Black soils feed the world yet remain undervalued in food and climate governance frameworks. A policy package, including global monitoring as public infrastructure, co-designed and place-based solutions based on tailored tools, planning that fits land and people, mobilizing alliance with finance and force, and mainstreaming black soils in global pacts, can contribute to improving land quality and stabilize yields where it matters most.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration under organic amendments is strongly mediated by microbial processes, especially microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE). However, how amendment effects vary with baseline SOC content and microbial carbon-nitrogen (C:N) stoichiometry remains unclear. In the Mollisol zone, Northeast China, long-term SOC decline persists despite widespread manure and straw inputs, suggesting unresolved constraints in microbially driven carbon stabilization. This study examined how SOC content and microbial stoichiometry regulate carbon sequestration responses to manure and straw across six long-term (>5 years) field experiments. In soils with SOC < 18 g kg(-1), manure significantly increased SOC accumulation (by 9.6-26.7%) compared to that of straw, whereas in soils with SOC > 18 g kg(-1), manure reduced SOC (by 9.8-22.3%) and carbon sequestration relative to the unamended control. Manure increased dissolved organic carbon at all sites and alleviated microbial nitrogen limitation, as indicated by the elevated ratios of C:N-acquiring enzyme activity and reduced abundance of nitrogen acquisition genes. This improved microbial CUE in soils with SOC < 18 g kg(-1) (+2.55%). However, in soils with SOC > 18 g kg(-1), characterized by elevated SOC:TN ratios and weaker nitrogen limitation, manure inputs likely increased carbon and nitrogen availability beyond microbial assimilative capacity. This imbalance was consistent with enhanced overflow respiration, as indicated by the increased relative abundance of respiration-related genes and enzymes, resulting in reduced CUE (-2.97%). Thus, SOC-dependent microbial strategies govern the efficiency of organic amendments, emphasizing tailoring residue return practices in enhancing site fertility and microbial nutrient constraints to optimize long-term carbon sequestration.

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) governs soil carbon persistence under warming, with its magnitude highly dependent on how microbial metabolism adapts to varying substrates. How agricultural management mediates this response in agroecosystems remains poorly understood. To address this, we coupled 18O-H2O tracing of community-level CUE with 13C-probing of substrate utilization efficiency (SUE) from substrates differing in apparent bioavailability after 11 years of experimental warming under conventional and conservation agriculture, using glucose as a readily available carbohydrate and vanillin as a less accessible lignin-derived aromatic substrate. Warming stimulated glucose SUE under both management regimes, whereas vanillin SUE declined by 20% exclusively under conservation agriculture. This shift in relative anabolic efficiency (RAE, SUEglucose/SUEvanillin) was associated with warming-induced changes in CUE, primarily through changes in vanillin rather than glucose SUE. Concurrently, conservation agriculture improved substrate quality under warming, reflected by a reduced litter lignocellulose index. In response, microbial communities exhibited distinct functional adaptations, shifting toward copiotrophic taxa with higher rRNA operon copy numbers and a 16% increase in the anabolic-to-catabolic gene ratio, indicating enhanced microbial growth potential and greater investment for labile carbon processing. Structural equation modeling further showed that shifts in substrate quality were a primary driver of RAE, mediated by changes in microbial life-history strategies under conservation agriculture. Together, these results provide a genome-resolved mechanistic framework showing that conservation agriculture enhances soil carbon persistence under warming by reshaping microbial relative anabolic efficiency and metabolic strategies, highlighting metabolic adaptation as a key mechanism regulating soil carbon stability in warming agroecosystems.

Context: Climate warming disrupts source-sink relationships that coordinate carbon acquisition and utilization in wheat. However, whether no-tillage practices can mitigate this warming-induced disruption, and how to modify source-sink coordination, remains poorly understood. Objectives: We conducted a five-year field warming experiment, and systematically examined warming-induced alterations in source-sink coordination between conventional and no-tillage wheat systems. Results: Principal component analysis revealed that source-sink relationships exhibited distinct physiological trade-offs, with significant correlations between carbon acquisition efficiency and reproductive structure traits, as well as between gas exchange and carbon allocation and yield components. Under ambient temperature conditions, source and sink processes contributed nearly equally to yield (44-47 % vs. 53-56 %, respectively). However, warming significantly shifted this balance towards source-domination (60 % vs. 40 %, respectively). Structural equation modeling indicated that yield responses to warming were negative under conventional tillage but positive under no-tillage, suggesting no-tillage practices modify resource allocation by maintaining photosynthetic activity under warming. Conclusions: The negative effect of warming on source-sink regulation in wheat yield formation was reversed under no-tillage through flexible temperature responses and integrated regulatory networks. Significance: The findings deepen impact and adaptation physiological mechanisms of climate warming on wheat systems, accelerating the development of climate-resilient agricultural practices.

