To explore the structural differences of 1RS arms in wheat-rye 1BL·1RS translocation cultivars (lines), the 1BL·1RS translocation cultivar Nanmai 618 was used as parent to hybridize with 13 1BL·1RS translocation cultivars (lines), including Aikang 58, Chuannong 17 and Lankao Aizao 8, as well as the 7DL·1RS translocation cultivar Lumai 8. A total of 14 types of F₁ plants were obtained. High-GC content oligonucleotide probes (Oligo-119.2-2, 200G, 250G) and high-AT content oligonucleotide probes (Oligo-119.2-3, 200T, 250T) were designed based on the tandem repeats pSc119.2, pSc200, and pSc250. These probes were used in non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) analysis for identifying the metaphase chromosomes of root tips from these F₁ plants. The results showed that, except for Oligo-119.2-3 which produced no signal, the other five probes generated signals with varying intensities on 1RS chromosome arms from different sources. The signal intensities of probes 200G and 200T on 1RS exhibited consistent variation trends, while the variations reflected by 250G and 250T were inconsistent. For example, 250T showed distinct signal intensities on 1RS from different sources, whereas 250G displayed similar signal intensities on the corresponding 1RS arms. These findings indicated that there were differences in the GC and AT base contents of the pSc250 tandem repeated family in 1RS among different cultivars. According to the variation in signal intensity of the probes on 1RS, the 1RS arms in these 15 wheat cultivars (lines) could be classified into four structural types. The results of this study revealed the structural variations of 1RS, which enriches the understanding of 1BL·1RS translocation chromosomes in wheat cultivars (lines) in China.

Proteins containing the toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain are critical components of the plant immune system. However, the TIR gene family in wheat and its wild relative Thinopyrum species remains poorly characterized. In this study, we systematically identified the TIR genes in common wheat, Thinopyrum elongatum, Thinopyrum intermedium, and Thinopyrum ponticum by using genome and RNA-seq data, and further analyzed their evolutionary relationships and expression patterns. The results showed that TIR genes in common wheat, Th.elongatum, and Th.intermedium are highly conserved in both number and structure, with each subgenome containing four members (TIR1, TNP1, TNP2, and TNP3). In contrast, a significant expansion of TIR genes occurred in Th. ponticum, where 54 TIR genes were identified; the greatest expansion was observed in the TpTIR1 clade. Expression profiling showed that TNP1 genes are highly and constitutively expressed across various tissues, suggesting their involvement in plant growth and development. Conversely, TIR1 genes were barely expressed under infection of powdery mildew and stripe rust, but were strongly induced by Fusarium graminearum inoculation. Collectively, our findings reveal the constitution and evolutionary characteristics of TIR genes in wheat and Thinopyrum species, and provide a foundation for investigating the functional divergence of this gene family.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesis in plants is primarily catalyzed by glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), a key enzyme in GABA metabolism that is involved in regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and stress responses. In this study, genome-wide identification of the wheat TaGAD gene family members was performed, followed by analyses of their structural characteristics, miRNA targeting relationships, expression responses to exogenous hormones including IAA, MeJA, ABA, SA, and H₂O₂, as well as expression profiles of the GAD gene family induced by biological stress from stripe rust infection. The results showed that a total of 19 TaGAD genes were identified in the wheat genome, distributed across 7 chromosomes. Analysis of gene structure and conserved motifs revealed that most members of this family contained the Pyridoxal_deC conserved domain. miRNA target gene prediction suggested that the expression of TaGAD genes might be regulated at the translational level by miRNAs. Transcriptome analysis indicated that TaGAD9-3B, TaGAD11-3D, TaGAD4-2B, and TaGAD2-2A exhibited relatively high expression levels at different developmental stages and in various tissues of wheat, and their expression was significantly altered under drought and high-temperature stresses. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that the transcript levels of TaGAD genes varied under exogenous substance treatments and stripe rust infection. Among them, the expression of TaGAD4-2B was most significantly up-regulated by IAA induction, with an increase of more than 300 fold, while TaGAD7-3A showed the highest expression change (24 fold up-regulation) under SA induction. Upon infection by the stripe rust physiological race CYR32, the expression levels of TaGAD15-4A and TaGAD19-4D were up-regulated more prominently, reaching 13 fold and 12 fold increases respectively, which were significantly higher than those of other family members. Through systematic identification, characteristic analysis, expression profiling and quantitative detection of stress responses of the wheat TaGAD gene family, this study lays a foundation for further in-depth research on the functions of TaGAD family members in wheat.

