Discover plants最新文献

{"title":"Common bean exhibits low zinc translocation efficiency to grain under zinc enriched field conditions in Malawi.","authors":"Annie Mtimuni Matumba, Joseph G Chimungu, R Murray Lark, Maurice Monjerezi, Lolita Wilson, Moses M Limuwa, Martin R Broadley, E Louise Ander, Elizabeth H Bailey, Patson C Nalivata","doi":"10.1007/s44372-026-00596-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s44372-026-00596-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biofortification is a sustainable approach to reduce Zn deficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet the efficiency of common beans (<i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i> L.) in Zn uptake and translocation remain unclear. This study examined genotypic variation in Zn uptake, translocation, and partitioning among common bean lines grown under Zn-enriched field conditions. Eighteen genotypes representing landraces, improved lines, and biofortified varieties were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Zinc sulphate (ZnSO₄·7H₂O) was applied at 30 kg Zn ha^-1 during the R1 stage. Three biofortified varieties (NUA45, NUA35 and NUA730) were used as controls. Zinc was quantified using ICP-MS and partitioning indices were calculated to assess Zn allocation to grains. Despite Zn enrichment, most genotypes showed limited translocation to grains, with concentrations between 32 and 40 mg Zn kg^-1, below the HarvestPlus target of 56 mg Zn kg^-1. Only one improved line (SMC 156) reached about 53.9 mg Zn kg^-1. Considerable Zn retention occurred in vegetative tissues, and significant genotypic differences were observed in grain Zn concentration, yield, and partitioning efficiency. The findings indicate a physiological bottleneck in Zn mobility and highlight partitioning efficiency as a key trait for breeding Zn-enriched common bean cultivars.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44372-026-00596-y.</p>","PeriodicalId":520362,"journal":{"name":"Discover plants","volume":"3 1","pages":"123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13121197/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147794787","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}

{"title":"Transcription start site aware catalogue of microRNA encoded peptides in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).","authors":"Sara Pescador-Dionisio, Aida Robles-Fort, Mª José López-Galiano, Adrian Moncholi-Estornell, Begoña Renau-Morata, M Pilar Cendrero-Mateo, Rosa V Molina, M Dolores Real, Carolina Rausell, Sergio G Nebauer, Shari Van Wittenberghe, Inmaculada García-Robles","doi":"10.1007/s44372-026-00923-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00923-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression, and primary miRNA transcripts (pri-miRNAs) can encode short regulatory peptides known as microRNA-encoded peptides (miPEPs), which enhance transcription of their associated miRNAs. However, comprehensive and accurately defined miPEP catalogues remain limited in crop species, including tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>). Here, we generated a curated tomato miPEP catalogue using a transcription start site (TSS)-aware pipeline that integrates upstream sequence extension, promoter prediction, and stringent open reading frame (ORF) selection. This approach identified 107 candidate tomato miPEPs spanning diverse genomic contexts and peptide lengths, providing a systematic framework for miPEP annotation in plants. Physicochemical analyses showed that tomato miPEPs differ markedly from the tomato proteome, displaying higher isoelectric points, increased charge per residue, and depletion of acidic residues. Comparative analyses with published candidate miPEP sets from poplar and grapevine revealed the same general trend relative to their corresponding proteomes, indicating a recurrent shift toward basic, positively charged peptides. Cross-dataset comparisons further showed that normalized charge density is comparatively stable, whereas isoelectric point, acidic residue content, and especially peptide length vary more strongly among species and datasets. Structural prediction using AlphaFold2 indicated variable confidence across candidates, and transcriptomic analyses provided expression support for selected loci. Together, these results define a curated and biologically plausible set of small peptides and support a recurrent physicochemical profile for plant MIR-associated upstream peptides, consistent with potential interactions with negatively charged biomolecules and with the proposed roles in pri-miRNA regulation.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00923-3.</p>","PeriodicalId":520362,"journal":{"name":"Discover plants","volume":"3 1","pages":"456"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658374/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149187735","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}

{"title":"Assessing floral trait variation in <i>Platanthera dilatata</i> (<i>Orchidaceae</i>) across an elevational gradient.","authors":"Mortiz Plendl, Genevieve E van der Voort, Jasmine K Janes","doi":"10.1007/s44372-024-00071-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s44372-024-00071-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flower morphology often changes over altitude, although the patterns themselves can be variable, with flowers being either smaller or larger. Floral trait variation is often considered in the context of pollinator-mediated selection. However, other explanations, including underlying genetics and plasticity, resource availability and floral enemies have been proposed. Here, we assess 10 floral traits in <i>Platanthera dilatata</i> var. <i>dilatata</i> across an elevational gradient on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, to determine if floral traits vary with altitude. We find that floral traits are larger at the lowest elevation site. However, much of the floral trait variation appears to be driven by temperature, which is not necessarily correlated with the altitudinal gradient. Given the intrinsic link between climate and resource availability, we suggest that resource availability confers a local selection pressure on floral trait size that may be balanced at larger spatial scales by antagonistic pressure from shared pollinators. Direct investigations of the environmental and genetic factors driving floral trait variation are recommended.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44372-024-00071-6.</p>","PeriodicalId":520362,"journal":{"name":"Discover plants","volume":"1 1","pages":"63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11698401/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142934404","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}