Plant–pathogen interactions are complex, multifaceted processes involving various participants, including insect vectors and parasitic plants, that play a crucial role in the spread of plant diseases.  This review explores the intricate relationships between plants, pathogens, and insect vectors, emphasizing these interactions’ ecological and epidemiological significance.  Insect vectors, such as aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies, and beetles, transmit various plant pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and phytoplasmas, through different mechanisms.  The transmission mode can be direct or indirect, continuous or discontinuous, depending on the biology of the pathogen and the insect vector.  We differentiate between noncirculative and circulative pathogen transmission pathways and describe how pathogen movement within insect bodies influences their ability to spread diseases to new plant hosts.  The impacts of these interactions extend beyond agricultural productivity to encompass significant economic losses, environmental challenges, and potential human health risks due to excessive use of chemical controls.  Understanding these complex dynamics is essential for designing effective disease management strategies and developing environmentally sustainable control measures.  This review synthesizes current knowledge on the transmission mechanisms, types of plant pathogens, and the consequences of insect-mediated disease spread, providing insights crucial for advancing plant protection and integrated pest management practices.

Food fraud is an increasingly prevalent deliberate act of deception for profit.  Hence, it is highly necessary to develop robust analytical methods to assess the authenticity of foods.  In recent years, the geographical origin authenticity of fruits has attracted considerable public concern.  The geographical origin of fruit is generally determined based on specific indicators such as elements, stable isotopes, and metabolites.  Many studies have demonstrated that mineral elements and stable isotope ratios are effective indicators for geographical origin authentication as they are directly related to the geographical environment.  Other techniques, such as spectroscopy and chromatography, also exhibit promising potential for fruit origin discrimination and authenticity assessment.  Omics technologies have emerged as a key approach for authenticating the geographical origin of fruit.  The integration of instrumental analysis techniques with machine learning enables high-precision discrimination of fruit geographical origin, and the growing trend toward combining multiple analytical techniques further enhances identification accuracy.  Commonly used methods for geographical origin authentication include linear techniques such as PCA, PLS-DA, and LDA.  Machine learning algorithms, including SVM, RF, and ANN, have also been applied to identify fruit origin with high accuracy.  Future developments in this field should prioritize the consideration of agricultural practices to ensure reliable and practical authentication.  

High-resistant starch rice is a valuable food for human health, especially for individuals with type 2 diabetes, as it supports effective blood sugar control and provides cardiovascular and intestinal benefits.  However, developing rice varieties with high resistant starch content remains a major challenge.  In this study, we identified a mutant, chalk2, with increased chalkiness from the mutant library of indica rice ZJ100.  The chalk2 mutants exhibited significantly higher amylose and protein contents, while total starch and lipid contents were reduced. Analysis of resistant starch in chalk2 revealed substantial increases in two resistant starch (RS) types RS2 and RS3.  Electron microscopy revealed abnormal starch granule development in the endosperm. The chalk2 mutant also showed reduced grain length, width, and thickness, as well as a decreased seed setting rate, which ultimately led to a significant reduction in grain yield.  Through physical localization, Mut-Map analysis, and transgene complementation, we found that SBEIIb was responsible for the chalk2 phynotypes, a member of the starch branching enzyme (SBE) family, specifically expressed in the endosperm.  Furthermore, the expression levels, enzyme activity, and protein abundance of SBEIIb were significantly reduced in chalk2 mutants.  These findings suggest that SBEIIb plays a crucial role in regulating the composition of starch and resistant starch formation in indica rice.

Filament-like plant proteins are intermediate filament proteins that play a major role in the development and growth of plants.  However, no studies have systematically identified or characterized the filament-like plant proteins (FPP) family in plants.  Fifty-nine FPP candidates were found in this study by analyzing the genomes of two dicots and four monocots.  Phylogenetic analysis and multicollinearity mapping showed the relatively conserved evolution of FPP genes in monocots.  In rice, eight OsFPPs were characterized and found to be induced or repressed by abiotic stresses.  Additional genetic evidence showed that OsFPP7-overexpressing rice exhibited increased sensitivity to abscisic acid during the germination stage, disrupted Na⁺/K⁺ homeostasis, and disrupted balance of reactive oxygen species during the seedling stage when exposed to salt stress.  Conversely, the knockout of osfpp7 alleviated abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity, safeguarded the antioxidant system and sodium ion transport system, and thus enhanced rice salt tolerance.  In the cytoskeleton, the functions of FPPs in controlling salt stress and plant stress tolerance mechanisms are all further elucidated by our findings.