Abstracts: To investigate the functional characteristics of low-temperature tolerance-related NAC transcription factors in wheat, a low-temperature-tolerant variety Mazhamai and a low-temperature-sensitive variety Jimai 22 were used for transcriptome sequencing, and 31 candidate NAC transcription factors potentially associated with low-temperature tolerance were screened. Bioinformatics analysis showed that 12 of the TaNAC proteins are basic proteins (pI>7), while the others are acidic proteins (pI<7). All proteins are hydrophilic and mainly localized in the nucleus. The secondary structure was dominated by random coils. Collinearity analysis revealed that there were extensive collinear relationships between NAC transcription factors in wheat and rice. Promoter analysis indicated that the promoter regions of these NAC transcription factor genes contained various cis-acting elements involved in stress responses and hormone signaling, among which TaNAC048-A1 harbored the most abundant regulatory elements. Under low-temperature stress, the expression levels of TaNAC048-D1,TaNAC048-A1,TaNAC015-B4,TaNAC039-D1,TaNAC104-D2,TaNAC048-B1,TaNAC001-B1, and TaNAC001-A1 were significantly up-regulated in Mazhamai. In Jimai 22, TaNAC048-D1, TaNAC039-D1, and TaNAC104-D2 were significantly up-regulated, while TaNAC048-B1 was significantly down-regulated, and the remaining four genes showed no significant changes. The transcriptome sequencing data were verified by qRTPCR. These TaNAC transcription factor genes may play important roles in the response of wheat to low-temperature stress.

To explore the potential function of diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) in the development of anther, the wheat photothermo-sensitive male sterile line BS366 was used as the material. Based on previous transcriptome sequencing results, TaDGAT (TraesCS1A02G125300) was screened and cloned from BS366. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to predict the structural and functional characteristics of the TaDGAT gene and its encoded protein. The results indicated that the gene has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1 542 bp, encoding 513 amino acids. Based on protein structure, the protein was predicted to be an O-acyltransferase. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that TaDGAT is most closely related to those in wheat and barley. Additionally, miRNAs, such as miR398 and miR169, were found to potentially interact with TaDGAT, participating in lipid metabolism processes and thereby regulating anther development. Protein-protein interaction predictions identified key interactions with O-acyltransferase and other critical proteins in lipid metabolism pathways. Subcellular localization prediction indicated that TaDGAT is located in the cell membrane and Golgi apparatus, where it participates in the formation of biological membranes. Expression pattern analysis showed that the expression of TaDGAT in different tissues, the level in anthers is low, while it is highly expressed under sterile conditions. This also suggested that the gene is closely related to pollen formation. This study provides certain references for elucidating the function of the DGAT gene in wheat.