To address the soil organic carbon (SOC) decline in Northeast China (NEC) since the 1980s and its potential implications for food security, China has implemented a series of cropland protection (CP) policies since the 2010s. However, regional-scale SOC dynamics and their underlying mechanisms under this changing cropland-use context remain unclear, which limits targeted black soil conservation. Here, using 1304 SOC samples in 1980s, 2010s, and 2020 s, we applied an explainable machine-learning framework to generate three maps of cropland SOC and compare the driving mechanisms of SOC change between the intensive cultivation (IC) period (1980s-2010s) and the CP period (2010s-2020 s). Regional average SOC content decreased from 27.52 to 19.65 g kg-1 during the IC period, and remained nearly stable at 19.54 g kg-1 in the 2020 s. Initial SOC (ISOC), clay content, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation (MAP) were the dominant controls on SOC change, but their nonlinear responses differed between periods. Notably, MAP showed the clearest period-specific response. Higher MAP was associated with reduced SOC loss during the IC period, while its positive contribution reversed during the CP period. SOC responses during the CP period were conditional rather than uniform, suggesting that Low-ISOC, clay-rich, cooler, or relatively dry croplands showed greater potential for SOC stabilization or enhancement, whereas high-ISOC, warmer, or wetter regions should prioritize SOC conservation and erosion control. Our study implies that cropland-use policy contexts should be explicitly considered while explaining SOC dynamics to better guide cropland protection and black soil conservation.

Sustainable crop production in a warming climate requires land management strategies that support plant-soil-microbe interactions to optimize nitrogen (N) availability. Here, we investigate the interacting effects of 10 years' experimental warming and management (conservation vs. conventional agriculture) on wheat N acquisition using in situ 15N-labeling, root metabolomics and microbial metagenomics. We find that warming amplifies the positive effects on wheat nitrate uptake by 25% in conservation agriculture compared to conventional agriculture, while alleviating microbial competition for N. Additionally, warming increases soil gross N mineralization and nitrification rates by 191% and 159%, but decreases microbial immobilization by 24% in conservation agriculture. Concurrently, microbial genes for mineralization and nitrification are enriched, while those for N immobilization and nitrate reduction are reduced under conservation agriculture with warming. These shifts are driven by alterations in root primary and secondary metabolites, which reshape N-cycling microbial functional niches and optimize multiple microbial N processes beyond mere organic N mining. This reconfiguration increases carbon-nitrogen exchange efficiency, enabling wheat to outcompete soil microorganisms for N. Collectively, our findings suggest that conservation agriculture enhances plant N acquisition by strengthening plant-soil-microbe interactions under climate change, providing a sustainable strategy for future food security.

Background and aims The succession process of new coastal bare land in river deltas into mature terrestrial ecosystems remains unclear. Quantitatively describing succession trajectories over long timescales helps understand biodiversity maintenance, restoration, and soil carbon storage in estuarine deltas. Methods In the Yellow River Delta (prograding since 1855), we traced historical river course shifts (P1: 1976-2020; P2: 1953-1964; P3: 1929-1934; P4: 1904-1929) and sampled four alluvial sectors. By controlling for the sea-land distance gradient of 0, 10, 20, and 30 km, we constructed a continuous time series to analyze the dynamics of ecological properties. Results The new coastal bare land soils exhibit high organic matter storage at a depth of 1 m but underwent degradation during stage P1, accompanied by reduced microbial species richness. Inland regions exhibited lower salinity and faster vegetation development compared to nearshore zones, with these differences becoming more pronounced over a century. From stage P2 to P4, 0-20 cm soil organic matter accumulated significantly over time (R-2 > 0.5) except for the 0 km gradient, following the recovery of microbial species richness. Microbial community dissimilarity linearly accumulated with succession age (R-2 > 0.4). Structural equation models indicated that the recovery of soil organic matter and microbial species richness over time is driven by vegetation development. Conclusions Vegetation drives the recovery of soil organic matter and microbial species richness after river flow diversion but is inhibited by salinity. Succession age accounts for 4.65% and 4.28% of the unique variation in bacterial and fungal communities, respectively.