Wheat grain morphology is an important breeding target considering its impact on yield and end-use properties.  However, the genetic basis of grain roundness, a major determinant of grain morphology, remains largely unexplored.  In this study, an F₂ and a recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations from Zhongkemai 138 (ZKM138)×Chinese Spring (CS) cross were employed to analyze the genetic basis of grain shape variation.  Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed according to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from bulked segregant exome sequencing (BSE-Seq) of F₂ and Wheat 55K SNP array data online, and then were used to construct two genetic maps of F₂ and RIL populations, spanning 148.89 cM (30 KASP markers) and 129.82 cM (25 KASP markers), respectively.  By the traditional QTL mapping method based on these two maps, a stable quantitative trait locus (QTL) for grain roundness (GR), QGr.cib-5A, could be repeatedly highlighted in the interval of 444.8-455.5 Mb on chromosome 5A.  Further conditional QTL mapping analysis revealed that grain width was the major contributor to GR at this locus.  Besides, the utilization of two tightly linked markers 5A4-15 and 55k-31 showed a 96.27% transmissibility of ZKM138-derived alleles in 134 ZKM138 derivatives alongside a 7.38% increase in GR, and a 65.19% distribution of worldwide varieties.  Finally, TraesCS5A02G236400, possibly encoding a hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein family protein, was deduced to be the candidate gene.  Collectively, these results provided the possibility of facilitating wheat grain shape improvement and enhancing wheat market value.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is a major oil crop worldwide that is vigorously promoted for cultivation in China.  Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development.  However, the agricultural soils in rapeseed planting areas often show either B deficiency or severe B deficiency.  Increasing the resistance to B deficiency is a pivotal goal in the breeding of rapeseed, yet the genetic basis for variations in B efficiency-related traits remains unclear.  In this study, a natural population with 391 rapeseed accessions and a nutrient solution system were used to investigate B efficiency-related traits, including relative root length (RRL), shoot dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), and B efficiency coefficient (BEC), all of which exhibited extensive phenotypic variations under B deficiency.  Through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of B efficiency-related traits using high-density SNP markers obtained from whole-genome resequencing, 106 significantly associated SNPs were identified by employing both the general linear model and the mixed linear model.  Among these SNP loci, two prominent SNP clusters were detected on chrA03: 14,087,835–14,764,672 and chrC03: 20,110,319–22,135,492 at low B levels across three repeated experiments of multiple traits.  Integrating those results with a transcriptome analysis, four genes exhibiting higher differentially expressed fold-change along with favorable haplotypes within the promoter or coding region, BnaA03g29020D, BnaA03g29440D, BnaC03g33010D, and BnaC03g34490D, were identified as candidate genes that could potentially be involved in efficient B utilization, and their favorable haplotypes were found to improve seedling growth and productivity under B deficiency.  Considering the lack of B mineral resources in China, the rapid and accurate identification of more B-efficient alleles and studying the genetic mechanism underlying crop responses to B deficiency have important theoretical and practical significance for cultivating B-efficient varieties and maintaining green, sustainable agriculture.

Chloroplast gene expression relies on nucleus-encoded factors for RNA metabolism processing, but the mechanisms under cold stress remain poorly understood.  In this study, we isolated and characterized a foxtail millet (Setaria italica) mutant, temperature-sensitive chlorophyll-deficient (sitcd1), which exhibited reduced chlorophyll content and abnormal chloroplasts, resulting in an albino phenotype during early leaf development at low temperatures (20°C during the day and 18°C at night).  Map-based cloning revealed that SiTCD1 encoded a P-type PPR protein localized in chloroplasts.  In sitcd1 background, transgenic lines of SiTCD1 overexpression appeared nearly normal green leaves under L20/D18 condition.  SiTCD1 was especially expressed in earlier development of leaves under low temperature.  Additionally, SiTCD1 directly bound to the plastid gene atpF in vitro, which might participate in the splicing of plastid gene atpF under low temperature.  RNA-seq indicated that the expression of genes related to metabolism (such as porphyrin, chlorophyll and glutathione metabolism), which required ATP for energy, was down-regulated in sitcd1, resulting in decreased chlorophyll content, GSH, and its redox couple (GSH/GSSG) at low temperature.  As sitcd1 exhibited more sensitive at the bud bursting stage than germination and seedling stage under cold stress, we identified two haplotypes of SiTCD1 (SiTCD1^Hap1 and SiTCD1^Hap2) in 195 accessions, and found that accessions carrying the SiTCD1^Hap2 allele were more tolerant to cold stress than those with the SiTCD1^Hap1 allele at the bud bursting stage.  In summary, our results suggest that SiTCD1 is essential for early chloroplast development under low temperature in foxtail millet.

Globally recurrent extreme high temperature (HT) events severely limit rice production.  This study investigated whether a controlled moderate soil drying (MD) could replace the conventional well-watered (WW) regime to more effectively mitigate HT stress on pistil fertilization in photo-thermosensitive genetic male-sterile (PTGMS) rice, and examined the role of brassinosteroids (BRs).  Two PTGMS rice varieties were cultivated under normal temperature (NT) and HT conditions, paired with WW and MD strategies during anthesis.  In the conventional WW regime, waterlogging reduced BR levels in roots and pistils due to excessive decomposition, weakening active water uptake driven by root activity and failing to alleviate transpiration-pulled passive water extraction hampered by restricted stomatal openings.  Thereby, it caused water imbalance in plants and weakened pistil function due to a suppressed ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle and hyperactive nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NOX) activity.  This exacerbated pistil fertilization impairment and hybrid seed yield loss under HT stress.  Conversely, by promoting BR synthesis and inhibiting its decomposition in roots and pistils, the MD strategy enhanced root activity and transpiration-driven water uptake.  It maintained plant water balance and supported pistil function by suppressing NOX activity and enhancing AsA-GSH cycle-driven redox homeostasis.  Thus, it mitigated HT-induced pistil fertilization impairment and hybrid seed yield loss.  The precise function of BRs in moderating the protective effects of MD against the detrimental impacts of HT stress on pistil fertilization in PTGMS rice was confirmed through genetic and chemical approaches.  Consequently, a controlled MD method proved more effective than the conventional WW regime in alleviating HT stress on pistil fertilization in PTGMS rice by promoting BR enhancement.

