Selenium-enriched wheat is a viable strategy to address dietary selenium deficiencies in selenium-deficient regions. To explore the selenium uptake, translocation, and distribution patterns in various wheat tissues, a wheat line Chuanwen 2401 was used as the material. Four foliar spraying treatments were set up: three nano-selenium application rates of 7.5 g·hm^-2 (C₁), 15.0 g·hm^-2 (C₂) and 30.0 g·hm^-2 (C₃), with clean water as the control (CK), to analyze the effects on selenium absorption and translocation, selenium speciation in grains forms, nutrient element contents, ecological risks, dietary selenium intake, yield and yield components. The results showed that, foliar nano-selenium spraying significantly increased selenium content in various wheat tissues, and selenium content in wheat grain significantly increased by 25.5-126.8 fold. Compared with CK, selenium translocation coefficients showed significant changes, for example, TF of flag leaf and the 1st stem node, the 2nd leaf and 2nd stem node, the 3rd leaf and 3rd stem node, and the 4th leaf and 4th stem node were significantly reduced by 85.5%-91.3%, 64.7%-82.4%, 75.0%-75.0%, and 50.0%-83.3%, respectively. TF of rachis and glume, rachis and grain were significantly increased by 209.4%-718.8% and 111.4%-640.0%, respectively. Only selenocysteine (SeCys) and selenomethionine (SeMet) were detected in CK grains, with SeCys accounting for the higher proportion. An additional selenium speciation, methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys), was identified in grains under C₁, C₂, and C₃ treatments, with SeMet being the dominant selenium form. Compared with CK, contents of Mn, Zn, Cu, and grain protein significantly decreased by 12.7%-15.6%, 4.1%-18.2%, 6.8%-16.1%, and 6.9%-22.7%, respectively. Fe content significantly increased by 46.4%-111.1%. The ecological risk index (Er) of the C₁ treatment was 51.6, which was closest to the safety threshold (40.0), and the estimation of daily selenium intake (EDI) was 297.2 μg, falling within the recommended range (60-400 μg). The Er value of CK was within the safety threshold, but its EDI was far below the lower limit of the recommended range. Both Er and EDI values of C₂ and C₃ treatments exceeded the safety/recommended ranges. Compared with CK, yield thous and graiin weight of C₁, C₂, and C₃ treatments significantly increased by 3.5%-8.5% and 2.8%-4.4%, respectively. Effective spikes and grains per spike showed no significant changes. In conclusion, foliar nano-selenium spraying significantly increased the selenium content and yield of wheat grains, and improved the wheat grains quality by regulating the selenium speciation, proportion, and nutrient element content. Among them, C₁ treatment (7.5 g·hm^-2) was the optimal foliar nano-selenium spraying concentration.

To investigate the effects of foliar application of chelated titanium on dry matter accumulation and yield formation in late-sown winter wheat in Xinjiang, as well as to determine the optimal application timing and concentration, the study used Xindong 18, a winter wheat cultivar cultivated in the Ta'er Basin of Xinjiang. A two-factor split-plot field experiment was conducted at the demonstration base of the Tacheng Agricultural Science Research Institute in the Ta'er Basin from 2023 to 2025. The main plots were set up with two foliar application stages: the booting stage (D1) and the flowering stage (D2). The subplots were set up with four application concentrations: 0 μmol·L^-1 (C0, distilled water control), 376 μmol·L^-1 (C1), 501 μmol·L^-1 (C2), and 626 μmol·L^-1 (C3). We measured and analyzed the characteristics of wheat agronomic traits, dry matter, grain filling progress, yield, and yield components under different treatments. The results showed that under D1 conditions, compared with C0, C2 exhibited the greatest increases in wheat plant height, average stem diameter, and spike length in both years. In 2023—2024 and 2024—2025, dry matter accumulation of C2 increased by 25.57% and 14.20%, yield increased by 5.06% and 9.45%, respectively, while dry matter transport efficiency, grain filling rate, grain filling duration, and number of grains per spike all increased significantly. Under D2 conditions, the application of chelated titanium had no significant effect on wheat plant height, average stem diameter, or spike length; compared to C0, dry matter accumulation in C2 increased by 20.99% and 15.35%, yeid increased by 4.65% and 6.54% for the two consecutive years, respectively, while dry matter transport rate, grain filling rate, grain filling duration, and thousand-kernel weight all increased significantly. Overall, the D1C2 treatment had the best effect on promoting the growth and increasing the yield of late-sown winter wheat, which can address the yield reduction issues caused by reduced dry matter accumulation and shortened grain-filling duration in late-sown winter wheat.