The stability of mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) serves as a critical determinant of long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) preservation, predominantly governed by mineral-organic binding interactions. However, the regulatory mechanisms of mineral composition and initial carbon saturation level (CSL) on MAOC stability remain poorly understood. In this study, we selected six forest soils from three climatic zones in China, and simulated microbial oxidative degradation using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to investigate MAOC chemical stability. The results showed that MAOC contributed 40.84-86.93% of SOC, with spatial variation influenced by the illite content and specific surface area. The remaining MAOC (r-MAOC) after treatment accounted for 25.32-86.66% of MAOC and the oxidation-resistant efficiency was significantly correlated with CSL and clay content. During oxidation MAOC preferentially lost a high proportion of plant-derived organic carbon with relatively weak binding to the mineral surfaces like hydroxyl carbon (1.43-22.10%), while microbial-derived polysaccharide carbon significantly increased by 0.48-19.64%. Under unsaturated conditions, higher CSL levels corresponds with increased MAOC stability, implying that organic matter preferentially binds to and stabilizes on vacant mineral sites. The partial least squares path model (PLS-PM) and random forest model (RFM) analysis indicated that CSL and mineral composition were key determinants of MAOC stability (0.79 and 0.41). This study provides theoretical insights into predicting forest soil carbon stability and contributes to improving global carbon cycle modeling by refining MAOC dynamics.

Manure returning (OMR) and straw returning (SWR) practices are widely adopted to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, whereas the effects are minimal in cold black soil areas. The issue may be a mismatch between environmental factors and the choice of returning material, which remains unclear. Here, six sites (each site process manure and straw returning croplands) in the western Northeast China Plain (Fuyu, Longjiang, Tailai, Baiquan, and Kedong Counties, and Nehe City) were chosen to investigate the impact of soil properties (soil clay content [Clay], initial soil pH values [pH], and initial soil organic carbon concentration [initial SOC]), management practices (years of fertilization [Year] and carbon input [C input]), and climate factors (mean annual temperature [MAT], mean annual precipitation [MAP] and mean annual wind speed [WS]) on soil organic carbon concentration (SOCc). The results showed that in Longjiang and Tailai Counties, OMR had a significantly higher than SWR on SOCc, whereas in the other four sites, OMR was significantly lower than SWR on SOCc. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and variance partitioning analysis (VPA) revealed that with OMR, climatic factors, management practices, and soil properties accounted for 40.8 %, 34.9 %, and 20.6 % of the SOCc, respectively. While with SWR, these factors explained 53.6 %, 12.6 %, and 31.2 %. Among variables, WS was the most influential variable affecting SOCc changes under OMR, with MAP ranked second in importance. For SWR, Clay and MAP were identified as the two most importance factors. Additionally, SOC is accrul in the part of silt and clay (<0.053 mm) under OMR. For SWR, SOC is accrul in the part of macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm). Thus, for organic materials returning, improving soil water management can promote increased SOCc. And matching sandy soils to SWR and controlling wind speed during OMR can increase SOCc effectively. Match organic material returning to multiple factors, emphasizing climate, can lead to more effective increases in SOCc.

The growing demand for animal protein has led to increased cattle manure production, resulting in nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions. Rich in organic matter, cattle manure is a promising substrate for producing biochemical fulvic acid (BFA), offering sustainable benefits for agriculture and the environment. Although BFA has been extracted from various organic sources, systematic analysis of its extraction process, structural characteristics, and functional properties from cattle manure compost remains limited. In this study, BFA was extracted from cattle manure compost using a KOH-H2O2 oxidation system, and conditions were optimized via response surface methodology. The optimal extraction parameters were KOH concentration 0.8 mol/L, solid-toliquid ratio 1:10.2, reaction temperature 84 degrees C, reaction time 2.11 h, and H2O2 concentration 3.14 %, achieving a 17.83 % BFA yield. Compared to MFA, BFA has a higher O/C ratio, more diverse functional groups, and a lower molecular weight, indicating greater bioactivity and soil improvement potential. The BFA chemical formula was predicted as C75H112N7S4O49. Pot experiments and metagenomic sequencing showed that BFA significantly promotes rice seedling growth, increases rhizosphere microbial diversity, and enhances soil carbon metabolism. The innovation of this study lies in the comprehensive evaluation of BFA derived from cattle manure compost, providing a sustainable alternative to MFA and new insights into the structural and functional properties of BFA, as well as its positive impacts on plant growth and soil health. This study supports the high-value utilization of livestock waste and promotes BFA as an eco-friendly biofertilizer and soil conditioner in sustainable agriculture, contributing to sustainable agricultural development.

