Ghd7.1 improves eating quality by reducing grain protein content in rice
Available online 11 June 2025
Protein content plays a crucial role in determining the eating and cooking quality of rice. However, the genetic and molecular bases underlying grain protein content remain to be elucidated. In this...
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RNAi technologies for insect control in crop protection
Available online 11 June 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...
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Subsoiling tillage increases water-use efficiency of winter wheat by improving soil hydraulic properties associated with pore structure in the North China Plain
Available online 11 June 2025
Subsoiling is widely used to improve soil productivity in the North China Plain (NCP), however its effects on pore network-based hydraulic properties and their relationship with water use efficiency...
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Mitigating drought-associated reproductive failure in maize: From physiological mechanisms to practical solutions
Available online 8 June 2025
Maize serves as a crucial cereal crop globally, yet the escalating frequency of drought stress during the reproductive phase poses a significant threat to grain yield by causing an irreversible loss...
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Genetic dissection and validation of a new dominant QTL associated with chlorophyll content and its regulatory networks analysis in soybean
Available online 8 June 2025
Leaf-color mutants have proven valuable for studying chlorophyll metabolism, photosynthesis, and yield improvement. Here, we identified a yellow-leaf (yl) mutant in soybean (Glycine max), characterized...
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Transcription factor BnaA1.WRKY53 is involved in regulation of auxin-induced leaf curling under boron deficiency in Brassica napus
Available online 7 June 2025
Brassica napus (oilseed rape) is sensitive to boron (B) deficiency and exhibits young leaf curling in response to low-B stress at the seedling stage, which leads to reduced photosynthesis and plant...
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Development of a “Golden fiber” cotton germplasm via carotenoid biofortification
Available online 6 June 2025
Natural colored cotton (NCC) offers a sustainable, dye-free, and eco-friendly alternative for producing colored textiles. Carotenoids, a group of important natural liposoluble pigments, are known for...
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Natural and artificial evolution of acetolactate synthase for crop breeding
Available online 30 May 2025
Acetolactate synthase (ALS)-targeting herbicides are among the most widely used weed-control chemicals globally. Mutations in the ALS gene can confer herbicide resistance in crops, thereby allowing...
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High-throughput phenotyping discovers new stable loci controlling senescence rate in bread wheat
Available online 20 May 2025
Non-destructive time-series assessment of chlorophyll content in flag-leaf (FLC) accurately mimics the senescence rate and the identification of genetic loci associated with senescence provides valuable...
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δ2H, δ18O, and δ13C behave differently when assessing transpirative and photosynthetic performance of wheat under contrasting VPD conditions
Available online 17 May 2025
Carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope compositions are considered indicators of the effect of water conditions on plant photosynthesis (δ13C) and transpiration (δ18O). Hydrogen isotope composition...
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ZmBARK1 as a low-temperature tolerance gene in maize germination
Available online 17 May 2025
Maize (Zea mays L.), a globally significant cereal crop, is produced in vast quantities worldwide. However, its growth is severely constrained by low temperatures, particularly during seed germination,...
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Establishment of a novel engineering breeding technology for cytoplasmic male sterility
Available online 15 May 2025
The three-line hybrid rice system, which relies on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), faces challenges in breeding efficiency. To address these challenges, we developed CMS engineering breeding technology...
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Diversified rotation systems improve grain yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat under limited irrigation in the North China Plain
Available online 15 May 2025
Diversifying crop rotation aims to balance production and ecological concerns. However, yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of crop in diversified rotation systems have not been well documented, especially...
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DCL2-dependent regulation of sRNA biogenesis and translocation in soybean
Available online 10 May 2025
Small RNAs (sRNAs) are essential for regulating plant growth and development, and they possess the notable ability to travel long distances within organisms to regulate target gene expression. Our study...
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One-time application of controlled-release blended fertilizer increases rice yield and nitrogen utilization by optimizing root morphological trait distribution and nitrogen uptake
Available online 10 May 2025
One-time application of controlled-release blended fertilizer (CRBF, a mixture of five nitrogen (N) fertilizers in a certain ratio) can achieve high yield and N use efficiency (NUE) in rice (Oryza sativa...
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Regulation of tiller angle by gravity-sensing genes in rice
Available online 10 May 2025
Endodermal cells and starch-accumulating amyloplasts are well-known gravity sensors initiating shoot gravitropism in Arabidopsis thaliana. The transcription factors SHR and SGR1 regulate endodermal...
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ABA-activated subclass III SnRK2s control kernel maturation in maize
Available online 8 May 2025
Seed maturation is a critical development transition and it largely affects the final yield and quality of crops. Abscisic acid (ABA)-activated sucrose-non-fermentation kinase subfamily 2 (SnRK2s) constitute...
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Accelerating wheat breeding by haploid induction
Available online 8 May 2025
The identification of haploid induction genes has promoted the advancement of several breeding technologies. Haploid induction genes in wheat, coupled with visual marker, have led to the establishment...
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Amino acid derivatives as regulatory molecules: Mechanisms in plant growth and stress tolerance
Available online 8 May 2025
Plants produce many amino acid derivatives (AADs). Some have been used by humans as medicines and nutrients, but many also act as phytochemical signals in plant growth and stress tolerance. The fluctuating...
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Chloride-dependent plasma membrane hyperpolarization confers superior salinity tissue tolerance in wild rice Oryza coarctata
Available online 8 May 2025
Salinity tissue tolerance is a key trait that confers adaptive potential in halophytic species. The aim of this study was to understand the mechanistic basis of salinity tissue tolerance in the Oryza...
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Development and identification of wheat–Psathyrostachys huashanica 7NsS small segment translocation lines with early heading date gene Ehd-7Ns
Available online 7 May 2025
Psathyrostachys huashanica Keng ex P. C. Kuo (2n = 2x = 14, NsNs), a wild relative of wheat, represents a valuable germplasm resource for genetic improvement of wheat. We previously confirmed that a...
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Prediction of hybrid maize adaptation in China using extensive climatic-phenotypic data and machine learning
Available online 3 May 2025
The environment has an important impact on maize (Zea mays L.) production, making it necessary to identify plant adaptation regions that are suitable for different maize varieties. Traditional methods...
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MORF1 regulates the editing of orf224 transcript to modulate fertility in the polima cytoplasmic male sterility system of Brassica napus L.
Available online 2 May 2025
The Brassica polima cytoplasmic male sterility (pol CMS) line causes complete and stable sterility and is most extensively used in breeding. The regulatory pathway, however, is not clear. In this work,...
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Chalcone isomerase gene (OsCHI3) increases rice drought tolerance by scavenging ROS via flavonoid and ABA metabolic pathways
April 2025
The chalcone isomerase gene OsCHI, one of the key genes in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, plays an important role in rice (Oryza sativa) resistance to abiotic stresses. This study reveals how the...
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A new strategy of molecular breeding for optimal heading date and grain yield in rice by modulating elite allelic combinations of Ghd7, Hd3a, RFT1 and Gn1a
April 2025
A later heading date generally leads to higher grain yield in favorable ecological regions; however, grain yield reaches a limit as the heading date exceeds a certain threshold. Ghd7 is the first cloned...
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