Single-time fertilization (STF) with controlled release blended fertilizer (CRBF) improves grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice production.  However, the impact of soil nitrogen (N) distribution and root growth on rice yield and NUE under STF with CRBF remains unclear.  Here, a two-year field experiment investigated the effects of two fertilizer types (normal urea (U) and CRBF) and two single-time fertilization methods (broadcast and side-deep fertilization) on the soil N distribution, plant N uptake, root characteristics, grain yield, and NUE.  The results showed that CRBF under STF increased the averages of plant dry matter accumulation, N uptake, grain yield, nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE), and nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) by 8.29, 21.85, 10.57, 79.28, and 74.8% compared to the other treatments, respectively.  Side-deep fertilization with CRBF further increased NUE by 12.78% compared to broadcast.  Moreover, CRBF under STF increased the leaf SPAD value and glutamine synthetase (GS)/glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) activity by 5.93 and 25.58%, respectively.  CRBF under STF increased the soil inorganic N concentration and showed a “rising early and stabilizing later” pattern.  In addition, CRBF under STF improved rice root growth and increased the averages of root biomass, total root number, root average diameter, total root length, total root surface area, and total root volume by 28.30, 28.56, 18.64, 13.38, 35.26, and 37.06%, respectively, at the tillering and heading stages.  Partial least squares path modeling indicated that CRBF under STF increased the soil inorganic N concentration which improved root morphology, thereby increasing N uptake and improving the rice yield and NUE.  Taken together, our findings show that CRBF with single-time fertilization is the preferred N fertilizer strategy for achieving high yield and efficiency in rice, and that side-deep fertilization is the optimal fertilization method.

The application of slow-controlled release fertilizer is a simple and labor-saving cultivation technology that can improve the yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of wheat, although research on the impact of a single application of controlled-release nitrogen (N) fertilizers with different release periods on wheat grain quality is still limited.  In this study, urease inhibitor urea (AHA), sulfur-coated urea (SCU), a combination of SCU and AHA fertilizer (BSAF) and blended slow-controlled release fertilizer (BRNF) were used to investigate the effect of slow-controlled release fertilizers on the nutrient release, grain yield, NUE, and protein content of soft wheat.  The goal was to determine the effect of a one-time application of controlled release fertilizer on wheat grain yield and protein content and its underlying mechanisms.  The results showed that the different slow-controlled release fertilizer treatments had significantly different N release rates.  AHA presented a fast release mode, while SCU and BSAF presented slow-release modes, and BRNF presented a controlled release mode.  Compared with CK, BRNF increased grain yield and reduced the protein content of soft wheat, with an average increase of 6.73% in grain yield and a reduction of 1.85% in protein content.  The higher N absorption of BRNF led to greater NUE, N agronomic efficiency (NAE) and N apparent recovery fraction (NRF).  However, AHA, SCU and BSAF all showed the opposite trend.  Compared with CK, BRNF improved post-anthesis dry matter accumulation (PDMA) and the contribution rate of dry matter accumulated post-anthesis to the grain (CDA), while reducing post-anthesis N accumulation (PNA) and the contribution rate of post-anthesis N accumulation to grain (CNA).  The main reasons for the improvement in yield and reduction in protein content were related to the increases in PDMA and CDA, and the reductions in PNA and CNA, respectively.  Therefore, BRNF is an effective agronomic strategy for promoting the coordination of grain yield and quality in soft wheat.

The effects of maize straw return and N fertilizer application on soil quality and crop yield have been extensively investigated.  However, the effects of different amounts of maize straw returned to the field with different nitrogen application rates on the soil–crop system quality, abundance of functional N cycle microorganisms, N₂O emissions, and crop N nutrition status of crops have not been thoroughly explored.  The objective of this study was to assess the effects of different summer maize straw return rates and N application rates on i) soil quality and crop productivity; ii) the community of N cycle functional microorganisms and N₂O emission; and iii) crop N status.  The results indicated that crop yields increased by 7.62 to 12.69% at 210 kg ha^–1 of N application for full straw return (SN) and half return (1/2SN) compared to the no-return treatment (CK).  No significant difference was noted in the yields between the full straw return reduced by 15% (178.5 kg N ha^–1) of N fertilizer (S-15%N) and SN.  The surface soil layer (0–20 cm) showed significantly higher levels of soil organic matter (SOM), the community of N-cycling functional microorganisms, crop N nutrition status and N uptake efficiency in SN, 1/2SN, and S-15%N as compared to other treatments.  Compared to SN, S-15%N and 1/2SN reduced cumulative N₂O emission fluxes by 19.11 and 5.51%, respectively.  Furthermore, the nitrogen nutrient index (NNI) values of 1/2SN and S-15%N were closer to the critical N requirement than SN.  In summary, schemes for determining the optimal rates of straw return and N application (1/2SN and S-15%N) based on SOM, NNI, cumulative N₂O emission fluxes, and yield can be applied to the annual production of winter wheat and summer maize in China.

Water-driven crop simulation models are commonly employed to evaluate crop yields and irrigation management strategies to improve agricultural water productivity.  Well-tested models can serve as powerful tools for guiding agricultural practices.  The objective of this study was to assess the capability of the AquaCrop model for simulation of cotton transpiration and water use under drip irrigation conditions comparing with field sap flow measurements.  A two-year field experiment (2020-2021) in cotton was conducted in Xinjiang China including two row spacing and two topping methods.  The model adequately estimated canopy cover with a normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of less than 5% and a model efficiency (EF) close to 1.  The model estimation of transpiration obtained a good agreement with sap flow measurements (nRMSE=22.4%) across all years and treatments.  The model simulated water use efficiency (WUE, 4.42 g m^-2 mm^-1) of cotton were lower than those calculated from actual measurements with WUE of 4.79 g m^-2 mm^-1.  The estimated transpiration was slightly higher than that measured using sap flow meter due to an 11.5% of overestimation for crop coefficient in the model when cotton grew in short and dense canopy structure under drip irrigation and plastic film cover conditions.  Air temperature, vapor pressure difference and radiation had positive effects on cotton transpiration while humidity had negative effects.  The model could capture the trends of transpiration with climate factors, but the climatic effects were stronger than that of sap flow.  In conclusion, AquaCrop model is useful tool in optimizing cotton irrigation strategies.

