Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that applies engineering principles to design and construct novel biological systems or organisms.  Initially focused on microbial systems, its applications have expanded to include plants.  Plant synthetic biology offers promising solutions to pressing global challenges in agriculture and human health.  As a staple crop for much of the world’s population and a model species in plant science, rice has emerged as a pivotal platform in this domain.  Significant progress has been achieved in genome engineering through multiplex genome editing, synthetic hybrid rice systems, induction of apomixis, reconstruction of photosynthesis and nitrogen-fixation pathways, and biosynthesis of micronutrients, pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic proteins or peptides.  This review summarizes recent advances in rice synthetic biology, outlines current developments, and discusses future research directions.

Piperazine is a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound that is commonly used as an intermediate linking group in the structural derivation of compounds.  Heterocyclic drugs containing piperazine have many commercial uses in medicine and are also used in pesticides.  For example, the piperazine ring is a key structural element of the systemic fungicide Triforine.  Piperazine is an attractive option because of its low acute toxicity to mammals, and it has become one of the hotspots of heterocyclic pesticide research in recent years.  The pesticidal activity and mechanism of piperazine derivatives have been studied extensively.  Herein, a comprehensive review of the research on the pesticidal bioactivity and mechanism of action of piperazine derivatives from 1971 to 2025 is presented.  The agriculturally relevant antifungal, insecticidal, anti-plant virus, herbicidal, acaricidal, and antibacterial activities are discussed and the molecular mechanism of action of related piperazine derivatives is summarized.  In addition, we also propose the future derivation direction of piperazine structures and look forward to the development of the anti-plant virus and anti-bacterial action mechanisms.

Modern agriculture faces unprecedented challenges: A growing global population, limited arable land, freshwater scarcity, and inefficient agrochemical use have triggered severe environmental degradation.  Pollutants including pesticides, heavy metals, microplastics, antibiotics, nutrient runoff, and greenhouse gases threaten ecosystem stability, food security, and human health.  Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with their tunable structures, high porosity, and versatile functionality, emerge as promising materials to address these issues.  This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in MOFs-based solutions for agriculture.  It covers green synthesis strategies to enhance structural stability and promote circular economy principles.  Applications span three primary domains: pollutant remediation, sustainable technologies (e.g., atmospheric water harvesting, seawater desalination, and green ammonia synthesis), and smart agricultural systems.  The latter enables controlled agrochemical release and real-time sensing and monitoring.  Finally, challenges - such as high costs, biosafety concerns, and scalability limitations - are discussed, alongside forward-looking perspectives including AI-assisted design, improved recyclability, scalable production, and multifunctional integration toward green and smart agriculture.

Wheat is a staple cereal crop that is crucial for food security and human health.  Improving wheat quality has become an essential task for allowing breeders to meet escalating market demand.  In this study, a set of wheat–Aegilops tauschii introgression lines was developed from a cross between the high-yielding wheat variety Jimai 22 and Ae. tauschii Y215.  A high-density genetic map containing 2,727 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was constructed using a 55K SNP array, and it was used to conduct a quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis for grain quality-related traits.  Eight QTLs were identified for grain protein content (GPC), starch content, and wet gluten content in two environments.  Among them, a major and environmentally stable QTL for GPC, qGPC4D, was identified, with favorable alleles contributed by Ae. tauschii Y215.  Subsequently, qGPC4D was narrowed down to a 9.88 Mb physical interval through further fine mapping utilizing the introgression lines.  In addition, three linked SNP of qGPC4D were converted into high-throughput kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers and validated in the introgression population.  These findings offer promising candidate genes, elite introgression lines, and KASP markers for high-quality wheat breeding.  

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a globally significant crop that plays a crucial role in feeding the world’s growing population.  Among its various traits, plant height is particularly important as it affects yield, lodging resistance, ecological adaptability, and other important factors.  Traditional methods for measuring plant height often lack cost-efficiency and accuracy.  In this study, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was employed to collect point cloud data from 270 doubled haploid (DH) lines.  This innovative application of UAV-based LiDAR technology was explored for high-throughput phenotyping in maize breeding trials.  High-density genetic maps were constructed, and plant height was assessed at both single-plant and row scales across multiple developmental stages and genetic backgrounds.  The findings revealed that for many varieties and small areas, single-plant-scale estimation accuracy was superior to row-scale estimation, with R² values of 0.67 vs. 0.56 and RMSE values of 0.12 m vs. 0.17 m, respectively.  Two high-density genetic maps were constructed based on SNP markers.  In Sanya and Xinxiang, the F₁DH and F₂DH populations identified 12 and 20 QTLs (quantitative trait loci) for plant height, respectively.  This study successfully identified and validated QTLs associated with plant height, thereby revealing novel genetic loci and candidate genes.  This research highlights the potential of UAV-based remote sensing to advance precision agriculture by enabling efficient, large-scale phenotyping and gene discovery in maize breeding programs.