To explore the photosynthetic characteristics and hybrid vigor of different two-line hybrid wheat combinations and their parental lines, this study utilized four wheat photo-thermal sensitive male sterile lines, four restoring lines, and the corresponding sixteen hybrid wheat combinations, along with a conventional wheat variety Zhongmai 175, as research materials. Under field planting conditions, we measured various photosynthetic parameters of wheat leaves, including net photosynthetic rate (P_n), transpiration rate (T_r), stomatal conductance (G_s), intercellular CO₂ concentration (C_i), and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F_v/F_m). We also investigated agronomic traits at maturity and analyzed the hybrid vigor and correlations between the photosynthetic characteristics and agronomic traits of hybrid wheat. The results indicated that there were significant differences in T_r and C_i among the male sterile lines, restoring lines, hybrid combinations, and the control, while differences in P_n, G_s, and F_v/F_m were not significant. The trends in photosynthetic characteristics of the male sterile lines and hybrid combinations were relatively similar from the booting stage to 20 days post-anthesis, with the highest values of P_n, T_r, G_s, and C_i observed at the heading stage for the male sterile lines, restoring lines, and hybrid combinations. The proportion of super-parental hybrid vigor combinations for photosynthetic characteristics ranged from 56.25% to 93.75%, with super-high parental vigor combinations ranging from 31.25% to 81.25%, and super-control vigor combinations from 12.50% to 93.75%, with T_r and G_s showing the most significant super-high parental and super-control advantages. For agronomic traits, the proportion of super-parental hybrid vigor combinations ranged from 50.00% to 100.00%; that of super-high parental vigor combinations and super-control vigor combinations ranged from 18.75% to 75.00%, and from 18.75% to 100.00%, respectively, with the spikes number per square meter and yield exhibiting the most significant super-high parental and super-control advantages. There was a highly significantly positive correlation between G_s and C_i in hybrid wheat, and a significantly positive correlation between P_n and G_s. Hybrid wheat showed a significantly negative correlation with T_r, G_s, and C_i of restoring lines, as well as a significantly negative correlation with T_r, G_s, and F_v/F_m of mid-parent values. Additionally, significantly positive correlations were found between ear length and flag leaf area, number of grains per ear and flag leaf area, number of grains per ear and ear length, yield, and thousand-grain weight. P_n, G_s, and C_i of hybrid wheat were significantly positively correlated with thousand-grain weight, while G_s and C_i were significantly positively correlated with yield; T_r was significantly positively correlated with flag leaf area, and F_v/F_m was significantly negatively correlated with ear length. These findings demonstrate that the photosynthetic characteristics and agronomic traits of two-line hybrid wheat exhibited significant hybrid vigor, and some photosynthetic parameters are positively correlated with yield traits, which can be used to guide the breeding of high-yielding and high-photosynthetic efficiency hybrid wheat combinations.

The Fusarium graminearum xylanase FGSG_03624 exerts dual functions during wheat infection: it disrupts cell wall integrity and induces cell necrosis to activate plant immune responses. To further clarify the molecular mechanism underlying FGSG_03624-triggered immunity, subcellular localization of FGSG_03624 was analyzed via bioinformatics prediction and transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Yeast two-hybrid assay was performed using FGSG_03624 as the bait to screen interacting proteins from the wheat (Anong 1589) spike cDNA library constructed after F. graminearum infection. The protein-protein interactions were further verified by Y2H assay, luciferase complementation assay (LCA), and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay (BiFC). The expression patterns of candidate interacting protein gene TaUSP-1A were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and the disease resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana was evaluated. Results indicated that FGSG_03624 is a secreted protein localized to the cell wall and/or intercellular spaces. Subsequent identification of its interacting proteins should be conducted the split-ubiquitin membrane yeast two-hybrid system. Using pBT3STE-FGSG_03624 as the bait vector, 40 potential FGSG_03624-interacting proteins were identified from the wheat cDNA library under the condition of adding 12 mmol·L^-1 3-AT. These proteins are involved in transcriptional regulation, signal transduction, stress response, membrane transport, and plant-pathogen interaction. Among them, wheat universal stress protein TaUSP-1A, associated with stress response, was confirmed to interact with FGSG_03624. TaUSP-1A expression was upregulated after F. graminearum infection, and its overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced plant resistance to the pathogen. These findings indicate that FGSG_03624 may trigger wheat immune responses through interactions with host proteins such as TaUSP-1A.

Anthocyandins are the key bioactive components responsible for the purple/blue grains in wheat and play an important role in enhancing nutritional quality owing to their strong antioxidant activity. This review discusse the chemical characteristics and health-promoting effects of anthocyanins, comprehensively elaborates on the functions of key structural genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway and the intricate regulatory network formed by transcription factors such as MYB, bHLH, and WD40. It summarizes the application of both conventional breeding techniques and genetic engineering technologies in breeding anthocyanin-enriched wheat varieties in China, and proposes a novel strategy of intelligent molecular design breeding that integrates genomic selection, multi-omics big data mining, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based predictive models. This review aims to provide a solid theoretical foundation and technical support for breeding new functional wheat varieties that synergistically combine high and stable yield with enhanced nutritional value.