Chloroplasts are important organelles for photosynthesis, which is essential for increasing the yields of pak choi.  In this study, we evaluated a delayed chloroplast development mutant ‘M136’ identified during self-crossing of the pak choi inbred line ‘136’.  The young true leaves of ‘M136’ were yellow and gradually turned green with maturation.  Chloroplast development, pigment contents, and photosynthetic parameters were impaired and gradually recovered with growth in ‘M136’, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were also impaired in ‘M136’.  Genetic analysis and bulk segregant analysis (BSA)-seq revealed that the mutant phenotype was controlled by a single recessive gene, identified as BraA06g011520.3.5C (BrECB2), which encodes a DYW-type pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein.  In ‘M136’, a T-to-C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 4th PPR motif of BrECB2 caused a threonine-to-isoleucine amino acid substitution.  BrECB2 was mainly expressed in young leaves.  The chloroplast RNA editing efficiency of ‘M136’ was affected and significantly recovered after the leaves turned green, and the editing efficiency was partially restored in complementation lines.  The plastid-encoded RNA polymerase activity was not affected in ‘M136’.  Functional complementation analyses revealed that the transient overexpression of BrECB2 partially rescued the mutant phenotype and the RNA editing efficiency in ‘M136’.  In summary, this study indicates that BrECB2 is involved in early chloroplast development and RNA editing, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the regulatory network involved in chloroplast development in pak choi.

Leaf color directly affects the appearance quality and nutritional quality of leafy vegetables, thereby determining their economic value.  Here, we identified a golden leaf mutant, Mut298, from an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutant library of Chinese cabbage.  Through the approach of forward genetics, it has been demonstrated that the phenotype of Mut298 is due to a single nucleotide substitution from C to T that changes glycine to arginine in the conserved domain of BrPRPL1, which encodes the large subunit ribosomal protein L1 of the chloroplast.  Because the PRPL1 mutation causes embryonic lethality in Arabidopsis, the function of PRPL1 in leaf development remains elusive.  In this study, the mutation of BrPRPL1 causes a substantial reduction in the expression of key chloroplast-encoded proteins (RbcL, PsaA, and PsaB) and disrupts chloroplast development.  Moreover, the chlorophyll content and photosynthetic parameters are significantly lower in Mut298 plants than in wild-type plants, resulting in golden yellow leaves in Chinese cabbage.  This study reveals the impact of PRPL1 mutation on ribosome translation within chloroplasts and provides a theoretical a foundation for future research into the regulatory roles of PRPL1 in plant growth and development.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a major vegetable crop worldwide, and its yield and quality are closely linked to flower development.  AGAMOUS-LIKE 6 (AGL6), a member of the ancient MADS-box transcription factor family, plays a crucial role in flower development.  However, the specific functions of its homolog in cucumber remain poorly understood.  In this study, we demonstrate that CsAGL6 is predominantly expressed in flowers, with high expression levels observed in all floral organ primordia during the early stages of floral development.  The petals of Csagl6 mutants exhibit a greener color compared to wild-type plants, along with a significant increase in total chlorophyll content.  Additionally, the mutants show abnormal petal morphology, including changes in size and shape, as well as enlarged sepals resembling leaves occasionally.  Molecular analysis reveals that CAULIFLOWER (CAL) and the E-class gene SEPALLATA 4 (SEP4) are significantly downregulated in the mutants, while the chlorophyll synthesis gene Early Light-Induced Protein 1 (ELIP1) and several stress-related genes in the chloroplasts are dramatically upregulated.  Our findings provide novel insights into the functional role of CsAGL6 in regulating sepal and petal development, and offer a potential avenue for understanding the genetic control of flower pigmentation and organ morphology in Cucumis species.

The evolutionary development of adventitious roots (ARs) in plants enhances their capacity to adapt to various stress conditions.  A thorough analysis of the influencing factors in their morphological construction holds significant theoretical value and practical guidance for overcoming rooting obstacles in cuttings, as well as for cultivating superior varieties characterized by broad adaptability and stress resistance.  In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of ARs in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by performing transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq).  We analyzed the transcription profiles of relevant genes in the “Y962” strain, which exhibits spontaneous AR formation, and the “W961” strain, which does not form ARs.  Our findings indicate that the AR induction stage represents an active phase of development, during which we identified 1,676 overlapping genes across the three comparison groups, highlighting the most differentially expressed genes.  Functional enrichment analysis showed that they were most closely related to response to auxin, and were also dependent on the crosstalk between other hormones and carbohydrates.  Furthermore, through the measurement of endogenous auxin levels and the induction tests with exogenous auxin, it was established that the formation of ARs is closely linked to the accumulation and transport of auxin.  Notably, the auxin efflux SlPIN3, which was enriched in the auxin response pathway, exhibited significantly high expression during the induction phase of ARs.  The slpin3 mutant, generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 editing system, exhibited a significant reduction in the number of ARs, highlighting the close relationship between polar transport regulated by SlPIN3 and auxin-induced AR formation.  In summary, this study not only enriches the developmental network of AR formation in tomatoes with a wealth of data but also elucidates the potential mechanisms for promoting AR development by targeting SlPIN3.  

