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15 pages, 3415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Soybean Phosphate Transporter Gene GmPHT2 on Pi Transport and Plant Growth under Limited Pi Supply Condition

by Xiaoshuang Wei, Xiaotian Xu, Yu Fu, Xue Yang, Lei Wu, Ping Tian, Meiying Yang and Zhihai Wu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 11115; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241311115 - 5 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1609

Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development, but phosphate resources are limited and rapidly depleting due to massive global agricultural demand. This study identified two genes in the phosphate transporter 2 (PHT2) family of soybean by bioinformatics. The expression patterns [...] Read more.

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development, but phosphate resources are limited and rapidly depleting due to massive global agricultural demand. This study identified two genes in the phosphate transporter 2 (PHT2) family of soybean by bioinformatics. The expression patterns of two genes by qRT-PCR at leaves and all were induced by low-phosphate stress. After low-phosphate stress, GmPHT2;2 expression was significantly higher than GmPHT2;1, and the same trend was observed throughout the reproductive period. The result of heterologous expression of GmPHT2 in Arabidopsis knockout mutants of atpht2;1 shows that chloroplasts and whole-plant phosphorus content were significantly higher in plants complementation of GmPHT2;2 than in plants complementation of GmPHT2;1. This suggests that GmPHT2;2 may play a more important role in plant phosphorus metabolic homeostasis during low-phosphate stress than GmPHT2;1. In the yeast backfill assay, both genes were able to backfill the ability of the defective yeast to utilize phosphorus. GmPHT2 expression was up-regulated by a low-temperature treatment at 4 °C, implying that GmPHT2;1 may play a role in soybean response to low-temperature stress, in addition to being involved in phosphorus transport processes. GmPHT2;1 and GmPHT2;2 exhibit a cyclic pattern of circadian variation in response to light, with the same pattern of gene expression changes under red, blue, and white light conditions. GmPHT2 protein was found in the chloroplast, according to subcellular localization analysis. We conclude that GmPHT2 is a typical phosphate transporter gene that can improve plant acquisition efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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16 pages, 4147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ClNAC100 Is a NAC Transcription Factor of Chinese Fir in Response to Phosphate Starvation

by Yuxuan Zhao, Shuotian Huang, Lihui Wei, Meng Li, Tingting Cai, Xiangqing Ma and Peng Shuai

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310486 - 22 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1337

Abstract

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency is one of the most limiting factors for Chinese fir growth and production. Moreover, continuous cultivation of Chinese fir for multiple generations led to the reduction of soil nutrients, which hindered the yield of Chinese fir in southern China. Although [...] Read more.

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency is one of the most limiting factors for Chinese fir growth and production. Moreover, continuous cultivation of Chinese fir for multiple generations led to the reduction of soil nutrients, which hindered the yield of Chinese fir in southern China. Although NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in plant development and abiotic stress resistance, it is still unclear how they regulate the response of Chinese fir to phosphate (Pi) starvation. Based on Pi-deficient transcriptome data of Chinses fir root, we identified a NAC transcription factor with increased expression under Pi deficiency, which was obtained by PCR and named ClNAC100. RT-qPCR confirmed that the expression of ClNAC100 in the root of Chinese fir was induced by phosphate deficiency and showed a dynamic change with time. It was positively regulated by ABA and negatively regulated by JA, and ClNAC100 was highly expressed in the roots and leaves of Chinese fir. Transcriptional activation assay confirmed that ClNAC100 was a transcriptional activator. The promoter of ClNAC100 was obtained by genome walking, which was predicted to contain a large number of stress, hormone, and growth-related cis-elements. Tobacco infection was used to verify the activity of the promoter, and the core promoter was located between −1519 bp and −589 bp. We identified 18 proteins bound to the ClNAC100 promoter and 5 ClNAC100 interacting proteins by yeast one-hybrid and yeast two-hybrid, respectively. We speculated that AHL and TIFY family transcription factors, calmodulin, and E3 ubiquitin ligase in these proteins might be important phosphorus-related proteins. These results provide a basis for the further study of the regulatory mechanism and pathways of ClNAC100 under Pi starvation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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15 pages, 6314 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Glyphosate-Degradation Ability of Aldo-Keto Reductase (AKR4) Proteins in Maize, Soybean and Rice

by Ronghua Chen, Siwei Wang, Yue Sun, Haiqing Li, Shuqing Wan, Fei Lin and Hanhong Xu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3421; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043421 - 8 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1958

Abstract

Genes that participate in the degradation or isolation of glyphosate in plants are promising, for they endow crops with herbicide tolerance with a low glyphosate residue. Recently, the aldo-keto reductase (AKR4) gene in Echinochloa colona (EcAKR4) was identified as a naturally [...] Read more.