To clarify the effects of drought stress during the growth period on lodging resistance and yield formation of drip-irrigated spring wheat, a split-plot experiment was conducted using a drought-insensitive cultivar Xinchun 6(XC6) and a drought-sensitive cultivar Xinchun 22(XC22) as the main plots, and drought stress treatments during the growth period as the subplots. Five treatments were established: normal irrigation (CK, 75%-80%FC, where FC represents field capacity), mild drought at the tillering and jointing stages (T1 and J1, 60%-65%FC), and moderate drought at the tillering and jointing stages (T2 and J2, 45%-50% FC). The morphological traits of five elongated internodes (I1, I2, I3, I4, and I5) and the anatomical structure of the second basal internode were analyzed to evaluate the regulatory effects of drought stress on lodging resistance and yield formation in drip-irrigated spring wheat. The results showed that J1 significantly improved lodging resistance-related traits in both cultivars (P<0.05). Compared with CK, stem diameter, wall thickness, stem filling degree, and breaking strength of the five elongated internodes increased by 1.89%-10.90%, 15.38%-56.41%, 47.84%-175.70%, and 18.98%-58.74%, respectively, under J1. For the second basal internode, the numbers of large and small vascular bundles increased by 28.00%-34.62% and 28.57%-38.10%, respectively; the areas of large and small vascular bundles increased by 92.88%-98.79% and 45.60%-74.89%, respectively; and mechanical tissue thickness increased by 45.56%-59.11%. Consequently, the lodging resistance index of each internode increased by 26.67%-75.00%. Wall thickness, stem filling degree, breaking strength, and lodging resistance index all decreased from I1 to I5. Compared with XC22, XC6 showed obvious advantages in morphological traits, vascular bundle traits, and mechanical tissue characteristics, resulting in 10.34%-80.00% higher lodging resistance index and more positive response to mild drought. Grain yield was highest under T1 for both cultivars, and XC6 yielded 5.74% more than XC22. Correlation and path analyses indicated that spike length and wall thickness of the I5 internode played greater roles in yield formation. For lodging resistance, breaking strength and wall thickness of the I1 internode had positive effects, whereas excessive length of the I2 internode was unfavorable. These results indicate that, in the oasis agricultural region of Xinjiang, mild drought at the jointing stage (J1) is beneficial for improving stem lodging resistance of drip-irrigated spring wheat, whereas mild drought at the tillering stage (T1) is more conducive to yield improvement.

To clarify the effects of planting density on yield formation in different spring wheat cultivars, a field experiment was conducted using three spring wheat cultivars, Liaochun 18, Liaochun 43, and Shenmai 155, under five planting densities of 3.75 million, 5.25 million, 6.75 million, 8.25 million, and 9.75 million plants·hm^-2, designated as D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5, respectively. The effects of planting density on grain yield and its components, SPAD value, dry matter accumulation and distribution, leaf area index (LAI), grain to leaf ratio, and photosynthetic characteristics were compared among cultivars. The results showed that planting density significantly affected grain yield and its components, with significant variety and planting density interaction effects. With the increase of planting density, the number of effective spikes per unit area of the three varieties spring wheat showed a significant increasing trend, while the number of grains per spike and 1 000-grain weight generally showed a decreasing trend, and the yield showed an initial increase and then a decrease. The yield of Liaochun 18 and Shenmai 155 reached the highest under the D4 treatment, which were 8 206.62 and 5 057.74 kg·hm^-2, respectively, the yield of Liaochun 43 reached the highest under the D2 treatment (7 191.61 kg·hm^-2). With the increase of planting density, the dry matter transport before flowering, the dry matter transport efficiency before flowering, the contribution rate of dry matter before flowering to grain yield, the dry matter accumulation after flowering, the contribution rate of dry matter after flowering to grain yield, and the SPAD value of flag leaves all showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, and all reached the maximum at D3 or D4 treatments. The LAI, grain number per leaf, grain weight per leaf, intercellular CO₂ concentration of flag leaves, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate all showed an initial increase and then decrease trend with the increase of planting density. In conclusion, the optimum planting density was 8.25 million plants·hm^-2 for Liaochun 18 and Shenmai 155, and 5.25 million plants·hm^-2 for Liaochun 43.