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of widely discovered non-coding RNAs in different organisms, but their biological functions are largely unknown, especially in plant–microbial interactions.  In this study, we identified an exonic circRNA (Che-circR2410) from the fungus Cochliobolus heterostrophus that, together with its corresponding linear RNA ChCYP51, synergistically regulates the virulence of C. heterostrophus to maize.  Further in situ hybridization and dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed the interaction between pathogenic circRNA Che-circR2410 and its cross-kingdom host target, zma-miR399e-5p.  Additionally, lesion areas caused by both the wild type C. heterostrophus and the circR2410 knock-out strain (ΔChcircR2410) showed no significant difference on the maize miR399e silencing mutant, providing support for the interaction between Che-circR2410 and zma-miR399e-5p.  Moreover, we found that zma-miR399e affects the expression of autophagy-related genes, regulating maize immunity.  Thus, our findings reveal a cross–kingdom interaction between the pathogenic exonic circRNA and host miRNA, modulating C. heterostrophus infection in maize.  This study broadens our understanding of the C. heterostrophus-maize interaction at the level of non-coding RNA.

Phytopathogenic fungi can weaken the effectiveness of antifungal chemicals from plants and artificial synthesis through a xenobiotic detoxification system.  Nevertheless, the transcription factors responsible for transcriptional activation of xenobiotic detoxification genes in phytopathogenic fungi are rarely reported.  Here, we show that a GATA transcription factor, SsGATA1, regulates the transcription of drug efflux pump genes, thus contributing to tolerance to various types of chemical fungicides, including propiconazole, caspofungin, and azoxystrobin in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.  Similarly, SsGATA1 also confers tolerance to isothiocyanate and flavonols, two compounds reported as broad-spectrum antifungal chemicals, by mediating the transcription of the isothiocyanate hydrolase SsSaxA.  Importantly, SsGATA1 positively regulates pathogenicity, which is attributed to the upregulation of hydrolases and SsSaxA during infection.  Furthermore, SsGATA1 is responsible for tolerance to several stresses.  Our findings demonstrate that SsGATA1 plays roles in multidrug resistance and pathogenicity by activating the transcription of hydrolases and xenobiotic detoxification genes.

The synergistic use of chemical pesticides and biological agents poses the fundamental challenge of balancing control efficacy with ecological safety.  In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising strategy for improving pesticide performance while reducing pesticide residues and alleviating environmental contamination.  Herein, we developed an efficient nano-pesticide based on star polycation (SPc) loaded with clothianidin, which was co-applied with a widely used parasitic wasp (Aphidius colemani) to achieve synergistic pest management.  SPc at the working concentration displayed no significant impact on the eclosion or survival of parasitic wasps, whereas the oral feeding of SPc at an extremely high concentration significantly up-regulated several genes related to ribosomal protein and energy metabolism, leading to metabolic imbalance and subsequent mortality of the parasitic wasps.  The SPc could load clothianidin via hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals forces, and this spontaneous complexation achieved a reduction in particle size from 6,554.87 to 467.84 nm.  Importantly, the clothianidin/SPc complex exhibited a 16–28% increase in insecticidal activity against green peach aphids (Myzus persicae), while showing minimal adverse impacts on the eclosion and parasitism of parasitic wasps.  Finally, co-application of the clothianidin/SPc complex with parasitic wasps achieved up to 80% mortality in green peach aphids, with the promising advantages of rapid pest suppression and sustainable control.  This study proposes a synergetic pest management strategy based on nano-pesticides and natural enemies, which is beneficial for maintaining long-term agricultural ecological balance.

The intelligent pest-monitoring light trap based on machine vision employs specific light spectra to attract pests, infrared heating to eliminate pests, and artificial intelligence models to recognize and count them.  Achieving optimal model performance requires a high-quality insect annotated dataset.  However, traditional manual annotation is expert-dependent, time-consuming, and inefficient for large-scale multi-class insect labeling.  This study establishes an efficient, few-shot learning approach to construct a large-scale light-trapped insect dataset through a two-stage annotation framework: detection followed by classification.  Specifically, a MLTIDD addresses scale and receptive field disparities between large and tiny insects.  Based on a fine-tuned Grounding DINO, SAM and SAHI are integrated to detect insects at multiple scales.  Subsequently, InsectSSRL, an iBOT-based self-supervised method, learns robust insect feature representations from the extensive set of unlabeled insect sub-images detected by MLTIDD.  It enhances feature extraction capability for insect sub-images through three proxy tasks.  This feature extractor supports a classification model to pre-classify insect sub-images.  Following expert correction, labels are traced back to original images to complete annotation work for the light-trapped insect dataset.  Experimental results demonstrate that under limited samples, MLTIDD achieved 79.6% average precision (AP)_50–95 and 90.8% average recall (AR), surpassing DINO by 7.0 and 4.7 percentage points.  InsectSSRL attained 85.87% top-1 accuracy in k-NN evaluation.  In few-shot classification, Swin-T pre-trained with InsectSSRL and fine-tuned on 5% of InsectID achieved 80.35% accuracy, exceeding iBOT by 2.08 and COCO-based transfer learning by 11.3 percentage points.  The proposed pipeline improved mAP_50–95 by 10.91 and AR by 8.26 percentage points compared to DINO and iBOT, while reducing expert annotation time by approximately 80% relative to manual labeling.