Genes that participate in the degradation or isolation of glyphosate in plants are promising, for they endow crops with herbicide tolerance with a low glyphosate residue. Recently, the aldo-keto reductase (AKR4) gene in Echinochloa colona (EcAKR4) was identified as a naturally evolved glyphosate-metabolism enzyme. Here, we compared the glyphosate-degradation ability of theAKR4 proteins from maize, soybean and rice, which belong to a clade containing EcAKR4 in the phylogenetic tree, by incubation of glyphosate with AKR proteins both in vivo and in vitro. The results indicated that, except for OsALR1, the other proteins were characterized as glyphosate-metabolism enzymes, with ZmAKR4 ranked the highest activity, and OsAKR4-1 and OsAKR4-2 exhibiting the highest activity among the AKR4 family in rice. Moreover, OsAKR4-1 was confirmed to endow glyphosate-tolerance at the plant level. Our study provides information on the mechanism underlying the glyphosate-degradation ability of AKR proteins in crops, which enables the development of glyphosate-resistant crops with a low glyphosate residue, mediated by AKRs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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20 pages, 3822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stimulation of Tomato Drought Tolerance by PHYTOCHROME A and B1B2 Mutations

by Islam M. Y. Abdellatif, Shaoze Yuan, Shizue Yoshihara, Takuya Suzaki, Hiroshi Ezura and Kenji Miura

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 1560; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021560 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2901

Abstract

Drought stress is a severe environmental issue that threatens agriculture at a large scale. PHYTOCHROMES (PHYs) are important photoreceptors in plants that control plant growth and development and are involved in plant stress response. The aim of this study was to identify the [...] Read more.

Drought stress is a severe environmental issue that threatens agriculture at a large scale. PHYTOCHROMES (PHYs) are important photoreceptors in plants that control plant growth and development and are involved in plant stress response. The aim of this study was to identify the role of PHYs in the tomato cv. ‘Moneymaker’ under drought conditions. The tomato genome contains five PHYs, among which mutant lines in tomato PHYA and PHYB (B1 and B2) were used. Compared to the WT, phyA and phyB1B2 mutants exhibited drought tolerance and showed inhibition of electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde accumulation, indicating decreased membrane damage in the leaves. Both phy mutants also inhibited oxidative damage by enhancing the expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger genes, inhibiting hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation, and enhancing the percentage of antioxidant activities via DPPH test. Moreover, expression levels of several aquaporins were significantly higher in phyA and phyB1B2, and the relative water content (RWC) in leaves was higher than the RWC in the WT under drought stress, suggesting the enhancement of hydration status in the phy mutants. Therefore, inhibition of oxidative damage in phyA and phyB1B2 mutants may mitigate the harmful effects of drought by preventing membrane damage and conserving the plant hydrostatus. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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18 pages, 6247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the Xyloglucan Endotransglucosylase/Hydrolase Gene Family in Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam]

by Jing-Zhen Zhang, Pei-Wen He, Xi-Ming Xu, Zun-Fu Lü, Peng Cui, Melvin Sidikie George and Guo-Quan Lu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 775; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010775 - 1 Jan 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3455

Abstract

The xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XET/XEH, also named XTH) family is a multigene family, the function of which plays a significant role in cell-wall rebuilding and stress tolerance in plants. However, the specific traits of the XTH gene family members and their expression pattern in [...] Read more.

The xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XET/XEH, also named XTH) family is a multigene family, the function of which plays a significant role in cell-wall rebuilding and stress tolerance in plants. However, the specific traits of the XTH gene family members and their expression pattern in different tissues and under stress have not been carried out in sweet potato. Thirty-six XTH genes were identified in I. batatas, all of which had conserved structures (Glyco_hydro_16). Based on Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic analysis the IbXTHs can be divided into three subfamilies—the I/II, IIIA, and IIIB subfamilies, which were unevenly distributed on 13 chromosomes, with the exception of Chr9 and Chr15. Multiple cis-acting regions related to growth and development, as well as stress responses, may be found in the IbXTH gene promoters. The segmental duplication occurrences greatly aided the evolution of IbXTHs. The results of a collinearity analysis showed that the XTH genes of sweet potato shared evolutionary history with three additional species, including A. thaliana, G. max, and O. sativa. Additionally, based on the transcriptome sequencing data, the results revealed that the IbXTHs have different expression patterns in leaves, stems, the root body (RB), the distal end (DE), the root stock (RS), the proximal end (PE), the initiative storage root (ISR), and the fibrous root (FR), and many of them are well expressed in the roots. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis of FRs after hormone treatment of the roots indicated that IbXTH28 and IbXTH30 are up-regulated under salicylic acid (SA) treatment but down-regulated under methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Attentionally, there were only two genes showing down-regulation under the cold and drought treatment. Collectively, all of the findings suggested that genes from the XTH family are crucial for root specificity. This study could provide a theoretical basis for further research on the molecular function of sweet potato XTH genes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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19 pages, 4593 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ethylene Response Factor LlERF110 Mediates Heat Stress Response via Regulation of LlHsfA3A Expression and Interaction with LlHsfA2 in Lilies (Lilium longiflorum)

by Yue Wang, Yunzhuan Zhou, Rui Wang, Fuxiang Xu, Shi Tong, Cunxu Song, Yanan Shao, Mingfang Yi and Junna He

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 16135; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232416135 - 17 Dec 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2179

Abstract

Heat stress seriously affects the quality of cut lily flowers. The ethylene response factors (ERFs) participate in heat stress response in many plants. In this study, heat treatment increased the production of ethylene in lily leaves, and exogenous ethylene treatment enhanced the heat [...] Read more.

Heat stress seriously affects the quality of cut lily flowers. The ethylene response factors (ERFs) participate in heat stress response in many plants. In this study, heat treatment increased the production of ethylene in lily leaves, and exogenous ethylene treatment enhanced the heat resistance of lilies. LlERF110, an important transcription factor in the ethylene signaling pathway, was found in the high-temperature transcriptome. The coding region of LlERF110 (969 bp) encodes 322 amino acids and LlERF110 contains an AP2/ERF typical domain belonging to the ERF subfamily group X. LlERF110 was induced by ethylene and was expressed constitutively in all tissues. LlERF110 is localized in the nucleus and has transactivation activity. Virus-induced gene silencing of LlERF110 in lilies reduced the basal thermotolerance phenotypes and significantly decreased the expression of genes involved in the HSF-HSP pathway, such as LlHsfA2, LlHsfA3A, and LlHsfA5, which may activate other heat stress response genes; and LlHsp17.6 and LlHsp22, which may protect proteins under heat stress. LlERF110 could directly bind to the promoter of LlHsfA3A and activate its expression according to the yeast one hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays. LlERF110 interacts with LlHsfA2 in the nucleus according to BiFC and the yeast two-hybrid assays. In conclusion, these results indicate that LlERF110 plays an important role in the basal thermotolerance of lilies via regulation of the HSF-HSP pathway, which could be the junction of the heat stress response pathway and the ethylene signaling pathway. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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14 pages, 3970 KiB

Open AccessArticle

HDAC3 Knockdown Dysregulates Juvenile Hormone and Apoptosis-Related Genes in Helicoverpa armigera

by Huimin Chang, Zhenlu Xu, Wenkang Li, Chenggu Cai, Wenjing Wang, Pengliang Ge, Xue Jia, Yingge Li, Tianze Ding, Wei Ma, Ali Mohammad Banaei-Moghaddam, Huijuan Mo and Maozhi Ren

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(23), 14820; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232314820 - 26 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2288

Abstract

Insect development requires genes to be expressed in strict spatiotemporal order. The dynamic regulation of genes involved in insect development is partly orchestrated by the histone acetylation–deacetylation via histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Although histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is required for [...] Read more.