To clarify the characteristics of soil nitrogen balance in wheat fields of lime concretion black soil under different optimized nitrogen reduction strategies, a two-season field experiment was conducted during 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 using wheat as the test crop. Six treatments were established, including no nitrogen application (NN), conventional nitrogen application (CN), 10% and 20% reductions in chemical nitrogen fertilizer (R1N and R2N), and substitution of 20% and 30% of chemical nitrogen fertilizer with organic manure (R2NM and R3NM). Wheat yield, apparent nitrogen use efficiency, and residual mineral nitrogen (N_min) in the 0-100 cm soil layers were analyzed, and soil nitrogen balance in the wheat field was systematically evaluated. The results showed that, compared with CN, grain yield under R1N did not differ significantly in either year, whereas yield under R2N decreased significantly by 8.36% in 2023-2024. Compared with CN, grain yields under R2NM and R3NM were not significantly different in 2022-2023, but increased significantly by 7.56% and 6.74% in 2023-2024, respectively. Apparent nitrogen use efficiency did not differ significantly between R1N or R2N and CN in either year, whereas it increased significantly under R2NM and R3NM, with increases of 8.8 and 7.0 percentage points in 2022-2023 and 11.7 and 9.1 percentage points in 2023-2024, respectively. In terms of residual soil N_min, no significant differences were observed between R1N or R2N and CN in either year, whereas R2NM and R3NM significantly increased N_min residue in the 0-20 cm soil layer in both years and in the 20-40 cm soil layer in 2023-2024. No significant differences were found among fertilized treatments except NN in the 40-100 cm soil layer. Based on the two-season soil nitrogen balance analysis, R2NM and R3NM significantly increased apparent nitrogen use efficiency by 10.2 and 8.0 percentage points, respectively, and significantly reduced apparent nitrogen loss rate by 15.9 and 15.1 percentage points compared with CN, respectively, but had no significant effect on apparent nitrogen residual rate. In this study, substituting 20% or 30% of chemical nitrogen fertilizer with organic manure can maintain or increase wheat yield, improve apparent nitrogen use efficiency, reduce apparent nitrogen loss rate, and thus contribute positively to maintaining and improving soil nitrogen balance in wheat fields of lime concretion black soil.

To explore the stable yield of forage oats under future climate change conditions and to capture more climatic resources after the main crop season, based on the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop model, the sowing dates were adjusted to different degrees of advancement at six locations in northern Shanxi. The responses of forage oat yield and climatic resources to sowing date adjustments under different climate scenarios were simulated and evaluated. The results showed that under future climate warming, moderate early sowing (advanced by 10 days) can increase the climatic resources available after harvest and before the first frost, including accumulated thermal time (1 200-1 800 ℃), precipitation (55-188 mm), and solar radiation (861-1 523 MJ·m^-2), without significantly reducing the main-season forage yield. Consequently, the utilization efficiency of climatic resources was improved. Early sowing has a limited direct effect on forage yield, it demonstrates excellent performance in terms of forage yield stability and resource enhancement. Overall, appropriately advancing sowing dates is an effective field management strategy for adapting to climate warming and enhancing resource use efficiency.