To elucidate the functions of the wheat mitogen-activated protein kinase genes TaMAPK1-6A, TaMAPK1-6B, and TaMAPK1-6D in seedling drought tolerance and the additive effects among these homeologous genes, this study utilized the spring wheat cultivar Fielder and its CRISPR/Cas9 mediated single-gene mutants-mapk1-aa, mapk1-bb, and mapk1-dd-generated in the Fielder genetic background. Through hybridization, self-pollination, and genotyping of segregating progeny, double-gene knockout mutants and triple-gene knockout homozygous mutants (hereafter referred to as double and triple mutants) were successfully developed. The drought tolerance at the seedling stage was systematically evaluated for these single, double, and triple mutants, along with the wild-type Fielder control. The results demonstrated that loss-of-function mutations in single TaMAPK1 genes significantly reduced drought tolerance in wheat seedlings, manifested as decreased leaf water retention, reduced accumulation of osmotic adjustment substances, and enhanced membrane lipid peroxidation. Further investigation revealed that drought tolerance was further impaired in double and triple mutants, with the deterioration of physiological and biochemical indicators intensifying as the number of mutated gene copies increased. In summary, the TaMAPK1 gene positively regulates drought tolerance at the wheat seedling stage, and its homeologous genes exhibit cumulative regulatory effects.

Abstract:Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is an important approach for genetic modification of wheat, but it still suffers from several unresolved critical technical bottlenecks, including low transformation efficiency, strong genotype dependence, severe browning of calli, and low regeneration efficiency. In this study, immature embryos of the model cultivar Fielder were used as explants to systematically investigate the effects of embryo age, acetosyringone (AS) concentration and Agrobacterium infection duration, phosphinothricin (PPT) selection pressure, and exogenous hormone (abscisic acid, ABA; kinetin, KT) ratios on callus induction, regeneration and transformation efficiency. Using the optimized protocol, applicability was evaluated in the cultivars Yangmai 20, Zhengmai 7698, and Kenong 199. The results showed that embryos harvested 12 days after anthesis exhibited the lowest browning rate (4.40%) and were most suitable as recipients for transformation. When the Agrobacterium suspension was adjusted to OD₆₀₀=0.5, supplementation with 200 μmol·L^-1 AS and a 10 min infection produced the highest induction rate of resistant green callus spots (34.29%). Addition of 0.5 mg·L^-1 ABA to the induction medium and 1.5 mg·L^-1 KT to the regeneration medium significantly enhanced embryogenic callus formation and plant regeneration. The optimal PPT selection concentration was determined to be 10 mg·L^-1. Under the optimized conditions, transformation efficiency of Fielder increased significantly from 8.16% before optimization to 14.83%; transformation efficiencies of Yangmai 20, Zhengmai 7698, and Kenong 199 reached 9.03%, 7.32% and 8.70%, respectively, approaching or exceeding the pre-optimization level of Fielder. In summary, the optimized system established in this study improves wheat genetic transformation efficiency and is broadly applicable across different genetic backgrounds, providing a technical platform for gene functional analysis and molecular breeding in wheat.

To investigate genome-wide mRNA secondary structure reprogramming and its correlation with translation efficiency under heat stress in wheat, this study performed a multi-omics analysis on wheat seedlings (cv. Chinese Spring) under different conditions, utilizing SHAPE-MaP and polysome profiling. The results showed that the SHAPE reactivity of start and stop codon positions in wheat transcripts was significantly higher than that of flanking regions, exhibiting conserved structural features. Compared with the control, heat stress resulted in a decrease in the average SHAPE reactivity across transcripts, indicating that mRNA tends to form double-stranded structures. This change exhibited reversibility during recovery. At the early stage of heat stress, structural changes in the start codon region were the most significant. Polysome profiling showed that heat stress caused a decrease in polysome peaks, and translation was inhibited at the genome-wide level. Correlation analysis revealed that there was no significant correlation between SHAPE reactivity changes and translation efficiency changes of various functional regions at the genome-wide level. In summary, the heat-induced increase in mRNA folding may be a proactive defense strategy, which presents a non-linear complex relationship with translational regulation.

