Salt tolerance in rice: Physiological responses and molecular mechanisms
February 2022
Crop yield loss due to soil salinization is an increasing threat to agriculture worldwide. Salt stress drastically affects the growth, development, and grain productivity of rice (Oryza sativa L.),...
Synergistic and antagonistic interactions between potassium and magnesium in higher plants
April 2021
Magnesium (Mg) affects various critical physiological and biochemical processes in higher plants, and its deficiency impedes plant growth and development. Although potassium (K)-induced Mg deficiency...
CRISPR/Cas genome editing in nonregenerative cotton using sexual hybridization
June 2026
Sexual transfer of the CRISPR/Cas genome-editing system to targeted cotton cultivars could bypass their recalcitrance to regeneration from tissue culture. We used sexual hybridization to transmit a...
Rice fructokinases orchestrate carbon partitioning to regulate photosynthesis and sugar metabolism
June 2026
Fructokinases (FRKs) are key regulators in carbohydrate metabolism and plant development. However, their specific functions in crop photosynthesis and sugar metabolism remain unclear. In this study,...
High-throughput phenotyping: Breaking through the bottleneck in future crop breeding
June 2021
With the rapid development of genetic analysis techniques and crop population size, phenotyping has become the bottleneck restricting crop breeding. Breaking through this bottleneck will require phenomics,...
PlantGaussian: Exploring 3D Gaussian splatting for cross-time, cross-scene, and realistic 3D plant visualization and beyond
April 2025
Observing plants across time and diverse scenes is critical in uncovering plant growth patterns. Classic methods often struggle to observe or measure plants against complex backgrounds and at different...
RNAi technologies for insect control in crop protection
August 2025
RNA interference (RNAi) has been used for agricultural insect pest control based on silencing of targeted insect genes. However, the effectiveness of RNAi and its applications in insect pest control...
Gene-edited staple crops: Global research and development and industrial prospects
August 2026
Gene-editing methods have significantly advanced genetic improvement and variety development in major food crops and have potential to make further major contributions to food security and human health....
OsMAP4K6 positively regulates salt tolerance via activating OsMKK6 in rice
June 2026
High-salt stress severely inhibits plant growth and development, leading to a significant reduction in rice yield. Although significant progress has been made in understanding the functions of plant...
The impact of high-temperature stress on rice: Challenges and solutions
October 2021
Heat stress (HS) caused by rapidly warming climate has become a serious threat to global food security. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food crop for over half of the world’s population, and its...
Pixel size and spatial scale in phenomics and enviromics modeling for precision breeding
Available online 24 June 2026
Knowing how much information a single pixel can provide is not just a technical issue; it shapes what we learn, and what we will learn, from the field. This article examines how pixel size governs the...
OsARF9 integrates auxin-BR-ABA signaling to regulate plant architecture and seed germination in rice
June 2026
Optimizing rice (Oryza sativa L.) plant architecture and seed germination is critical for improving agronomic performance. Here, we investigated the role of OsARF9, a class B auxin response factor,...
CRISPR/Cas9 multiplex editing of four TaSK41 genes increases grain size and weight and reveals a TaSK41–TaSnRK1β1 module associated with carbohydrate metabolism in wheat
June 2026
Grain size and weight contribute to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, yet how Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3)/SHAGGY-like kinase signaling interfaces with carbohydrate metabolism during grain development...
Multi-environment sparse testing strategies improve genomic prediction of hybrid performance and general combining ability in maize
Available online 4 July 2026
Multi-environment trials (METs) are essential for maize breeding, but their implementation is often constrained by limited resources, particularly the high cost of phenotyping. To optimize resource...
Biological nitrogen and carbon fixation: Bridging the gap between synthetic symbioses and synthetic biology
February 2026
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and photosynthetic carbon fixation underpin food production and climate mitigation, yet natural systems are constrained by oxygen sensitivity, high energy demand,...
The regulatory network behind maize seed germination: Effects of temperature, water, phytohormones, and nutrients
August 2021
Seed germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed. It requires suitable conditions and environmental factors. Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide. Germination influences...
Single-nucleus RNA sequencing reveals transcriptional response of wheat roots and leaves to salt stress
August 2026
Deeper understanding of the mechanism by which wheat responds to salt stress (SS) remains a major challenge due to the scarcity of available single-cell/nucleus transcriptomics resources. Here, in order...
History, current status, and prospects of soybean production and research in sub-Saharan Africa
June 2018
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a non-native and non-staple crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with potential to be a commercial crop owing to its wide range of uses as food, feed, and industrial...
Plant aquaporins: Their roles beyond water transport
June 2024
Compared to other organisms, plants have evolved a greater number of aquaporins with diverse substrates and functions to adapt to ever-changing environmental and internal stimuli for growth and development....
Physiology of medicinal and aromatic plants under drought stress
April 2024
Drought poses a significant challenge, restricting the productivity of medicinal and aromatic plants. The strain induced by drought can impede vital processes like respiration and photosynthesis, affecting...
Planting density affects the yield and quality of indica-japonica hybrid rice by regulating grain filling characteristics
June 2026
Planting density and grain filling are important cultivation practices and physiological processes that affect the yield and quality of indica-japonica hybrid rice. Elucidating how planting density...
Integrative multi-omics reveals regulators of oil accumulation in soybean seed
Available online 29 May 2026
Integrated multi-omics analyses were conducted on nine soybean cultivars throughout seed maturation. Representative metabolic biomarkers covering six metabolite classes effectively differentiated oil-contrasting...
GWAS-based identification of heterosis-associated genes for yield traits in maize testcross populations
Available online 25 May 2026
Heterosis is central to breeding high-yielding maize (Zea mays L.). To dissect the genetic basis of heterosis for yield-related traits, we constructed four testcross populations using four diverse inbred...
QTL IciMapping: Integrated software for genetic linkage map construction and quantitative trait locus mapping in biparental populations
June 2015
QTL IciMapping is freely available public software capable of building high-density linkage maps and mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) in biparental populations. Eight functionalities are integrated...
Interplay of light and nitrogen for plant growth and development
June 2025
Light and nitrogen (N) are two critically environmental factors essential for plant survival, as they constitute the fundamental molecular framework of plant cells and significantly influence patterns...