Climate warming threatens global food security by exacerbating pressures on degraded soils under intensive crop production. Conservation agriculture is promoted as a sustainable solution that improves soil health and sustains crop yields in a changing climate, but these benefits may be affected by long-term warming. Here, we investigate the effects of conservation agriculture compared to conventional agriculture on 17 soil properties, microbial diversity and crop yields, during eight-years' experimental warming. An overall positive effect of warming on soil health over time under conservation agriculture is characterized by linear increases in soil organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon. Warming-triggered shifts in microbial biomass carbon and fungal diversity (saprogen richness) are directly linked to a 9.3% increase in wheat yields over eight years, but only under conservation agriculture. Overall, conservation agriculture results in an average 21% increase in soil health and supports similar levels of crop production after long-term warming compared to conventional agriculture. Our work provides insights into the potential benefits of conservation agriculture for long-term sustainable food production because improved soil health improves resilience to the effects of climate warming. Conservation agriculture is promoted as a sustainable solution in the changing climate, but its response to warming is unclear. Here, the authors report that conservation agriculture improves soil health and sustains crop yields under long-term warming compared to conventional agriculture.

Increasing crop nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has important implications for food security and agricultural sustainability. Changes in nutrient availability due to stoichiometric imbalances in soil under long-term application of nitrogen (N) can limit crop NUE and yield. However, little is known about the linkages across stoichiometric balance, N fertilizer application, and N uptake. We investigated the changes in soil stoichiometry, microbial community, and crop NUE relative to N fertilizer application in a 16-year field experiment in which five levels (0, 70, 140, 210 and 280 kg N ha-1) of mineral N fertilizer treatment were applied to wheat and maize cropland. The results showed that the P storage decreased from 4.3 Mg P ha-1 under the fertilizer dose of 0 kg N ha-1 to 3.5 Mg P ha-1 under the fertilizer dose of 280 kg N ha-1. Thus, long-term N application increased soil C/P and N/P ratios, in a marked decrease in the content of soil available P. The microbial community based on phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) increased with increasing N addition rates, from 0 to 140 kg N ha-1, but significantly decreased at application rates above 210 kg N ha-1. Thus, applying N at a rate of 140 kg ha-1 resulted in the N threshold rate for microorganism survival being reached or exceeded. The crop NUE peak occurred at the urea application rate of 140 kg N ha-1 (60.4 %), after which NUE declined. The soil elementary and enzymatic stoichiometric ratios under long-term N addition directly affected crop NUE in the topsoil. Soil elementary stoichiometric ratios affected crop NUE by indirectly altering microbial biomass of the subsoil. Overall, soil stoichiometric imbalances under long-term N addition were the key factors driving NUE across N gradients.

Climate warming is expected to affect global food security and nutritional quality, particularly winter wheat grain protein content. No-tillage (NT) agriculture may be an effective option to mitigate the effects of climate warming; however, the associated mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of warming under NT and conventional tillage (CT) treatments on the physiological growth processes, yield, yield components, plant nitrogen metabolism, as well as grain protein content and fractions of winter wheat in the North China Plain for four consecutive years (2021–2022). The results showed that temperature increases under the NT and CT systems significantly impacted winter wheat growth and development, prolonged the effective reproductive period, and increased the leaf area index, photosynthesis rate, and aboveground dry matter mass in the pre-flowering stage. Hence, the temperature increase and tillage treatment affected the components and yield of winter wheat. The number of fruiting spikelets decreased significantly, and the number of grains and thousand-grain weight increased under the CT and NT systems. Meanwhile, the elevated temperature significantly increased the winter wheat yield by 11.4% (CT) and 62.3% (NT) compared with the control group. Temperature increases also significantly increased winter wheat seed protein content by 10.88% and 30.91% under CT and NT, respectively. The effects of warming and tillage treatments on seed protein fractions were more complex, with warming under CT reducing the albumin, globulin, and glutenin contents, whereas warming under NT increased the contents of all four protein fractions. This study provides a scientific basis for the mechanism underlying climate warming effects on protein content and fractions of winter wheat grains.