An efficient genome editing tool, the CRISPR/Cas12a system, has been used in research on plant functional genomics and the improvement of agronomic traits.  In this study, the CRISPR/Cas12a system was optimized by using the endogenous pGhαGloA promoter in cotton.  With this system, crRNAs were driven by the Pol II pGhaGloA promoter to construct the pGhRBE3-pGhαGloA-GhPGF vector and carry out genetic transformation.  The vector worked efficiently in all positive transgenic plants and the editing efficiencies at the crRNA1 and crRNA2 target sites were up to 93.37 and 88.24%, respectively.  This system had significantly higher editing efficiency than the pGhRBE3 system with a Pol III promoter-Ubi 6.7 promoter, indicating that the Pol II promoter is more suitable for expressing multiple sgRNAs or crRNAs than the Pol III promoter in cotton.  The vector mainly generated the editing type of fragment deletion, and the deletion sizes were in the range of 3–12 bp with the editing sites spanning the 14th to 29th bases downstream of the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM).  All the targeted mutation loci were stably inherited from the T₀ to T₂ generations, and three transgene-free lines with target site mutations in the GhPGF gene were obtained.  These glandless and gossypol-free (or low content) cotton germplasms will play a key role in healthy cottonseed oil/cake production.  Therefore, the CRISPR/Cas12a system driven by the pGhαGloA promoter can efficiently edit target genes in cotton, so it can provide a powerful tool for cotton functional genomics and genetic improvement.

Lignans are critical bioactive compounds in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), valued for their health benefits and industrial potential.  However, the genetic mechanisms underlying the lignan biosynthesis pathway remain poorly understood.  This study aimed to identify key quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with lignan content using 140 F₉ recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between the sesame cultivars Areum and Gomazou, and to develop molecular markers for breeding programs to enhance lignan content.  Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology was employed, combining single (ApeKI) and double-enzyme (PstI/MspI) digestions.  This approach provided comprehensive genome coverage and substantially improved the quality of the linkage map.  A total of 19 QTLs associated with lignan components, including oil-soluble and water-soluble lignans, were identified.  Among these, loci on chromosomes 6 and 11 exhibited high LOD scores of 17.8 (PVE 13.9%) and 51.5 (PVE 68.7%), respectively, for total lignan contents in seeds.  Two major QTLs, qLIGNAN6 and qLIGNAN11, were identified as key contributors to lignan content.  Significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to these QTLs were used to develop CAPS markers for potential application in marker-assisted selection (MAS).  These markers were validated in RILs and germplasm to evaluate beneficial allele stacking and gene pyramiding.  This study provides valuable genetic resources and molecular markers to facilitate the effective implementation of sesame breeding strategies to improve nutritional value.  The findings contribute to the development of sesame varieties with higher lignan content, supporting both health and industrial applications.  

This study examined the involvement of cytokinins in the process by which moderate water limitation (MWL) mediates nitrogen (N) remobilization from source to sink during the grain-filling phase in wheat.  Field experiments were performed using N application rates of low (LN), medium (MN), and high (HN).  Two soil moisture regimes were implemented for each N rate: conventional well-watered (CWW) and MWL post anthesis.  The MWL application optimized N, total free amino acids (FAA), and trans-zeatin (Z)+trans-zeatin riboside (ZR) reallocation from the source organs (stems and leaves) to the sink organ (spikes) in wheat.  Compared to those in the CWW regime, the activities of proteolytic enzymes, including endopeptidase, carboxypeptidase, and aminopeptidase within stems and leaves, and the expression levels of total FAA transporter genes in spikes were significantly elevated in the MWL regime, showing a close correlation with the Z+ZR levels in the spikes.  Application of kinetin to stems and leaves significantly inhibited proteolytic enzyme activities, promoting N retention in stems and leaves, decreasing N accumulation in the sink organ, and reducing the N harvest index.  In contrast, applying kinetin to spikes significantly upregulated expression levels of FAA transporter genes, reducing N retention in stems and leaves, increasing N accumulation in the sink organ, and raising the N harvest index.  Such facilitation induced by the MWL in the remobilization of N from source to sink was greater at HN than at LN or MN.  Results demonstrate that post-anthesis MWL can significantly intensify the remobilization of N from source to sink, while also synergistically enhancing grain yield and N use efficiency through strategically redistributing cytokinins (Z+ZR) between source and sink in wheat.