To investigate the impact of different tillage patterns on the soil quality and wheat yield in lime concretion black soil, four tillage treatments were set up: twice rotary tillage (T1), plowing + twice rotary tillage (T2), plowing + twice rotary tillage + rolling (T3), and plowing + one pass with a driven cultivator + rolling (T4). The effects of these treatments on soil physical properties, nutrient conversion enzyme activity, organic matter, available nutrient content, and wheat yield were analyzed. Results showed that compared to T1, T3 and T4 significantly increased the bulk density of 0-10 cm soil during the overwintering period and reduced the bulk density of 10-30 cm soil. T4 significantly increased soil moisture and water storage in the 20-30 cm layer during the overwintering period and the 0-10 cm layer during the maturity period. T4 also significantly enhanced the activity of cellobiose hydrolase in the 20-40 cm soil layer and β-1, 4-N-acetylglucosaminidase in the 0-40 cm soil layer, increased inorganic nitrogen content in the 20-40 cm soil layer, and elevated available phosphorus content in the 0-20 cm soil layer. T4 significantly increased the number of secondary roots per plant during the jointing stage, dry matter accumulation at the flowering and maturity stages, spike number, and grain yield, with a yield increase of 11.62% and an economic benefit gain of 2,071.26 yuan·hm^-2. In summary, the tillage pattern of plowing + one pass with a driven cultivator + rolling is effective in improving the physicochemical properties and enzyme activity of lime concretion black soil, enhancing wheat yield, and can serve as a suitable tillage mode for high-efficiency wheat production in the region.

The R2R3-MYB transcription factor family, the largest subfamily of MYB transcription factors, plays critical roles in various plant stress responses. However, its function under low-phosphate (P) stress remains poorly characterized. In this study, a total of 127 R2R3-MYB genes were identified in the barley MorexV3 genome using bioinformatic approaches and designated as Hv2RMYB-1 to Hv2RMYB-127. These genes were predominantly distributed on the 7 barley chromosomes and were found to harbor hormone-responsive cis-acting elements in their promoter regions. Physicochemical analysis revealed that most members encode acidic and unstable proteins. Phylogenetic and collinearity analyses classified the barley R2R3-MYB family into five distinct clades, including 16 pairs of tandemly duplicated genes. Based on transcriptomic data (RNA-Seq) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), 10 barley R2R3-MYB genes showed differential expression under low-Phosphorus stress, among which Hv2RMYB-48 was notably upregulated. Further investigation confirmed that Hv2RMYB-48 localizes to the nucleus and can bind to the MYB-ABRE-MYBcis-element.

The ERECTA family of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) plays a crucial regulatory role in plant stomatal development and responses to abiotic stresses. This study therefore focused on investigating the barley HvERECTA gene, aiming to clarify its regulatory roles in these biological processes and provide potential targets for barley drought resistance breeding. We first cloned the HvERECTA gene from barley and conducted comprehensive bioinformatics analyses to characterize its sequence and protein properties. Subsequently, we constructed a heterologous overexpression vector carrying the HvERECTA gene and transformed it into Arabidopsis thaliana. For the transgenic Arabidopsis lines, we systematically determined stomatal phenotypic traits, expression levels of the key related genes, and physiological indicators under drought stress conditions to evaluate the gene function. The bioinformatics analysis results showed that the full-length coding sequence (CDS) of HvERECTA is 2 934 bp, encoding a protein of 977 amino acids. The HvERECTA protein is localized to the plasma membrane and contains a typical serine/threonine protein kinase domain, which is a hallmark of the receptor-like kinase family. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that HvERECTA is highly conserved among gramineous plants, with the highest homology to those from wheat (Triticum aestivum) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Additionally, analysis of cis-acting elements in the HvERECTA promoter region indicated that it is rich in regulatory elements associated with abiotic stress responses and plant hormone signaling, such as abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive elements (ABRE) and drought-responsive elements (MBS). Phenotypic observations on the transgenic Arabidopsis lines showed that overexpression of HvERECTA significantly reduced stomatal density compared with the wild-type control. Molecular analysis demonstrated that the expression levels of genes encoding key stomatal development transcription factors, namely SPCH (SPEECHLESS), MUTE, and FAMA, were all downregulated by more than 50% in the transgenic lines. In contrast, the expression level of YODA, a core gene in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade pathway that is involved in stomatal development regulation, was upregulated by 50%-80% in the transgenic plants. Under drought stress, the transgenic Arabidopsis lines showed enhanced drought resistance-related physiological performance. Specifically, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) in the transgenic lines were increased by 25%-40% compared with the control. Meanwhile, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is an indicator of lipid peroxidation and cellular damage under stress, was decreased by approximately 30% in the transgenic lines. Additionally, the water loss rate of the transgenic lines was reduced by 20%, and their relative water content was higher than that of the control. Furthermore, the expression levels of stress-responsive genes, including AtKIN2, AtABF3, and AtRD22, showed no abnormal changes under normal growth conditions but were significantly upregulated under drought stress in the transgenic lines. In conclusion, the barley HvERECTA gene enhances plant drought resistance by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway to reduce stomatal density and by improving the activity of the plant antioxidant defense system. These two regulatory pathways collectively enhance the water retention capacity of plants under drought stress, thereby improving their stress tolerance. This study clarifies the important regulatory role of HvERECTA in stomatal development and abiotic stress response, and provides an important functional gene resource for drought-resistant molecular breeding of barley.