Insect development requires genes to be expressed in strict spatiotemporal order. The dynamic regulation of genes involved in insect development is partly orchestrated by the histone acetylation–deacetylation via histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Although histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is required for mice during early embryonic development, its functions in Helicoverpa armigera (H. armigera) and its potential to be used as a target of insecticides remain unclear. We treated H. armigera with HDAC3 siRNA and RGFP966, a specific inhibitor, examining how the HDAC3 loss-of-function affects growth and development. HDAC3 siRNA and RGFP966 treatment increased mortality at each growth stage and altered metamorphosis, hampering pupation and causing abnormal wing development, reduced egg production, and reduced hatching rate. We believe that the misregulation of key hormone-related genes leads to abnormal pupa development in HDAC3 knockout insects. RNA-seq analysis identified 2788 differentially expressed genes (≥two-fold change; p ≤ 0.05) between siHDAC3- and siNC-treated larvae. Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1), was differentially expressed in HDAC3 knockdown larvae. Pathway-enrichment analysis revealed the significant enrichment of genes involved in the Hippo, MAPK, and Wnt signaling pathways following HDAC3 knockdown. Histone H3K9 acetylation was increased in H. armigera after siHDAC3 treatment. In conclusion, HDAC3 knockdown dysregulated juvenile hormone (JH)-related and apoptosis-related genes in H. armigera. The results showed that the HDAC3 gene is a potential target for fighting H. armigera. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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17 pages, 1647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Association Study of Salt Tolerance-Related Traits during Germination and Seedling Development in an Intermedium-Spike Barley Collection

by Mohammed A. Sayed, Andreas Maurer, Thomas Schmutzer, Thorsten Schnurbusch, Andreas Börner, Mats Hansson, Klaus Pillen and Helmy M. Youssef

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19), 11060; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911060 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2458

Abstract

Increased salinity is one of the major consequences of climatic change affecting global crop production. The early stages in the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) life cycle are considered the most critical phases due to their contributions to final crop yield. Particularly, the [...] Read more.

Increased salinity is one of the major consequences of climatic change affecting global crop production. The early stages in the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) life cycle are considered the most critical phases due to their contributions to final crop yield. Particularly, the germination and seedling development are sensitive to numerous environmental stresses, especially soil salinity. In this study, we aimed to identify SNP markers linked with germination and seedling development at 150 mM NaCl as a salinity treatment. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a panel of 208 intermedium-spike barley (H. vulgare convar. intermedium (Körn.) Mansf.) accessions and their genotype data (i.e., 10,323 SNPs) using the genome reference sequence of “Morex”. The phenotypic results showed that the 150 mM NaCl salinity treatment significantly reduced all recorded germination and seedling-related traits compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, six accessions (HOR 11747, HOR 11718, HOR 11640, HOR 11256, HOR 11275 and HOR 11291) were identified as the most salinity tolerant from the intermedium-spike barley collection. GWAS analysis indicated that a total of 38 highly significantly associated SNP markers under control and/or salinity traits were identified. Of these, two SNP markers on chromosome (chr) 1H, two on chr 3H, and one on chr 4H were significantly linked to seedling fresh and dry weight under salinity stress treatment. In addition, two SNP markers on chr 7H were also significantly associated with seedling fresh and dry weight but under control condition. Under salinity stress, one SNP marker on chr 1H, 5H and 7H were detected for more than one phenotypic trait. We found that in most of the accessions exhibiting the highest salinity tolerance, most of the salinity-related QTLs were presented. These results form the basis for detailed studies, leading to improved salt tolerance breeding programs in barley. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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18 pages, 4065 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BR-Mediated Protein S-Nitrosylation Alleviated Low-Temperature Stress in Mini Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis)

by Xueqin Gao, Jizhong Ma, Jianzhong Tie, Yutong Li, Linli Hu and Jihua Yu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(18), 10964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810964 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2203

Abstract

Brassinosteroids (BRs), a novel plant hormone, are widely involved in plant growth and stress response processes. Nitric oxide (NO), as an important gas signaling molecule, can regulate target protein activity, subcellular localization and function in response to various stresses through post-translational S-nitrosylation [...] Read more.