Geese, descendants of migratory birds, have preserved the distinct reproductive and lipid metabolism traits of their wild ancestors.  Therefore, compared to other poultry, geese have lower egg production ability and greater susceptibility to fatty liver.  Recent research underscores the impact of lipid metabolism disorders on female reproductive health.  In this context, we observed reproductive disorders (RD) and lipid metabolism anomalies in certain geese populations.  This study systematically elucidated the differences between RD and normal geese at various levels, including genomics, transcriptomics, bile acid metabolomics, and microbiomics, revealing the crucial role of microorganisms.  Our study provides a thorough examination of the ovarian anatomical, histological, and transcriptomic profiles between normal and RD geese.  Genomic analyses pinpoint mutations in genes associated with bile acid metabolism, highlighting their potential role in RD pathogenesis.  The genomic discoveries are substantiated by precise bile acid assays and ileum transcriptome analyses, which expose a significant disruption in bile acid absorption, activation of FXR, and an increase in serum chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) concentrations within RD geese.  Notably, 16S rRNA sequencing uncovers significantly greater beta diversity in the ileum microbiota of RD geese than in the normal group.  Both Wilcoxon rank sum test and LEfSe analyses highlighted a marked increase in Romboutsia abundance in RD geese.  Experimental cultivation of microbiota with CDCA supplementation confirms the impact of CDCA on Romboutsia lituseburensis proliferation.  Gavage experiments with R. lituseburensis elucidate its involvement in primary follicle reduction via immune-mediated pathways.  Collectively, our multifaceted analysis unravels the intricate involvement of Romboutsia in goose RD, offering insights from genetic, physiological, and microbial dimensions.  Our findings not only deepen understanding of the etiology of RD in geese but also suggest potential avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting bile acid metabolism and modulation of specific microbiota components.

The study goal was to determine the effects of sodium propionate (NaPr) during the postpartum period on lactation performance, milk fatty acid (FA) profile, blood metabolites, and fat mobilization.  This study selected 24 cows with the same parity (3), similar due date, and physical condition in the postpartum period and randomly allocated them into two groups.  The constituents of the two treatments were (1) a normal diet for the Control group and (2) a normal diet containing 246 g d^–1 of NaPr for the NaPr group.  This study demonstrated that supplementation of NaPr to dairy cows in the postpartum period had no significant impact on dry matter intake (DMI) and milk composition.  The milk proportions of 4:0, 8:0, 10:0, 13:0, 16:0, cis-10 15:1, cis-13, cis-16 22:2, total odd-chain FA, and de novo FA increased, and those of all remaining individual saturated fatty acids (SFA) and preformed FA decreased in cows fed NaPr vs. the Control diet.  Supplementing with NaPr significantly increased the concentrations of triglycerides (TG), glucose, and insulin in the plasma of cows.  This indicates that NaPr supplementation in the postpartum period provides energy for cows, which is beneficial for the body’s glucose and lipid balance.  The TG content, Perilipin-1 (PLIN1) protein expression, and orange-red lipid droplet deposition in adipose tissue were increased in cows fed NaPr vs. the Control diet.  The mRNA expression of ACCα and ACSS2 in adipose tissue was up-regulated, and the expression of CPT1A and CPT2 genes was down-regulated.  This indicates that dietary NaPr supplementation promotes the generation of acetyl CoA, thereby up-regulating the FA synthesis pathway and reducing FA oxidation.  In conclusion, dietary supplementation with NaPr promotes energy deposition, improves milk quality and fat accumulation, and alleviates negative energy balance (NEB) in postpartum dairy cattle.

Streptococcus suis has garnered increasing attention due to its implication in severe infections in both swine and humans, as well as its development of multidrug resistance.  The phenomenon of collateral sensitivity, whereby resistance to one antibiotic leads to increased sensitivity to another, provides new opportunities for mitigating the evolution of resistance.  In this study, we evolved resistance in S. suis to 11 clinically used antibiotics and characterized the resulting collateral sensitivity profiles, revealing a complex network of interactions.  Based on our findings, we identified dozens of such drug pairs and demonstrated collateral sensitivity to gamithromycin in ciprofloxacin-resistant S. suis both in vitro and in vivo.  Gamithromycin effectively limits the evolution of resistance and reduces the mutant selection window for ciprofloxacin-resistant S. suis strains.  Mechanistic studies indicated that the heightened sensitivity of ciprofloxacin-resistant S. suis to gamithromycin was associated with increased intracellular gamithromycin accumulation due to membrane potential alterations and reduced functions of proton motive force (PMF)-dependent efflux pumps.  Furthermore, collateral sensitivity-based treatments significantly resensitized ciprofloxacin-resistant S. suis strains to gamithromycin, resulting in superior efficacy, lower pharmacodynamic targets, and higher treatment success rates in a murine thigh infection model.  Our results indicate that gamithromycin sensitivity in S. suis is a collateral consequence of resistance to ciprofloxacin, providing valuable insight for the strategic design of collateral sensitivity-based antibiotic therapies for S. suis infections.

The Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in innate immunity by inducing antiviral proteins in response to interferon signals.  Marek’s disease virus (MDV), a member of the alphaherpesvirus family, exerts potent tumorigenic and immunosuppressive effects.  Recent studies have primarily focused on the tumorigenic mechanisms of MDV, and the mechanism of immune evasion has not been fully understood.  In this study, we showed that MDV reduced the production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) by inhibiting the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT1.  Using a dual-luciferase reporter system, we screened for viral proteins that significantly suppress interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) promoter activity.  Meq overexpression markedly reduced ISRE promoter activity and ISG expression, whereas infection with Meq-deficient MDV induced higher ISG production in vitro and in vivo than infection with wild-type MDV.  Meq also inhibited the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT1.  Further experiments showed that Meq interacted with JAK1 and tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) and thereby inhibited JAK1–STAT1 interactions.  Meq degraded TYK2 via a caspase-mediated pathway.  The Meq-deficient MDV mutant replicated less efficiently than the wild-type MDV, both in vitro and in vivo.  Collectively, these findings demonstrate that Meq played an immunosuppressive role in MDV by attenuating the JAK–STAT signaling pathway, which facilitated escape from innate immune surveillance mechanisms.

