Acta Physiologiae Plantarum最新文献

{"title":"Glutathione and salicylic acid combined application mitigates salt-induced damage during early seedling growth of rice through stomatal, oxidative, and carbonyl regulation","authors":"Mohammad Saidur Rhaman,&nbsp;Faruk Hossain Khan,&nbsp;Md. Asadulla Al Galib,&nbsp;Bir Jahangir Shirazy,&nbsp;Md. Anamul Hoque,&nbsp;Hamideh Ghaffari,&nbsp;Sajad Hussain,&nbsp;Marian Brestic,&nbsp;Yoshiyuki Murata","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03922-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03922-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Salt stress threatens global rice production by disrupting critical physiological processes, including stomatal dysfunction, thermal dysregulation, and excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive carbonyl species (RCS), culminating in severe oxidative damage. While glutathione (GSH) and salicylic acid (SA) are individually known to enhance salt tolerance, the potential effects of their combined application (GSH + SA) remain largely unexplored, particularly in relation to RCS-mediated salt damage in rice. Here, we investigated the protective efficacy of combined GSH (2 mM) and SA (1 mM) treatment against salt stress (150 mM NaCl) in rice seedlings, targeting growth, photosynthetic capacity, stomatal function, thermal regulation, and oxidative damage. Salt stress severely compromised plant performance, reducing root/shoot length and biomass while drastically increasing leaf temperature by 14.9%. Total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents decreased by 43.5% and 37.0%, respectively. In contrast, GSH + SA co-treatment alleviated these adverse effects, enhancing total chlorophyll and carotenoids by 20.4% and 21.1%, respectively, and lowering leaf temperature by 3.6%. The combined treatment also enhanced stomatal dimensions, increasing stomatal length and width by 8.4% and 22.7%, respectively. Furthermore, GSH + SA markedly reduced oxidative damage by lowering H₂O₂ and TBARS accumulation by 29.4% and 28.8%, respectively, and suppressing protein carbonylation by 30.9%. These findings indicate that the combined application of GSH and SA influences multiple salt stress-related pathways and may represent a promising approach for improving salt stress tolerance during early growth stages of rice under salt-affected agricultural conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coordinated root–shoot metabolic reprogramming underlies soybean genotypic variation in potassium utilization efficiency","authors":"Tantriani,&nbsp;Weiguo Cheng,&nbsp;Akira Oikawa,&nbsp;Ryosuke Sasaki,&nbsp;Benito Heru Purwanto,&nbsp;Takuro Shinano,&nbsp;Keitaro Tawaraya","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03929-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03929-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth, yet both deficiency and excess limit crop productivity. Understanding the metabolic mechanisms underlying genotypic variation in K utilization efficiency (KUE) is critical for improving soybean performance under variable K supply. We compared two soybean cultivars, <i>Glycine max</i> cv. Satonohohoemi (K-efficient) and Tachinagaha (K-sensitive), grown under 6, 60, and 120 mg L⁻¹ K, and performed untargeted CE-TOF-MS metabolomics of roots and shoots at 7 and 14 days after transplanting. Satonohohoemi maintained higher shoot biomass and KUE under K deficiency despite lower tissue K, demonstrating superior physiological efficiency. Metabolomic profiling revealed genotype-specific metabolic reprogramming: Satonohohoemi selectively activated nitrogen-associated amino-acid pathways, central carbon metabolism including TCA and glyoxylate cycles, and redox-related metabolites such as 5-oxoproline and trehalose-6-phosphate, whereas Tachinagaha exhibited widespread metabolite depletion under stress. Root metabolomes exhibited the greatest genotypic differentiation, with Satonohohoemi sustaining arginine/proline metabolism, nucleotide turnover, and central carbon flux, reflecting coordinated root–shoot integration. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that Satonohohoemi maintains conserved metabolic networks under both low and high K, underpinning its superior KUE. These findings reveal that KUE in soybean is driven by targeted, coordinated metabolic rewiring rather than broad metabolite accumulation, and identify potential metabolic biomarkers for screening K-efficient genotypes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grain metabolome shifts in spring wheat cultivars under contrasting salinity and photoperiods","authors":"Ekemini Edet Obok,&nbsp;Anthony Egryinya Eneji,&nbsp;Ping An","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03930-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03930-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Environmental stress negatively impacts grain yields, crucial for food security. Several studies have reported influences of salinity on shoots and roots metabolites in spring wheat, but there is a paucity of in-depth information on the extent of these influences on grain metabolome. This study examines metabolome changes in grains from two spring wheat cultivars, GS6058 (salt-sensitive) and JS7 (salt-tolerant), under varying salinity (0 and 80 mM NaCl) and photoperiods (22L:2D and 12L:12D). Results indicate that long light duration increases several yield parameters regardless of cultivar. Metabolomic analysis highlighted key metabolites, with amino acids and derivatives constituting the largest group. Twenty-two metabolites were significantly modified between conditions, influencing critical metabolic pathways related to sulphur, purine, and cysteine metabolism. Candidate biomarkers identified include L-cysteine and adenosine, which are implicated in salt and photoperiod adaptations. Our results also present a baseline information which could be useful in gene expression analysis to further understand the roles played by these candidate biomarkers in grain metabolome alterations under combined salinity and photoperiod effects.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Melatonin enhances drought resistance in maize via modulation of stomatal behavior, antioxidant system, and stress-responsive gene expression","authors":"Yuan Zhang,&nbsp;Yizhuo Zhang,&nbsp;Miao Wang,&nbsp;Tengao Xu,&nbsp;Hao Yang,&nbsp;Hui Liu,&nbsp;Wei Wang,&nbsp;Hui Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03937-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03937-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Under drought stress, maize growth is severely inhibited or even arrested. Melatonin (MT), a pleiotropic signaling molecule, has been shown to play important roles in abiotic stress responses; however, its underlying mechanisms in maize drought resistance remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the physiological and molecular responses caused by exogenous MT treatment in maize seedlings under drought stress. Root irrigation with 50 µM MT significantly alleviated drought-induced growth inhibition, as evidenced by improved plant architecture, increased biomass accumulation, and enhanced relative water content. MT treatment markedly suppressed malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, indicating reduced membrane lipid peroxidation. Photosynthetic parameters, including chlorophyll content and PSII maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), were significantly preserved under drought stress following MT application. MT treatment was associated with lower stomatal density, reduced leaf water loss, enhanced antioxidative enzyme activities, and decreased ROS accumulation under drought stress. RNA-seq analysis identified 4,720 up regulated and 3,099 down regulated genes in MT-treated plants under drought conditions, with these genes mainly enriched in RNA modification, photosynthesis, protein phosphorylation, and stress-related processes. Nine candidate genes were further validated by qRT-PCR as MT-responsive genes in drought-treated samples, including <i>ZmSLAH3</i>, <i>ZmPRX2</i>, <i>ZmNAC127</i>, <i>ZmMYB41</i>, <i>ZmWRKY43</i>, and <i>ZmbHLH20</i>. These findings suggest that MT alleviated drought stress-induced growth inhibition in maize, enhanced antioxidative enzyme activities and activated drought stress-responsive gene expression, thereby improving drought resistance and providing novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of MT-mediated stress resistance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-trait plant growth-promoting endophytic fusarium proliferatum from phoenix dactylifera enhanced wheat growth under drought stress condition","authors":"Salman Khan,&nbsp;Khalil Ur Rahman,&nbsp;Nida Karishma,&nbsp;Mamoona Rauf,&nbsp;Humaira Gul,&nbsp;Muhammad Hamayun,&nbsp;Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei,&nbsp;Faheem Anwar,&nbsp;Sajid Ali,&nbsp;Muhammad Arif","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03936-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03936-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the isolation and characterization of multi-trait growth-promoting fungal endophytes from <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> (date palm) roots and evaluates their potential as biofertilizers. Six distinct fungi were isolated, and their metabolic profiles were analyzed. Among these, DT-2, identified as <i>Fusarium proliferatum</i>, exhibited superior production of secondary metabolites, including 45.86 µg/mL indole acetic acid (IAA), 260.3 µg/mL flavonoids, 179.6 µg/mL phenolics, and 15.4 µg/mL proline. Inoculation of wheat seeds with DT-2 enhanced seed germination, root and shoot growth, and increased fresh weights (root: 1.73 g; shoot: 5.90 g). Additionally, DT-2 demonstrated the highest levels of secondary metabolites and photosynthetic pigments among the isolates. DT-2 was also found to enhance wheat's drought stress tolerance significantly. Under PEG-induced stress, DT-2-inoculated plants showed increased levels of beneficial hormones and antioxidants, demonstrating DT-2’s capacity to boost wheat resilience against drought by modulating key metabolic pathways. These findings highlight the potential of multi-trait plant growth-promoting <i>Fusarium proliferatum</i> as an effective biofertilizer, promoting plant growth and improving crop performance under drought stress conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148349839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptome sequencing provides new insight into the biosynthesis pathway of pigments in stems of Gastrodia elata","authors":"Shanshan Luo,&nbsp;Linshuang Tang,&nbsp;Mingyan Tan,&nbsp;Xinyun Liu,&nbsp;Xiaofeng Wang,&nbsp;Bin He,&nbsp;Mingjin Huang","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03918-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03918-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Key message</h3><p><b>This study provides the first integrated analysis of chlorophyll, carotenoid, and anthocyanin pathways underlying stem color differentiation in</b> <b><i>G. elata</i></b><b>, identifying</b> <b><i>PSY</i></b> <b>and</b> <i>F3’H</i> <b>as key candidate genes for color regulation in this mycoheterotrophic orchid.</b></p><h3>Abstract</h3><p><i>Gastrodia elata</i> is a mycoheterotrophic orchid of medicinal and economic value, yet the molecular basis of its stem color variation remains poorly understood. Here, pigment quantification, non-targeted metabolomics, and comparative transcriptomics were integrated to investigate stem color differentiation between green <i>G. elata</i> (GG) and red <i>G. elata</i> (RG). Pigment analysis revealed significantly higher total chlorophyll in GG (9.202 μg g⁻¹ DW vs. 1.59 μg g⁻¹ DW in RG), with a low chlorophyll a/b ratio (0.177) and predominance of chlorophyll b contributing to its yellow-green appearance. In contrast, total carotenoid content in RG was 1.78 times that in GG, with β-carotene levels 3.2-fold higher, primarily accounting for the orange-red coloration. Metabolomic profiling identified 21 anthocyanin compounds in both varieties, dominated by cyanidin derivatives. Transcriptome analysis identified 134 differentially expressed genes, with KEGG enrichment in carotenoid biosynthesis, porphyrin metabolism, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways. Key candidate genes included phytoene synthase (<i>PSY</i>, <i>Gae_04381</i>), which showed higher expression in RG, and flavonoid 3’-hydroxylase (<i>F3’H</i>, <i>Gae_15605</i>), the only gene with statistically significant differential expression (P &lt; 0.05, ~ threefold higher in RG). qRT-PCR validation confirmed RNA-seq reliability. These findings demonstrate that stem coloration in G. elata is co-regulated by chlorophyll, carotenoid, and anthocyanin, and provide candidate genes for marker-assisted breeding of specific color varieties.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptional and biochemical responses of wheat seedlings to trimethylamine N-oxide under drought stress","authors":"Dursun Kısa","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03928-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03928-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Drought stress is a major environmental constraint that severely limits wheat productivity worldwide. This study investigated the effects of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a novel osmolyte, on the transcriptional and physiological responses of wheat seedlings subjected to drought stress. This work provides evidence for endogenous TMAO accumulation in wheat seedlings subjected to drought stress in the absence of exogenous application. Transcriptional analyses revealed that the expression of key stress-responsive genes, including <i>DREB</i>,<i> DHN</i>,<i> PAL</i>, and <i>APX</i>, was upregulated in response to drought stress and TMAO applications. Metabolite profiling revealed that benzoic acid and salicylic acid accumulated under drought stress, with TMAO treatment modulating their levels in a stress intensity–dependent manner. Consistently, proline content was elevated under drought stress and further increased by TMAO treatment, whereas drought-induced lipid peroxidation, as indicated by malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, was significantly reduced by the osmolyte. Notably, both moderate and severe drought stress elicited distinct transcriptional, phenolic, and antioxidant responses, reflecting stress intensity–dependent regulation. Collectively, these findings suggest that TMAO mitigates drought-induced damage by contributing to protein stability and cellular homeostasis, thereby modulating molecular and biochemical pathways associated with stress tolerance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11738-026-03928-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taurine enhances cadmium tolerance in maize in association with antioxidant defence and mitochondrial-related gene expression","authors":"Mucip Genisel,&nbsp;Medine Sipak,&nbsp;Kenan Karagoz","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03931-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03931-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils restricts crop productivity by disturbing cellular redox homeostasis and metabolism. The present study assessed whether taurine mitigates Cd-induced toxicity in hydroponically grown maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L., cv. Hido) seedlings exposed to 100 µM Cd in the presence or absence of taurine supplementation. Cd stress significantly reduced root and shoot development, pigment levels, soluble protein content, and several antioxidative enzyme activities, and was accompanied by elevated ROS accumulation and increased membrane lipid peroxidation. Taurine alleviated these effects by promoting growth recovery, maintaining pigment and protein status, and strengthening antioxidant capacity through higher SOD, CAT, APX and GR activities together with improved ascorbate–glutathione levels; this response was accompanied by lower ROS accumulation and membrane lipid peroxidation. Gene expression analysis showed that Cd exposure upregulated cytochrome c oxidase 19 (<i>COX19</i>) and alternative oxidase (<i>AOX</i>), indicating a stress-associated transcriptional response involving mitochondrial-related genes. Taurine further enhanced their expression, suggesting a taurine-associated mitochondrial-related transcriptional response under Cd stress. Taurine also significantly reduced Cd accumulation in both roots and shoots. The limited change in the translocation factor suggests that this effect was primarily associated with reduced Cd uptake, with only minor changes in root-to-shoot translocation. These findings indicate that taurine-mediated Cd tolerance involves changes in antioxidant defence, mitochondrial-related gene expression, cellular redox status, and reduced Cd accumulation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11738-026-03931-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Severe drought stress strongly impacts physiological and morphoanatomical traits of soybean cultivars during vegetative stage","authors":"Mauriana da Rocha Sobrinho,&nbsp;Niedja Bezerra Costa,&nbsp;Diego Pereira Santos,&nbsp;Diego Silva Batista,&nbsp;Fábio Afonso Mazzei Moura de Assis Figueiredo,&nbsp;Sérgio Heitor Sousa Felipe,&nbsp;Francisco Eduardo Aragão Catunda Jr.,&nbsp;Jailma Ribeiro de Andrade,&nbsp;Sebastião de Oliveira Maia Jr.,&nbsp;Thais Roseli Corrêa,&nbsp;Paulo Henrique Aragão Catunda,&nbsp;Fabrício de Oliveira Reis,&nbsp;Tiago Massi Ferraz","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03921-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03921-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Several studies have investigated soybean response to drought, revealing significant changes in different physiological and anatomical traits. Investigating how plants respond to regulated deficits can help optimize water use efficiency and shed light on their tolerance and sensitivity to water stress at different phenological stages. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of water stress during the vegetative stages on the morphophysiological and water status characteristics of soybean cultivar. