Simultaneously enhancing plant growth and immunity through the application of engineered Bacillus subtilis expressing a microbial pattern
May 2026
•The engineered strain, OKB105 (flg22), could secrete the plant immunity inducer flg22.•Compared to OKB105 (EV), OKB105 (flg22) significantly enhanced plant resistance, while maintaining similar growth-promotion...
QTL mapping and allele stacking for enhanced lignan content in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) using genotyping-by-sequencing
May 2026
●Key QTLs regulating lignan content (sesamin, sesamolin, and sesaminol) in sesame seeds were identified.●The QTLs qLIGNAN6 and qLIGNAN11 showed allele stacking effects, confirming gene pyramiding potential...
Plant growth retardant increases nitrogen utilization efficiency and harvest index in maize by optimizing the plant horizontal-vertical ratio and vascular bundle morphology
May 2026
•Plant growth retardant (EC (an ethephon and cycocel compound)) improves nitrogen utilization efficiency and harvest index.•The dry matter determines maize nitrogen uptake.•EC and high-density planting...
Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal the mechanism of anthocyanin metabolism in H18 pepper leaves and the function of CaDFR1
May 2026
•The accumulation of anthocyanins in H18 pepper plants leads to purple leaves, and the anthocyanin content in leaves decreases with plant growth and development.•Anthocyanins produced with dihydromyricetin...
Optimizing nitrogen management for higher grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in summer maize by coordinating the N supply–demand balance
May 2026
•Early-maturing maize hybrids have lower N uptake than late-maturing summer hybrids.•Either controlled-release urea (CRU) or the split application of urea (SAU) can achieve N supply-demand balance in...
Productivity and economic benefits of winter wheat in Northwest China by optimizing irrigation and planting density
May 2026
•Optimized irrigation at jointing enhanced grain yield and net economic benefits.•Lower planting density enhanced dry matter accumulation (DMA), SPAD, and leaf area index (LAI), significantly improving...
Cytokinins redistributing drives nitrogen remobilization from source to sink in wheat under moderate water limitation during grain filling
May 2026
•Post-anthesis moderate water limitation enhances source-to-sink nitrogen remobilization, significantly boosting grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in wheat.•Post-anthesis moderate water limitation...
Advances in rice synthetic biology: Toward a better staple crop and beyond
May 2026
●Expansion of synthetic biology into rice reflects its growing role in addressing global challenges in agriculture and human health.●Substantial advancements in rice synthetic biology have enhanced...
Green agriculture enabled by versatile metal-organic frameworks: A review
May 2026
●Strategies for green synthesis and production of target metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).●Removal of agricultural pollutants using functional MOFs.●Water capture and nutrient management through designed...
Generating popcorn-like fragrant tomato using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing
May 2026
•CRISPR/Cas9-mediated simultaneous knockout of both SlBADH1 and SlBADH2 led to the development the first extraordinary aromatic tomato plants.•None of the edited lines differed significantly from the...
FvVam6 is associated with fungal development and fumonisin biosynthesis via vacuole morphology regulation in Fusarium verticillioides
May 2026
•Deleting the FvVam6 gene in Fusarium verticillioides significantly affects fungal development, virulenc, vacuolar morphology and FB1 biosynthesis.•The Vps39 and clathrin domains are critical for the...
A candidate tick-borne encephalitis virus vaccine based on virus-like particles induces specific cellular and humoral immunity in mice
May 2026
•Tick-borne encephalitis virus VLPs were prepared by expression of TBEV-prM-E protein using a baculovirus expression system.•TBEV VLPs induced specific cellular and humoral immunity in mice.•The TBEV...
How do natural disasters affect agricultural exports?
May 2026
•Natural disasters significantly reduce agricultural exports from affected countries, with larger negative effects than those in other sectors.•Different types of disasters affect agricultural exports...
Identification and fine mapping of a major QTL for grain protein content, qGPC4D, using wheat–Aegilops tauschii introgression lines
May 2026
●A major and stable quantitative trait locus (QTL) for grain protein content, qGPC4D, was identified from Aegilops tauschii and fine-mapped to a 9.88 Mb interval.●High-throughput kompetitive allele-specific...
Core germplasm construction of tea plant populations based on genome-wide SNP and catechins in Shaanxi Province, China
May 2026
•A core germplasm representing the full genetic and metabolic diversity of tea plants was constructed by integrating genome-wide SNP and targeted metabolite data.•The effectiveness of this core collection...
Genome-wide association study of sucrose content and stem diameter in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.)
May 2026
•Sucrose content and stem diameter of 292 sugarcane germplasm resources were determined.•A total of 46 SNPs associated with the phenotypic traits were identified through genome-wide association analysis.•Twenty-six...
Mixed cropping green manure can simultaneously improve the nutrient yield and quality of spring wheat grain under reduced chemical nitrogen supply
May 2026
•Mixed hairy vetch and common vetch under 20% nitrogen reduction (HCVN2) improved the nutrient yield of wheat grain.•HCVN2 increased the nutritional and processing qualities.•HCVN2 enhanced nitrogen...
A weak OsBRI1 allele in Zhonghua 11 as a genetic tool for brassinosteroid signaling research in rice
May 2026
•Zhonghua 11 and Taichung 65 exhibit distinct physiological and molecular responses to brassinosteroids despite their close japonica relationship.•A near-isogenic line, d61-zh11, was developed to transfer...
Commentary: Roles of metal-organic frameworks in sustainable agriculture - A critical overview
May 2026
A rescued virus from the infectious clone of a PRRSV NADC34-like strain exhibits high pathogenicity for nursery pigs
May 2026
•A NADC34-like porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) was successionally rescued by reverse genetics technique.•The rescued virus proliferated well in porcine alveolar macrophages.•The...
Free fatty acids induce apoptosis in mammary epithelial cells from ketotic dairy cows via endoplasmic reticulum stress
May 2026
•Key Findings on Ketosis-Induced ER Stress: High concentrations of free fatty acid (FFA) in ketotic dairy cows activate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, contributing to mammary epithelial...
Plasticity in within-plant distribution patterns allows aphids to optimize their fitness under contrasting interactions with protective ants and predatory ladybugs
May 2026
•Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of organisms to adapt to environmental changes. Many aphids have evolved facultative mutualistic relationships with ants, but the colonies must often cope without...
Application of an endogenous pGhαGloA promoter in the CRISPR/Cas12a system for efficient genome editing to create glandless cotton germplasm
May 2026
●The cotton endogenous Pol II type promoter (pGhαGloA) can drive high transcription of crRNAs and improve editing efficiency.●The GhPGF gene negatively regulates the formation of cotton pigment gla...
Legume–cereal intercropping with AMF reduces cadmium bioavailability and enhances land productivity
May 2026
•Maize–soybean intercropping reduces grain Cd to safe levels (<0.20 mg kg–1), ensuring compliance with China’s food safety standard (GB2762-2022) while maintaining yield advantages (LER>1).•AMF inoculation...
Edutainment matters: Can short video apps improve household food consumption in rural China?
May 2026
•Short video apps boost rural households’ food consumption and dietary diversity.•Improvement in nutrition awareness mediates the positive relationship between short video app use and dietary diversity.•Effects...