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) in croplands by switching from conventional to conservation management may be hampered by stimulated microbial decomposition under warming. Here, we test the interactive effects of agricultural management and warming on SOC persistence and underlying microbial mechanisms in a decade-long controlled experiment on a wheat-maize cropping system. Warming increased SOC content and accelerated fungal community temporal turnover under conservation agriculture (no tillage, chopped crop residue), but not under conventional agriculture (annual tillage, crop residue removed). Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and growth increased linearly over time, with stronger positive warming effects after 5 years under conservation agriculture. According to structural equation models, these increases arose from greater carbon inputs from the crops, which indirectly controlled microbial CUE via changes in fungal communities. As a result, fungal necromass increased from 28 to 53%, emerging as the strongest predictor of SOC content. Collectively, our results demonstrate how management and climatic factors can interact to alter microbial community composition, physiology and functions and, in turn, SOC formation and accrual in croplands.

Soil salinisation has been considered a substantial ecosystem issue with negative effects on sustainable agricultural practices. Practices of vegetation restoration are widely conducted for coping with saline soil degradation, especially in saline-alkali abandoned farmland. Compared with bulk soils, the rhizosphere soils of plants have different microbial community structures. However, how associations and functions of microbes vary in the rhizosphere and bulk soils of salt-tolerant plants remains unclear, limiting the successful implementation and efficacy of vegetation in restoring saline-alkali lands. Here, we analysed the fungal community composition, functional guilds, and co-occurrence networks in both rhizosphere and bulk soils of typical plant species in the abandoned farmland of the Yellow River Delta, China. Not all plant species had significantly different fungal community compositions and relative functional guild abundances between the rhizosphere and bulk soil. Soil nutrient concentrations explained more variance in the soil fungal community. Network analyses indicated that the rhizosphere fungal network had more nodes and links, more negative links, and higher modularity; however, fewer species were involved in the meta-module than those in the bulk soil network, indicating a more complex topology and niche differentiation therein. More generalist species and indicator taxa essential for carbon and nitrogen cycling (e.g., Sordariomycetes and Dothideomycetes) were identified in the salt-tolerant plant rhizosphere network. Overall, the salt-tolerant plants' rhizosphere had a more stable fungal co-occurrence network and recruited more keystone species compared to the bulk soil, which could benefit soil nutrient cycling and soil restoration in abandoned farmlands.

Black soil region can serve as the main production area of commodity grain in Northeast China. There is the soil quality decline of cultivated land in recent years, such as the thinner and harder land. Among them, the efficient return of agricultural waste as a carbon source can be an important way to improve soil quality. However, it is still lacking in the regional, agricultural production system model using the regulation of the carbon cycle between plant and animal, in order to promote the return of carbon to the field for the recovery of black land fertility. This study aims to improve the soil organic matter content of black land for recovery. The research object was selected as Qiqihar City located in the hinterland of Songnen Plain in Heilongjiang Province of China. The soil carbon budget of each county was calculated to compare the difference between the soil carbon input and output of different crops. The agricultural carbon balance model was established for plant and animal husbandry using multi-objective linear programming. The least carbon emission and the highest economic benefit were taken as the main targets, while the efficient use of agricultural and waste resources was the secondary target. As such, the balance between soil carbon emission and carbon input was determined, according to the situation of each county.The results showed that the adjustment plan in each county was optimized to reduce the rice planting area, while increasing the cow farming scale and maize planting area with high biomass. There was no decrease in the soil carbon pool of farmland after the full utilization of the waste of cultivation and breeding industry. However, the scale of plant and animal husbandry at the county level should be adjusted, according to the local conditions. Taking Nehe City with a large soil carbon deficit as an example, the maize planting area increased by 46.4%, while the scale of beef breeding should be reduced by 63%, and the scale of cows, pigs, sheep and poultry breeding increased by 85%, 54%, 75%, and 71%, respectively, in order to balance the carbon input and agricultural economic benefits. Take Longjiang County with a small soil carbon deficit as an example, the rice planting area, and the beef and pigs breeding industry should be reduced by 334% and 179%, respectively, while the corn and soybean planting area increased by 4% and 88%, respectively, and the scale of cows, pigs, and poultry increased by 39%,26%, and 41%, respectively. The organic materials returned to the field were replaced by 33%-59% of the fertilizer nitrogen input after the planting and breeding scale, particularly for the higher soil quality and the soil nitrogen carrying capacity.Moreover, the soil nitrogen-carrying capacity of the three main crops showed an increasing trend, except for the maize planting in Kedong and Keshan County. The agricultural “carbon balance” development model can be expected to serve as the scientific basis for the efficient utilization of agricultural waste resources. The finding can also provide a strong reference to realize the “double carbon” strategy in the black soil area.