Long-term fertilization shapes the size and community composition of the soil food web by altering resource quantity and quality.  Previous studies have examined specific components; however, comprehensive effects on the entire food web and underlying mechanisms remain unclear.  In this study, a 30-year experiment in a rice–wheat cropping system was conducted to assess the effects of chemical fertilizer (NPK), manure (M), and their combination (NPKM), with unfertilized soil as the control.  Biomass or abundance across key taxonomic and functional groups - including microorganisms, protozoa, nematodes, mites, collembolans, enchytraeids, and earthworms - was measured, and nematode ecological indices were calculated to evaluate bottom-up and top-down regulatory influences.  Results showed that long-term fertilization increased resource inputs, thereby enhancing most functional groups.  M and NPKM outperformed NPK across most groups, with relative increases compared to NPK ranging from 20.69 to 972.52% under M (average: 241.62%) and from 26.55 to 792.30% under NPKM (average: 189.02%).  However, differences between M and NPKM were not significant, as high soil fertility diminished the divergence in their effects.  Strong evidence for bottom-up control was observed, supported by positive correlations among functional groups and by increases in the enrichment index (51.27 and 28.49%) and enrichment footprint (11.80 and 47.17%) under M and NPKM relative to NPK.  Partial least squares path modeling further confirmed that bottom-up forces predominantly determined food web structure and biomass.  These findings indicate that sustained organic inputs, particularly when integrated with mineral fertilizers, effectively enhance soil food web complexity and size primarily through bottom-up regulatory mechanisms.

The temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of soil organic carbon (SOC) is a critical parameter in SOC response models concerning climate warming, which governs both the direction and magnitude of soil carbon-climate feedback.  However, the relative importance of soil organic compounds in the regulation of the Q₁₀ remains unclear, partly due to the relative stability of SOC compounds.  Long-term different fertilization could change the quantity and quality of soil organic compounds.  Here, a 38-year fertilization experiment combined with pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was used to identify the effect of key soil organic compounds on the Q₁₀.  Five treatments were chosen: no fertilization (CK), nitrogen fertilization (N), N combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilization (NPK), manure (M), and NPK combined with manure (NPKM).  The results revealed that the Q₁₀ under M and NPKM were 1.59 and 1.66, respectively, which were significantly higher than those under CK (1.35), N (1.29), and NPK (1.36).  There was a positive linear relationship between the Q₁₀ and SOC (R²=0.76, P<0.01), whereby manure-enriched SOC is more vulnerable to decomposition under future warming.  Among the soil organic compounds, esters and phenols predominated, representing 30.30% and 18.83% of the composition, respectively.  Manure increased soil stable organic compounds relative to CK and chemical fertilizer.  The increased stable organic compounds under manure led to a high Q₁₀.  In addition to the positive effect of soil Alphaproteobacteria and pH on the Q₁₀, manure increased the Q₁₀ by increasing phenols and decreasing esters, whereas chemical fertilization did the opposite.  These findings first provide substantial evidence that soil organic compounds play an important role in the magnitude and mechanism of SOC response to climate change.  Manure-induced SOC, when compared to chemical fertilizers, conferred a heightened sensitivity to climate warming within agroecosystems.

Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) serves a crucial function in the formation and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC).  Although biochar amendment is recognized as a promising approach for enhancing SOC sequestration, its impact on MNC accumulation across the paddy soil profile remains uncertain.  Through a 4-year field experiment, this study examined the effect of biochar amendment on MNC accumulation across three soil layers (0–15, 15–30, and 30–45 cm) in a paddy soil profile by combining vertical soil profiling, microbial community dynamics, and biomarker analysis.  The results showed that biochar amendment reduced MNC by 10.5% (0–15 cm), 7.5% (15–30 cm), and 9.6% (30–45 cm), respectively, compared to the unamended control.  In the topsoil (0–15 cm), the reduction in MNC under biochar amendment was attributed to decreases in both fungal and bacterial necromass carbon (C), whereas in the subsoil (15–45 cm), it primarily resulted from the decrease in bacterial necromass C.  Biochar amendment reduced MNC content by decreasing microbial biomass and increasing nitrogen (N) acquisition enzyme activities, mainly due to a shift in the microbial community toward K-strategists and intensified microbial N limitation.  This study provides novel insights into the microbially-mediated SOC dynamics in response to biochar amendment.

Intercropping with leguminous green manure represents a sustainable approach to enhance agroecosystem resilience through improved soil fertility and resource-use efficiency.  However, the synergistic mechanisms between leguminous green manure intercropping and regulated deficit irrigation in maintaining maize yield stability and enhancing kernel profiles under arid conditions remain inadequately understood.  A three-year (2021–2023) split-plot field experiment incorporated main plots consisting of three green manure incorporation practices: full green manure incorporation (M||V-P), green manure stubble retention (M||V-R), and maize without green manure (maize sole cropping, SM); while split plots comprised three irrigation regimes: conventional (I3; 400 mm), 15% deficit (I2; 340 mm), and 30% deficit (I1; 280 mm).  The study examined maize grain yield, kernel quality (protein, fat, starch, and essential amino acid content), net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of maize, and soil nitrate-ammonium nitrogen content.  M||V-P and M||V-R increased maize grain yield compared to SM, with M||V-P producing 5.7% higher yields than M||V-R.  Notably, M||V-PI2 achieved comparable yield to M||V-PI3 while reducing irrigation by 15%, demonstrating an 18.3% yield increase over SMI3.  M||V-P and M||V-R enhanced kernel quality compared to SM, exhibiting higher protein, fat, starch, and essential amino acid content.  Decreased irrigation led to increased kernel protein content but reduced fat and starch contents.  The kernel protein content under M||V-PI2 showed no significant difference from M||V-PI1, while maintaining fat, starch, and essential amino acid content similar to M||V-PI3.  M||V-PI2 improved all kernel quality parameters relative to SMI3.  These enhancements primarily resulted from maize intercropped with leguminous green manure in combination with 15% deficit irrigation, which increased maize Pn by 14.3%, and elevated soil nitrate-ammonium nitrogen by 12.5 and 5.2%, respectively.  These findings demonstrate a scalable approach for sustainable maize production though the integration of leguminous green manure intercropping in water-limited regions.

