Developing eco-friendly, pest-resistant cotton by a heterologous multi-gene transformation system for caffeine synthesis
February 2026
Cotton production faces significant challenges from insect pests, with chemical pesticide use becoming increasingly limited by resistance and environmental concerns. This study explores the potential...
Soybean MYB diversification identifies GmMYBA1 as a light-responsive anthocyanin activator
February 2026
Anthocyanin biosynthesis in plants is spatiotemporally controlled by a suite of transcription factors, with MYB proteins playing a key regulatory role. However, the evolution of the distinct roles of...
Efficient genetic transformation and gene editing in Erigeron breviscapus using developmental regulators
February 2026
The demand for Erigeron breviscapus, a medicinal Compositae plant with cardiovascular therapeutic properties, has been increasing by 15% annually, exceeding production capacity and necessitating improvements...
PSY4-mediated carotenoid biosynthesis confers yellow anther and enhances heat tolerance in cotton
February 2026
Carotenoids are lipophilic isoprenoid pigments with essential roles in plants. While the cultivated allotetraploid cottons exhibit distinct mature anther coloration — yellow in Gossypium barbadense...
Metabolic engineering of vegetative organs for enhanced oil accumulation in biofuel feedstocks
February 2026
Plant oils are increasingly sought after as sustainable sources of bioenergy for biodiesel production and high-value biochemicals. Although oilseed crops currently serve as the primary source of plant...
A synthetic glycolate metabolism bypass in rice chloroplasts increases photosynthesis and yield
February 2026
Photorespiration consumes photosynthetically fixed carbon and reduces yields by 20%–50% in C3 crops. In an attempt to increase photosynthetic efficiency in rice by bypassing the carbon-consuming process...
The miR166–ATHB14-LIKE module regulates flavonoid biosynthesis in soybean
February 2026
Flavonoids are crucial secondary metabolites widely distributed in plants, playing vital roles in diverse biological processes. Although the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway has been extensively characterized,...
Optimizing carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 (CCD4) for enhanced β-ionone production in Nicotiana tabacum
February 2026
Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 (CCD4) controls the rate-limiting step of β-ionone biosynthesis, making it a valuable target for healthcare and pharmaceutical applications. Nicotiana tabacum, a carotenoid-richd...
GiMYB76, a MeJA-inducible R2R3-type transcription factor, regulates licochalcone A biosynthesis in licorice (Glycyrrhiza inflata)
February 2026
Licochalcone A (LCA) is a characteristic compound in licorice Glycyrrhiza inflata and is widely utilized in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. However, the biosynthetic pathway and regulatory mechanisms...
Synthetic metabolic engineering of functional crops: Boosting nutrition and human health
February 2026
A growing global population and the increasing prevalence of diet-related health issues such as “hidden hunger”, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes necessitate a fundamental rethinking of crop design...
Transcription factor ZbERF6-ZbbHLH2 complex enhances monoterpenoid synthesis in Zanthoxylum bungeanum by synergistically activating the expression of ZbIDI
February 2026
Zanthoxylum bungeanum is an economically important crop worldwide due to its high content of aroma-producing monoterpenoids, and development of varieties with enhanced flavor and overall quality is...
DaMYB75 and DaMYB56 antagonistically regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis by binding to the DaANS promoter in Dioscorea alata
February 2026
The yam Dioscorea alata L. is widely cultivated globally. Purple-fleshed varieties of this important crop have enhanced market value due to their high anthocyanin contents, but how anthocyanin biosynthesis...
Precision modification and de novo design of metabolic pathways to enhance crop nutritional quality and stress tolerance
February 2026
In light of the pressing global challenges of climate change, declining crop resilience, and hidden hunger, it is imperative to overcome the limitations of conventional crop breeding to enhance both...
Genetic dissection of an extremely early heading mutant in Aegilops tauschii
Available online 28 February 2026
The heading date is an important trait that affects crop adaptability and significantly affects crop yield. The discovery and functional understanding of genes related to heading are crucial for wheat...
Identification of two major QTL associated with Fusarium crown rot resistance in wheat
Available online 28 February 2026
Fusarium crown rot (FCR), caused by the fungal genus Fusarium, is a severe soil-borne disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) worldwide. In this study, we identified five quantitative trait loci (QTL)...
A missense mutation in TaBGLU1-5D confers early heading in wheat
Available online 28 February 2026
Heading date (HD) in wheat determines geographic adaptation, seasonal performance, and ultimately affects yield and quality. However, the genetic regulation of HD remains unclear. Here, we identified...
Untargeted LC-MS/MS metabolomics reveals farming practice- and cultivar-driven modulations of pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed metabolome across multiple biosynthetic pathways
Available online 27 February 2026
This work presents a comprehensive biochemical landscape of pea seeds captured by untargeted LC-MS-based metabolomics of ten pea cultivars grown at three Danish field sites following different agricultural...
A haplotype-resolved genome assembly for Centella asiatica provides insights into its genome evolution and ursane-type triterpene accumulation
Available online 27 February 2026
Centella asiatica is a medicinal plant containing various ursane-type saponins that serve as a model system for studying triterpenoid accumulation. We assembled a haplotype-resolved genome for C. asiatica,...
LesionDiff: Synthetic data via lesion information transfer diffusion model facilitates plant disease diagnosis
Available online 27 February 2026
Training software models for crop disease diagnosis requires large image datasets to achieve high accuracy. We describe a lesion information transfer diffusion model, LesionDiff, for generating image...
HvMATE-mediated aluminium exclusion sustains stomatal function and photosynthesis in barley under acidic soils
Available online 26 February 2026
Aluminium (Al) toxicity in acidic soils limits cereal productivity, yet the stomatal activities linking Al exposure to reduced growth performance remain poorly defined. Here, we investigated stomatal...
Root cortical senescence: An adaptive mechanism for drought tolerance in crops
Available online 18 February 2026
Senescence allows plants to remove unnecessary tissues and recycle nutrients. Substantial work has focused on the senescence of aboveground tissues such as leaves; by contrast, the senescence of underground...
GhMYB2-activated GhADC2 interacts with GhBCCP1 to regulate cotton fiber development
Available online 18 February 2026
Arginine decarboxylase (ADC), a rate-limiting enzyme in the polyamine biosynthesis pathway, plays a critical role in plant growth and development. Our previous study revealed that cotton GhADC2 has...
ZmWRKY122 enhances waterlogging tolerance in maize via direct activation of ZmPRX101
Available online 18 February 2026
Waterlogging stress severely hampers plant growth and represents a major challenge to agricultural productivity. Therefore, identifying key genes involved in plant waterlogging responses and elucidating...
Novel genetic loci regulate flowering time in the northeast soybean germplasm of China
Available online 18 February 2026
Flowering time is a crucial agronomic trait that affects the adaptability and yield of soybeans. Despite extensive research aimed at uncovering the genetic basis of flowering time in soybean germplasm,...