Brassinosteroids (BRs), a novel plant hormone, are widely involved in plant growth and stress response processes. Nitric oxide (NO), as an important gas signaling molecule, can regulate target protein activity, subcellular localization and function in response to various stresses through post-translational S-nitrosylation modifications. However, the relationship between BR and NO in alleviating low-temperature stress of mini Chinese cabbage remains unclear. The hydroponic experiment combined with the pharmacological and molecular biological method was conducted to study the alleviating mechanism of BR at low temperature in mini Chinese cabbage. The results showed that low temperature inhibited the growth of mini Chinese cabbage seedlings, as evidenced by dwarf plants and yellow leaves. Treatment with 0.05 mg/L BR and 50 µM NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) significantly increased the leaf area, stem diameter, chlorophyll content, dry and fresh weight and proline content. Meanwhile, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in 0.05 mg/L BR- and 50 µM GSNO-treated leaves were significantly lower than those in other treated leaves under low-temperature conditions. In addition, BR and GSNO applications induced an increase in NO and S-nitrosothiol (SNO) levels in vivo under low-temperature stress. Similarly, spraying BR after the elimination of NO also increased the level of S-nitrosylation in vivo, while spraying GSNO after inhibiting BR biosynthesis decreased the level of NO and SNO in vivo. In contrast, the S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (BrGSNOR) relative expression level and GSNOR enzyme activity were downregulated and inhibited by BR treatment, GSNO treatment and spraying BR after NO clearance, while the relative expression level of BrGSNOR was upregulated and GSNOR enzyme activity was also increased when spraying GSNO after inhibiting BR synthesis. Meanwhile, the biotin switch assay showed that exogenous BR increased the level of total nitrosylated protein in vivo under low-temperature stress. These results suggested that BR might act as an upstream signal of NO, induced the increase of NO content in vivo and then induced the protein S-nitrosylation modification to alleviate the damage of mini Chinese cabbage seedlings under low-temperature stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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20 pages, 4572 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isolation and Functional Analysis of MbCBF2, a Malus baccata (L.) Borkh CBF Transcription Factor Gene, with Functions in Tolerance to Cold and Salt Stress in Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

by Xingguo Li, Xiaoqi Liang, Wenhui Li, Anqi Yao, Wanda Liu, Yu Wang, Guohui Yang and Deguo Han

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(17), 9827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179827 - 29 Aug 2022

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2116

Abstract

CBF transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of plant stress tolerance and play an integral role in plant tolerance to adverse growth environments. However, in the current research situation, there are few reports on the response of the CBF gene to Begonia stress. [...] Read more.

CBF transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of plant stress tolerance and play an integral role in plant tolerance to adverse growth environments. However, in the current research situation, there are few reports on the response of the CBF gene to Begonia stress. Therefore, this experiment investigated a novel CBF TF gene, named MbCBF2, which was isolated from M. baccata seedlings. According to the subcellular localization results, the MbCBF2 protein was located in the nucleus. In addition, the expression level of MbCBF2 was higher in new leaves and roots under low-temperature and high-salt induction. After the introduction of MbCBF2 into Arabidopsis thaliana, the adaptability of transgenic A. thaliana to cold and high-salt environments was significantly enhanced. In addition, the high expression of MbCBF2 can also change many physiological indicators in transgenic A. thaliana, such as increased chlorophyll and proline content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activity, and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Therefore, it can be seen from the above results that MbCBF2 can positively regulate the response of A. thaliana to low-temperature and osmotic stress. In addition, MbCBF2 can also regulate the expression of its downstream genes in transgenic lines. It can not only positively regulate the expression of the downstream key genes AtCOR15a, AtERD10, AtRD29a/b and AtCOR6.6/47, related to cold stress at low temperatures, but can also positively regulate the expression of the downstream key genes AtNCED3, AtCAT1, AtP5CS, AtPIF1/4 and AtSnRK2.4, related to salt stress. That is, the overexpression of the MbCBF2 gene further improved the adaptability and tolerance of transgenic plants to low-temperature and high-salt environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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Review

