation in key fiber traits. This framework was used to compare feature modalities and assess their relative contributions across developmental stages. To further characterize feature importance, we applied Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), which highlighted nanoscale and transcriptomic variables associated with model behavior at different growth stages. Overall, this study demonstrates that nanoscale mechanical properties provide complementary information to transcriptomics and establishes a framework for integrating nanoscale and molecular features to generate mechanistic hypotheses linking gene expression to cotton fiber structure and quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100626"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148178413","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":"Biological networks in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.): From molecular interactions to systems-level understanding","authors":"Bahman Panahi , Hossein Abbasi Holasou , Rasmieh Hamid , Amir Ghaffar Shahriari , Zahra Ghorbanzadeh","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100624","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100624","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Barley (<em>Hordeum vulgare</em> L.) is an important model organism for studying stress tolerance, development, and yield formation. Recent advances in multi-omics approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, have shown that these complex biological processes are governed by intricate molecular networks, challenging traditional linear or single-gene models. This review synthesizes the latest insights into barley's biological networks, such as protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks, gene co-expression networks, metabolic pathways, and signaling cascades, providing a systems-level understanding of how genes, proteins, and metabolites work together to regulate physiological functions. Through a comparative analysis of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies, we highlight how network-based approaches and integrated pathway modeling have identified key hub genes, regulatory modules, and their roles in stress adaptation. We also discuss how systems biology has enhanced our understanding of barley’s adaptive complexity, particularly in response to environmental stressors, and examine emerging research directions, including dynamic network modeling, pan-genomic integration, and multi-layer omics strategies. This review highlights the potential of network biology to advance predictive modeling and molecular breeding, providing new strategies for developing barley cultivars with improved resilience, yield, and quality in response to environmental challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100624"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148178414","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}
Current Plant BiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100616
Jazib Javed, Zhen Zhang, Jing-Jing Li, Qiu-Rui Baran Gou, Meng-Lu Wang
{"title":"Pan-genomic characterization of the NCED genes and their response to abiotic stresses in wheat species","authors":"Jazib Javed, Zhen Zhang, Jing-Jing Li, Qiu-Rui Baran Gou, Meng-Lu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100616","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cpb.2026.100616","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant stress adaptation and development are regulated by abscisic acid (ABA), whose biosynthesis is catalyzed by the <em>9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase</em> (NCED) enzymes. In wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.), a comprehensive pan-phylogenomic and functional characterization of the <em>NCED</em> gene family remains underexplored despite its role in ABA synthesis and its likely resilience to abiotic stresses. This study conducts pan-genomic identification, genomic diversity, and functional analyses of the <em>NCED</em> gene family across 14 wild and modern wheat species. A total of 443 non-redundant <em>NCED</em> genes were identified and classified into distinct NCED and carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) clades. Gene structure and motifs demonstrated high conservation of the functional RPE65 domain, with promoter-region cis-acting elements enriched for motifs responsive to abiotic stresses and hormone signaling. Expression analysis and RT-qPCR validation identified core stress-responsive genes, including <em>TaCSNCED18</em>, <em>TaCSNCED26</em>, and <em>TaCSNCED27</em>, significantly upregulated under drought and heat stress. <em>TaCSNCED33</em> is enriched in transfer tissues (aleurone layer and seed coat) and in other storage tissues, as revealed by a spatial transcriptome analysis. Moreover, a haplotype analysis reveals its significant association with thousand-kernel weight (TKW), an agronomic trait related to yield. This work presents a comprehensive genomic atlas of the wheat <em>NCED</em> gene family, detailing its evolutionary history, regulatory architecture, and functional diversification. These findings provide a valuable genetic resource for breeding climate-resilient wheat varieties by optimizing the ABA pathway.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38090,"journal":{"name":"Current Plant Biology","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 100616"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147803492","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}