Plant height (PH) is an important agronomic trait affecting lodging resistance and yield in wheat. To dissect the genetic basis of PH and identify stable loci, we analyzed a natural population of 339 wheat accessions from the Huang-Huai wheat region using PH phenotypes collected across nine environments and genotypes obtained with a 21K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using a mixed linear model (MLM). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype analyses were performed for the key associated interval, and the association was further validated in a natural population of 327 accessions genotyped with a 660K SNP array. Candidate genes within the target interval were annotated and prioritized. In total, 66 stable QTLs significantly associated with PH were identified. A novel major and stable QTL, QPh. nwafu-6D, was detected on chromosome 6D (490.34-492.42 Mb) and was consistently detected in eight environments, explaining 8.23% of the phenotypic variance on average. The interval was divided into two LD blocks. In Block2, three haplotypes were identified, and the favorable haplotype Block2_Hap1 (frequency 84.1%) showed significantly reduced PH compared with other haplotypes and was significantly associated with higher thousand-kernel weight in multiple environments. In the validation population, accessions carrying the Block2_Hap1 genotype at the core SNP marker SNP_Chr6D_492211566 exhibited significantly lower PH than those with the Block2_Hap2 genotype (P< 0.001). Eight candidate genes were further prioritized in this interval, mainly involved in kinase signaling, transcriptional regulation, ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, and hormone responses.

Drought is the primary agrometeorological disaster affecting spring wheat growth in the Hexi Corridor. Accurately identifying its drought characteristics is crucial for field management and disaster prevention and mitigation in local spring wheat cultivation. Based on the daily meteorological data from Wuwei Meteorological Station and the growth stage, soil relative humidity (R_sm) and yield data of spring wheat from the Agrometeorological Experiment Station during 1995-2023, the effective precipitation (P_e), crop water requirement (ET_c), and crop water deficit index (CWDI) during the growth periods of spring wheat were calculated, and regression analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and Mann-Kendall (M-K) detection were employed to reveal the water supply-demand dynamics and drought characteristics of spring wheat. The results showed that the ET_c during the growth period of spring wheat in the Hexi Corridor significantly exceeded P_e during 1995-2023. Under non-irrigation conditions, severe water imbalance occurred, with the peak water deficit reached 58.7 mm during jointing-heading stage. Drought frequency analysis showed frequent drought occurrences across all growth stages without irrigation, particularly during the jointing-heading stage, where the frequency of severe drought reached 86%. Under irrigation, only the sowing-three leaf stage exhibited a severe drought frequency of 55%, but the actual yield reduction rate was only 2.7%-9.4%. The interannual fluctuations of CWDI were significant between 1995 and 2023, under non-irrigation conditions, continuous drought persisted throughout the growth periods, with CWDI reaching 85% during the heading-grain filling stage. The CWDI showed an extremely significant upward trend at 9.5% a^-1 (P<0.01), with an abrupt change occurring in 2014-2015. Under irrigation, the CWDI showed a monomodal pattern, with an overall increase rate slowing down to 1.4% a^-1, however significantly downward trend at 52.0% a^-1 (P<0.05) during three leaf-jointing stage. Although CWDI reached 81% during sowing-three leaf stage, winter irrigation ensured soil moisture, which basically met crop requirements. Climate change intensified water stress on spring wheat. Adopting precision irrigation technologies such as drip irrigation during the critical water requirement stages of spring wheat can effectively mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change induced spring droughts and late spring early summer droughts on crops. This approach ensures normal growth and development of spring wheat and stabilized yields.