Salinity severely limits wheat productivity by affecting plant growth, disrupting water relations, ionic homeostasis, photosynthetic efficiency, and oxidative metabolism. This study evaluated the effects of rice biochar on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under salinity levels of 0, 4, 8, and 12 dS m−1, with and without 3% rice biochar. Salinity reduced growth, yield, chlorophyll content, relative water content, and K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, while elevating Na⁺ accumulation, electrolyte leakage, MDA, proline, and antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD and CAT), along with soil EC. Rice biochar partially alleviated these effects by improving growth and yield, enhancing K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, improving soil chemical properties, and reducing membrane damage. Changes in proline and antioxidant enzymes reflected physiological responses to salinity and biochar. qRT-PCR revealed altered expression of stress-responsive genes following biochar application, indicating molecular modulation. Correlation and PCA revealed associations between productivity and chlorophyll, water status, and K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, confirming biochar's role in enhancing wheat salt tolerance.
Mild summer droughts rarely threaten perennial ryegrass survival, but sensitive cultivars may halt growth early, reducing yields. This study examined the transcriptomic responses to mild drought (5 days without watering) and rewatering in two genotypes with contrasting leaf growth behaviors. The sensitive genotype showed a substantially higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) than the tolerant one, including upregulated stress-related transcription factors (bZIP, DREB, MYB, and WRKY) and downregulated cell growth genes, consistent with its early growth arrest and autophagy activation. The tolerant genotype displayed delayed stress responses and upregulated genes for root development and water retention (TSO1 and WSD1), enabling continued growth through physiological adaptation. Both genotypes activated recovery pathways upon rewatering, particularly fatty acid and nucleotide synthesis, but the sensitive genotype exhibited abrupt shutdown of drought responses, limiting recovery. These findings reveal genotype-specific molecular strategies and candidate genes for breeding drought-resilient perennial ryegrass.
Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei; CBB) is a pest of coffee, but environmental factors associated with infestation and berry responses remain unclear. We examined environmental, infestation, redox, and antioxidant relationships in Coffea canephora. Five plots containing 15 trees were evaluated. CBB infestation intensity was negatively correlated with litter height (rs = −0.785, p = 0.001), ground-cover diversity (rs = −0.600, p = 0.018), and air temperature (rs = −0.633, p = 0.011), but positively correlated with wind velocity (rs = 0.693, p = 0.004). Infested berries showed increased MDA, whereas DPPH varied among plots. Infestation intensity was positively correlated with MDA (rs = 0.641, p < 0.001) and APX expression (rs = 0.655, p < 0.001). PLS-SEM showed positive associations with redox responses (β = 0.789) and antioxidant gene expression (β = 0.568). Overall, CBB infestation was associated with increased lipid peroxidation and APX expression, indicating a differential antioxidant response.
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient element for the growth and development of flue-cured tobacco. An insufficient nitrogen supply can inhibit tobacco metabolism, delay growth progression, and reduce yield. However, in actual production, excessive nitrogen fertilizer application is common, leading to potential environmental risks. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the feasibility of nitrogen reduction and its regulatory mechanisms while ensuring the yield and normal growth of flue-cured tobacco. In this study, the flue-cured tobacco varieties Longyan 101 and Longjiang 911 were used as experimental materials. Through nitrogen reduction treatment at the seedling stage combined with physiological and transcriptomic analyses, we investigated the physiological and molecular response mechanisms of flue-cured tobacco to nitrogen reduction stress. The results showed that nitrogen reduction significantly inhibited the chlorophyll content, photosystem activity, and carbon assimilation capacity in both varieties. However, under the 1/2N treatment, Longyan 101 exhibited significantly better physiological performance than Longjiang 911, with Chl a, Chl b, and Chl (a+b) showing no significant difference from those in the normal nitrogen application treatment (1N). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that under nitrogen reduction conditions, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two varieties were enriched primarily in pathways related to photosynthesis, photosynthetic antenna proteins, carbon assimilation, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism. Further comparative analysis indicated that the extent of downregulation in the expression of genes associated with chlorophyll synthesis, photosystem activity, and carbon-nitrogen metabolism was lower in Longyan 101 than in Longjiang 911, which may underlie its stronger tolerance to low nitrogen. This study provides a theoretical basis for variety selection and regulation strategies in nitrogen-reduced cultivation of flue-cured tobacco.
Increasing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) yield is of great importance in semi-arid regions such as Uzbekistan. This study evaluated genetic diversity and marker-trait associations (MTAs) for yield components in 38 winter chickpea varieties, including local cultivars Iftikhor, Mustakillik, and samples from the Chickpea International Elite Nursery. These samples demonstrated high phenotypic variability in yield components like pods per plant (48-100), seeds per pod (42-145), and 1000-seed weight (274.9-390.8 g), characterizing them as medium- and large-seeded. Using 48 polymorphic SSR markers, molecular analysis identified 150 alleles (2 to 8 per marker, averaging 3.0). Population structure analysis (K = 4) indicated genetic admixture. Importantly, SSR markers GA6, TA72, and TAASH showed significant correlations with grains per plant and seed weight. In silico analysis mapped these to yield-associated chromosomal regions, identifying candidate regulatory genes (ADNT1, DOF, WUSCHEL) to support marker-assisted selection (MAS) programs.
