The pentatricopeptide repeat protein AL5 modulates early chloroplast development in rice
October 2025
Chloroplasts are essential for normal plant growth and development. In plants, pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins mediate RNA processing in chloroplasts. Here, we characterized a rice albino leaf...
OsPATA1 deficiency enhances ABA-dependent salt tolerance by sequestering OsEULD1b in the cytosol of rice
October 2025
Abiotic stresses, particularly salinity, pose a major threat to rice productivity, highlighting the need to identify novel genetic resources to improve stress tolerance. Gamma irradiation remains one...
GABA transporter OsGAT3 is required for growth and yield in rice under salt and drought stress
October 2025
Gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays an important role in regulating plant growth and response to various stresses. Here, we studied the natural variation of GABA transporter gene OsGAT3 in rice germplasm...
Mutation of OsJAC1 enhances rice resistance to diverse diseases without yield penalty
October 2025
Broad-spectrum resistance (BSR) reduces pathogen-related yield losses in crops such as rice (Oryza sativa). To achieve BSR, traditional breeding has focused on the time-intensive process of incorporating...
TaIAA10-6D orchestrates processing quality and grain yield by modulating glutenin/gliadin ratio and plant morphogenesis in wheat
October 2025
High molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS), major components of seed storage proteins in wheat, have large effects on processing quality. GLU-1 genes encode HMW-GS and their expression is mainly...
GL6.1 integrates grain length regulation and disease resistance via OsWRKY53-mediated signaling in rice
October 2025
Grain size is a crucial factor influencing both rice yield and appearance quality. In this study, we identified GL6.1 as a gene associated with rice grain size by map-based cloning. The GL6.1 encodes...
Sustainable transition for cereal-based agri-food systems in China: Prospective advantages of whole-grain adoption
October 2025
A dietary transition from refined to whole grains would optimize grain processing, reduce food loss and emissions, and increase food nutritional contents. The results of systematical analysis and calculations...
Prolonged endosperm filling and embryo enlargement phases contribute to the impaired development of inferior grains in japonica rice
October 2025
Inferior grains exhibit delayed developmental processes and reduced metabolic activities compared to superior grains, leading to unstable rice yield and quality. While significant advancements have...
Low-nitrogen-tolerant maize cultivar improves photosynthesis and yield by optimizing nitrogen allocation to increase electron transport under low-nitrogen and low-light stress
October 2025
This study aimed to identify the physiological mechanisms enabling low-N-tolerant maize cultivar to maintain higher photosynthesis and yield under low-N, low-light, and combined stress. In a three-year...
Prediction of hybrid maize adaptation in China using extensive climatic-phenotypic data and machine learning
October 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...
Characterization of adult plant leaf rust resistance loci in an international wheat collection using a re-sequencing genotyping system
October 2025
Leaf rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia triticina, is one of the most destructive diseases affecting global wheat production. Developing disease-resistant wheat varieties is the most cost-effective...
Good things come in pairs: Crop disease resistance from sensor–helper to sensor–executor pairs
Available online 30 October 2025
Optimal interspecific distance maintains soybean yield by promoting canopy–root synergy in a maize–soybean relay strip cropping system
Available online 27 October 2025
Maize–soybean relay cropping increases land-equivalent ratio, but shading often limits soybean productivity. Optimizing strip relay configurations improves the light environment for soybean, enhancing...
Harnessing meiotic crossover control to increase crop breeding efficiency
Available online 25 October 2025
A predictive model of meiotic crossover engineering would increase precision in crop breeding. We review the biological principles underlying crossover formation and chromosomal distribution, hierarchical...
Foliar nano-molybdenum application mitigates cadmium-induced apoplastic H2O2 burst in rice roots by optimizing the antioxidant system
Available online 23 October 2025
Cadmium (Cd2+) exhibits pronounced phytotoxicity and poses significant risks to human health through bioaccumulation in agricultural products. This study investigates the mitigative effects of foliar-applied...
DKP-ADS: Domain knowledge prompt combined with multi-task learning for assessment of foliar disease severity in staple crops
Available online 23 October 2025
Staple crops are the cornerstone of the food supply but are frequently threatened by plant diseases. Effective disease management, including disease identification and severity assessment, helps to...
Optimizing sowing dates to increase maize yield across the Huanghuaihai Plain in China
Available online 20 October 2025
With the aim of adapting agricultural practices to climate warming, this study projected sowing dates for summer maize in the 2030s (2031–2040) across the Huanghuaihai Plain by analyzing key photo-thermal...
Rapid elongation of stems during the bolting stage reduces the lodging resistance of late-sown rapeseed
Available online 20 October 2025
In the rice–rapeseed cropping system in the Yangtze River Basin, late rapeseed sowing increases lodging. To identify the mechanisms of reduced lodging resistance, a two-year field experiment compared...
Green manure returning improves wheat yield and N utilization efficiency by minimizing N loss in Oasis irrigation area of China
Available online 17 October 2025
Improving crop yield and N utilization while mitigating environmental pollution is a key goal in sustainable agriculture. Integrating green manure with reduced chemical N application is a promising...
Cultivar difference in rice leaf color change during the later reproductive stage and its relationship with grain filling and nitrogen level
Available online 15 October 2025
To study the relationship between rice leaf color change and grain filling, two indica-japonica hybrids with distinct leaf colors were grown under three N fertilizer dosages (LN 0 kg ha−1; MN 150 kg...
faCRSA: An automated pipeline for high-throughput analysis of crop root system architecture
Available online 15 October 2025
Optimizing root system architecture (RSA) is essential for plants because of its critical role in acquiring water and nutrients from the soil. However, the subterranean nature of roots complicates the...
Biomolecular condensates: Emerging regulatory mechanisms for crop improvement
Available online 15 October 2025
Global climate change seriously threatens food security. To address this challenge, breeders have achieved remarkable results using multiple breeding strategies and technologies. In recent years, the...