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14 pages, 3615 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances of Apetala2/Ethylene Response Factors in Regulating Development and Stress Response in Maize

by Huanhuan Qi, Kun Liang, Yinggen Ke, Jing Wang, Pingfang Yang, Feng Yu and Fazhan Qiu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5416; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065416 - 12 Mar 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2713

Abstract

Apetala2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) is one of the largest families of transcription factors, regulating growth, development, and stress response in plants. Several studies have been conducted to clarify their roles in Arabidopsis and rice. However, less research has been carried out on maize. [...] Read more.

Apetala2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) is one of the largest families of transcription factors, regulating growth, development, and stress response in plants. Several studies have been conducted to clarify their roles in Arabidopsis and rice. However, less research has been carried out on maize. In this review, we systematically identified the AP2/ERFs in the maize genome and summarized the research progress related to AP2/ERF genes. The potential roles were predicted from rice homologs based on phylogenetic and collinear analysis. The putative regulatory interactions mediated by maize AP2/ERFs were discovered according to integrated data sources, implying that they involved complex networks in biological activities. This will facilitate the functional assignment of AP2/ERFs and their applications in breeding strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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15 pages, 2368 KiB

Open AccessReview

Emerging Roles of Salicylic Acid in Plant Saline Stress Tolerance

by Wei Yang, Zhou Zhou and Zhaohui Chu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3388; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043388 - 8 Feb 2023

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4433

Abstract

One of the most important phytohormones is salicylic acid (SA), which is essential for the regulation of plant growth, development, ripening, and defense responses. The role of SA in plant–pathogen interactions has attracted a lot of attention. Aside from defense responses, SA is [...] Read more.

One of the most important phytohormones is salicylic acid (SA), which is essential for the regulation of plant growth, development, ripening, and defense responses. The role of SA in plant–pathogen interactions has attracted a lot of attention. Aside from defense responses, SA is also important in responding to abiotic stimuli. It has been proposed to have great potential for improving the stress resistance of major agricultural crops. On the other hand, SA utilization is dependent on the dosage of the applied SA, the technique of application, and the status of the plants (e.g., developmental stage and acclimation). Here, we reviewed the impact of SA on saline stress responses and the associated molecular pathways, as well as recent studies toward understanding the hubs and crosstalk between SA-induced tolerances to biotic and saline stress. We propose that elucidating the mechanism of the SA-specific response to various stresses, as well as SA-induced rhizosphere-specific microbiome modeling, may provide more insights and support in coping with plant saline stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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22 pages, 2014 KiB

Open AccessReview

Defense Mechanisms of Cotton Fusarium and Verticillium Wilt and Comparison of Pathogenic Response in Cotton and Humans

by Mingwu Man, Yaqian Zhu, Lulu Liu, Lei Luo, Xinpei Han, Lu Qiu, Fuguang Li, Maozhi Ren and Yadi Xing

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(20), 12217; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232012217 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3144

Abstract

Cotton is an important economic crop. Fusarium and Verticillium are the primary pathogenic fungi that threaten both the quality and sustainable production of cotton. As an opportunistic pathogen, Fusarium causes various human diseases, including fungal keratitis, which is the most common. Therefore, there [...] Read more.

Cotton is an important economic crop. Fusarium and Verticillium are the primary pathogenic fungi that threaten both the quality and sustainable production of cotton. As an opportunistic pathogen, Fusarium causes various human diseases, including fungal keratitis, which is the most common. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study and clarify the resistance mechanisms of cotton and humans toward Fusarium in order to mitigate, or eliminate, its harm. Herein, we first discuss the resistance and susceptibility mechanisms of cotton to Fusarium and Verticillium wilt and classify associated genes based on their functions. We then outline the characteristics and pathogenicity of Fusarium and describe the multiple roles of human neutrophils in limiting hyphal growth. Finally, we comprehensively compare the similarities and differences between animal and plant resistance to Fusarium and put forward new insights into novel strategies for cotton disease resistance breeding and treatment of Fusarium infection in humans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance 2.0)

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