Understanding the interactions between plants and microbes in terms of core and/or keystone taxa is of great importance for promoting salt tolerant of plants and comprehensive utilisation of saline–alkali lands. However, our knowledge about the dominant microbial categories and their response to plant growth is limited. Here, we distinguished the categories of core and keystone taxa by classifying the prokaryotic categories and conducting network analysis in saline–alkali lands. Moreover, we explored how these important taxa varied between the plant rhizosphere and bulk soils. Overall, six categories of prokaryotes were identified. Approximately one–tenth of the species with high–abundance attributes accounted for two–thirds of total prokaryotes. Moreover, network analysis showed that nearly all links among the nodes were positive; and the identified keystone taxa mainly belonged to categories with high–abundance attributes. Furthermore, in the rhizosphere, a decreasing trend in the correlations of microbial diversity indices and community compositions with the soil properties was observed compared with those in the bulk soil. However, more keystone taxa and complex modules were strongly correlated with changes in the soil properties. These results suggest that the plant rhizosphere can recruit keystone prokaryotes with high–abundance attributes by establishing a syntrophic association between the plant and keystone taxa, which subsequently construct a complex microbial network structure. Although the ecological functions of the targeted keystone taxa need to be confirmed, our findings provide a potential method for constructing a core artificial microbiome with multiple approaches, further helping to develop microbial strategies to ameliorate salt stress in plants in saline–alkali lands.

黑土有机质含量丰富,但随着农业活动加剧,以及黑土区低温特性的限制,土壤有机质大量流失.不同有机物料还田是提升土壤有机质的重要方式,然而目前仍缺少对不同有机物料还田具体恢复效果及过程的评价.该研究使用Meta分析的方法,对2000年1月-2022年9月经同行评议的文章进行整合分析,综合了 41篇文献中2 012个观测值,设定低、中、高年限及碳投入量,评估秸秆还田和有机肥还田对黑土土壤有机碳固存的影响.结果表明,有机肥还田处理的土壤有机碳、土壤总氮、土壤总磷含量均高于秸秆还田.随着处理年限的增加,有机肥还田对于土壤有机碳含量的增加效果优于秸秆还田.此外,不同碳投入的条件下,有机物料还田对于土壤碳固存影响不同,其中在中碳投入的条件下,有机肥还田有机碳含量(65.62％)显著高于秸秆还田(20.07％).21 a以上的长期中碳投入下有机肥还田更有利于黑土土壤有机碳固存的增加.该研究为黑土区有机物料还田的选择提供科学依据.

Climate warming causes an impact on the protein supplied to grains by affecting the winter wheat growth period and yield formation; however, research on the effects of warming on protein formation of winter wheat grains is limited. We investigated this phenomenon by conducting no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) field warming trials in the North China Plain for four consecutive years (2017-2020). The results showed that warming significantly advanced the re-greening period and extended the effective growth period of winter wheat. Warming also improved the physiological characteristics of winter wheat as well as N accumulation in the stems and leaves during anthesis, facilitating the transport of N to the grains. Moreover, warming reduced the number of fertile spikelets in winter wheat and diverted N that would otherwise be supplied to produce more grains to the final effective grains, resulting in a significant increase in grain protein content (15.75% in CT, 19.11% in NT; p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that winter wheat can partially counteract the adverse effects of climate warming on its grain protein content. This study further elucidates the effect of climate warming on the protein content of winter wheat grains.

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is one of the most widely used plasticizers, and it is easily released into the environment, posing a threat to microbes. In this study, the impact of DMP on the uptake and metabolism of sugars in E. coli K-12 was assessed using proteomics, computational simulation analysis, transcriptome analysis, and sugar utilization experiments. DMP contamination inhibited the growth of E. coli K-12 and downregulated the expression of proteins in ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and the phosphotransferase (PTS) system of E. coli K-12, which are primarily involved in the transmembrane transport of sugars. DMP formed a stable complex with sugar transporters and changed the rigidity and stability of the proteins. Furthermore, DMP treatment decreased the utilization of L-arabinose, glucose, D-xylose, and maltose. Moreover, carbon metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation were also downregulated by DMP. Our study shows that DMP reduces the uptake of sugars and ATP production and subsequently inhibits the growth of E. coli K-12.