Based on the daily meteorological data from 1994 to 2023 and the growth period data of drought-saline wheat from agrometeorological experimental stations in the main coastal drought-saline wheat planting areas of Cangzhou, Hebei Province, this study systematically analyzed the variation characteristics of precipitation, sunshine, and thermal resources during the whole growth period and key growth stages of drought-saline wheat, and identified the key meteorological factors affecting its yield by using methods including linear trend estimation, Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test and mutation test, and Pearson correlation analysis. The results showed that the precipitation during the entire growth period of coastal drought-saline wheat in Cangzhou, Hebei Province showed an increasing trend. Combined with the precipitation in the summer of the sowing year and before sowing, natural precipitation in all years could meet the water demand of drought-saline wheat. However, there were significant differences among various growth stages. The proportions of years in which precipitation could meet the water demand during the sowing-overwintering stage, overwintering-regreening stage, regreening-heading stage, and heading-maturity stage are 76.7%, 66.7%, 1.4%, and 26.7%, respectively. The sunshine duration during the whole growth period and grain-filling stage of the wheat showed an increasing trend. A significant mutation in the sunshine duration during the grain-filling stage occurred in 2009, and the annual sunshine duration before and after the mutation differed by 358 h. The annual average sunshine duration during the grain-filling stage was 9.1 h·d^-1, indicating sufficient sunlight. The accumulated temperature above 0 ℃ during the growing season showed a significant increasing trend, with 76.7% of the years reaching over 2 000 ℃. For the negative accumulated temperature below 0 ℃, 50% of the years were within -200 ℃; however, the winter minimum temperature presents a significant decreasing trend, and 43.3% of the years drop below -15 ℃. The diurnal temperature range during the filling stage fell between 11.5-13.5 ℃ in 90% of the years, with a significant reduction observed in the 2010-2016 period. The number of days with the daily maximum temperature exceeding 32 ℃ during the filling stage increased significantly, while the number of days with the daily maximum temperature exceeding 35 ℃ decreases. The annual yield of coastal drought-saline wheat in Cangzhou, Hebei Province was significantly positively correlated (P<0.05) with the precipitation during the whole growth period, summer precipitation in the sowing year, pre-sowing precipitation, precipitation during the regreening to heading stage, and sunshine duration during the whole growth period and grain-filling stage. Water is the main limiting factor for coastal drought-saline wheat in Cangzhou, Hebei Province. It is necessary to improve water use efficiency through precision irrigation and rainwater harvesting technologies, and match cold-resistant, drought-tolerant, and early-maturing varieties to reduce climate risks.

Based on the continuous 37 year (1984-2020) phenological observation data of winter wheat at the National Agricultural Meteorological Observation Station in Tongren City, Guizhou Province, and combined with the meteorological observation data of the corresponding period, the changes and response relationships of the phenological periods of winter wheat and agricultural climate factors were systematically analyzed using kernel density estimation, climate trend analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression model. The results showed that the phenological periods of winter wheat in Tongren City from 1984 to 2020 generally showed a phased delay trend, among which the tillering period had the largest delay ［10.9 d· (10 a)^-1］. The duration of key growth stages was characterized by an extension at early stage ［vegetative growth period extended by 5.6 d· (10 a)^-1］, a shortening in the middle stage［vegetative and reproductive growth concurrent period shortened by -10.8 d· (10 a)^-1］, and relative stability at late stag ［reproductive growth period changed by 0.2 d· (10 a)^-1］. During the growth period of winter wheat, the agricultural climate elements generally showed an increase in temperature, a decrease in sunshine, and an increase in the fluctuation of water and heat conditions. Correlation analysis indicated that accumulated temperature and ground temperature were significantly positively correlated with the phenological period day numbers of sowing, emergence and three-leaf stage (P<0.001), while relative humidity and sunshine duration were significantly negatively correlated with the phenological periods of heading, flowering and milk-ripen stage (P<0.05 or P<0.01), yet the maturity period had no significant correlation with each climate factor. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the phenological periods of winter wheat were most sensitive to accumulated temperature and ground temperature, followed by daily temperature range, precipitation and relative humidity, and less sensitive to sunshine duration. This study revealed the response characteristics of the phenological periods of winter wheat in the northeastern part of Guizhou Province to climate change, which can provide agricultural meteorological basis for the breeding and cultivation management of winter wheat varieties in the region.