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the State University of Maranhão. A completely randomized design with four irrigation levels: 100% field capacity (FC) (control), 75% FC, 50% FC, and 25% FC, and 20 replicates were used. Growth variables, physiological parameters, water-related parameters, and root, stem, and leaf anatomy were evaluated. Interaction was observed between water levels and assessment times for plant height and stem diameter growth rates. There was a significant reduction in gas exchange over time, with the greatest decline at 81 days after planting (DAP). The 25% FC treatment had the most pronounced effect on the photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation (<i>A</i>), stomatal conductance (<i>g</i>_<i>s</i>), transpiration (<i>E</i>), and carboxylation efficiency (CE), with reductions of 55, 72, 53, and 60%, respectively, compared to the control, at 80 DAP. Anatomical analysis revealed adaptations in the 25% FC treatment, characterized by increased stem sclerenchyma thickness and smaller root xylem vessel diameter. Plants in the 75% FC treatment showed similar responses to the control, demonstrating that this water regime did not compromise the growth and development of BRS Tracajá soybean plants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11738-026-03921-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Underlying physiological mechanism and expression analysis of important genes associated with extended shelf-life in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)","authors":"Pyla Suresh,&nbsp;Khushboo Kumari,&nbsp;Malatesha Kenchikoppa,&nbsp;Laxman Nandi,&nbsp;A. D. Munshi,&nbsp;G. Boopalakrishnan,&nbsp;S. Gopala Krishnan,&nbsp;Naresh Kumar Soora,&nbsp;T. K. Behera,&nbsp;S. S. Dey","doi":"10.1007/s11738-026-03920-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11738-026-03920-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cucumber is one of the most important vegetable crops cultivated worldwide. The fruits are highly perishable and become unfit for consumption within 2–3 days of harvesting when stored under ambient conditions. Understanding the physio-chemical basis of extended shelf-life and associated molecular mechanisms was the main objective of the present study. Seven diverse genotypes for shelf-life-related traits were investigated for important physio-chemical characteristics and expression of the essential genes at different developmental stages. The natural variant, DC-48, had an extended shelf life and can be stored for 10–15 days under room temperature. In contrast, the genotype with poor shelf-life, DC-83, become unfit for consumption within 2–3 days after harvesting under room temperature. Photosynthetic activities, physiological loss in weight (PLW), fruit firmness, change in pH of the fruits and chlorophyll content in the leaves and fruits were estimated. Expression analysis of selected genes associated with cell wall modification, ethylene and cytokine biosynthesis were also investigated at 5 different developmental stages of the fruits. Photosynthetic rates were higher in the genotype with extended shelf-life, indicating its role in maintaining the cell wall integrity. However, the retention of the green colour of the fruits was not associated with the photosynthetic rate. Lower PLW, greater fruit firmness and minor changes in pH of the fruits were recorded in fruits with higher shelf-life. Significantly higher expression of the cell wall degradation genes except for <i>Xyloglucan endonuclease</i> with the development of the fruits was recorded in the genotypes with poor shelf-life. More robust expression of the cytokinin biosynthesis genes like <i>IPT</i>, <i>cytokinin oxidase 1</i> and <i>cytokinin dehydrogenase</i> in the genotype with poor shelf-life indicated the absence of correlation of this unique trait with the functional stay-green trait. Higher expression of the ethylene biosynthesis genes was recorded in the genotypes with poorer shelf-life. The nature of the photosynthesis rate, chlorophyll content and expression of the cytokine pathway genes indicated the cosmetic nature of the novel type of stay-green trait of the fruits after harvest. Differential expression of cell wall modification genes in combination with the lower chlorophyll catalytic activities were the principal factors associated with extended shelf-life in cucumbers. This study provides a solid foundation for understanding the role of physio-chemical traits and critical genes related to extended shelf-life in cucumber genotypes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6973,"journal":{"name":"Acta Physiologiae Plantarum","volume":"48 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}