Soil microbial response to warming may potentially contribute to the positive priming effect, i.e., accelerating the decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under the outsourced carbon (C) input.  Investigating microbiota that metabolize the outsourced C is essential to deciphering the mechanism of priming effect in response to warming and thus mitigating the SOC loss under warming climate.  In this work, we monitored the priming effect at 25°C, 35°C and 45°C over four weeks with weekly addition of 13C-glucose, and subsequently revealed microbial assemblage metabolizing glucose with the DNA stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) method.  Warming initially inhibited the priming effect, and decreased bacterial α-diversity, K/r-strategists ratio (K/r) and recalcitrant C/labile C gene ratio (R/L) in week 1, suggesting that at the onset of the outsourced C input, the increased proportion of r-strategists preferentially utilize the added glucose over SOC to meet their C and energy demands.  Yet, in week 4, positive priming effects were intensified by warming with up to 3.8-fold increase at 45°C.  Additionally, the primed C was positively correlated with K/r, R/L, and the abundances of chitin degradation genes in week 4.  These functions concurred with an increase in the abundance of resource-acquisition strategists such as Streptomyces affiliated to Actinobacteria under warming conditions over time.  From week 1 to 4, warming induced a distinctive change in glucose-assimilating bacterial community compositions with a particular decrease in the relative abundance of Actinobacteria while an enriched abundance of Chloroflexi.  Taken together, warming-triggered change of priming effect depended on alternation of microbiota and metabolic function over time.  These findings provide important insights of how warming mediates microbial metabolic use of fresh C and subsequent SOC mineralization, reflecting the positive feedback between soil C emission and climate warming.

The mineralization dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grasslands are crucial to terrestrial biogeochemical cycles.  However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying extracellular enzyme metabolism and microbial community structure during SOC mineralization across different carbon pools remain poorly understood.  In this study, a 553-day incubation experiment was conducted to examine temporal changes in CO₂ emissions, extracellular enzyme activities, microbial biomass, and microbial community composition in soils from both enclosed and grazed grasslands.  Using a three-pool model, SOC dynamics were quantified within active, slow, and passive carbon pools, revealing a shift in the dominance of mineralization from the active carbon pool to the passive carbon pool during the long-term carbon turnover, with differences observed across grassland management strategies.  Compared to grazed grasslands, enclosed grasslands exhibited an approximately 110% larger active carbon pool and higher initial SOC mineralization rates (significantly higher during the first 113 days), yet long-term microbial and enzymatic regulatory mechanisms - particularly shifts in microbial strategies, enzyme activity patterns, and their interactions with carbon pools - were similar across both management regimes.  The observed shifts in carbon pool dynamics were driven by enhanced microbial capacity to decompose passive carbon, associated with substantially increased oxidative enzyme production (e.g., mass-specific oxidase activity increased by 190.6% in enclosed soil and by 256.1% in grazed soil) and elevated nitrogen and phosphorus demands.  Notably, microbial communities shifted from fast-growing copiotrophic taxa (e.g., Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Ascomycota) to slower-growing oligotrophic taxa (e.g., Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Basidiomycota), with the oligotroph-to-copiotroph ratio increasing by 55.5–62.6% for bacteria and 96.9–247.5% for fungi.  These changes were closely linked to shifts in enzyme activity profiles and stoichiometric ratios.  Overall, this study provides mechanistic insights into how microbial ecological strategies and enzyme activities interact to regulate SOC mineralization across different pools under contrasting grassland management regimes.  These findings advance our understanding of SOC turnover and improve predictive capabilities for carbon cycling, with broader implications for global climate change feedbacks.

Cropland abandonment substantially affects food security and agricultural sustainability, yet comprehensive analyses of its dynamics in rapidly developing regions remain limited.  This study examines the spatiotemporal patterns, labor migration influences, and food security implications of cropland abandonment in China from 1992 to 2022.  The results show that abandonment progressed through four phases: slow growth, rapid increase, high-level fluctuation peaking at 3.98% in 2016, and gradual decline.  The research identified three primary abandonment patterns - single long-term (≥10 years), progressive degradation, and occasional (3–9 years) - with distinct spatial distributions.  Long-term abandonment concentrates in the marginal agricultural areas of southwestern mountainous regions, while occasional abandonment predominates in the more economically developed eastern coastal areas, and progressive degradation patterns appear in transitional zones between plains and mountains.  Labor migration influenced abandonment non-linearly with distinct regional thresholds.  Short-distance (within-county) migration reduced abandonment rates, while medium-distance (within-province) migration significantly increased them.  Although 57.50% of abandonment occurred on low-suitability land, 42.50% affected high-suitability cropland, resulting in peak potential grain losses of 15.0 and 8.8 million tonnes for low and high suitability land respectively in 2010.  These findings support regionally differentiated land management strategies that integrate land suitability assessments, labor migration patterns, and local socioeconomic conditions to ensure agricultural sustainability.

To analyze intra-household nutrient allocation, we examine the differences in expenditure elasticities across demographic groups within rural households, employing an asymmetric model along with data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 2004 to 2011.  Our analysis reveals significant heterogeneity in household nutrient allocation: during periods of expenditure expansion, households prioritize the nutritional intake of vulnerable members, specifically children and the elderly, often at the expense of prime-age adults, particularly women.  Conversely, during expenditure contraction, households shift strategies to protect the nutritional intake of prime-age adults.  This asymmetry underscores the complexity of intra-household distribution and provides critical insights for designing nutrition security policies that account for economic volatility.