The fabrication of natural, biodegradable, and food-grade particles as Pickering emulsions stabilizers has attracted considerable attention. This work involved the fabrication of Pickering emulsions stabilized by zein/ lecithin/pectin complex particles (Z/P/Lec) and the exploration of their application in the delivery of hyperoside (Hyp). The results showed that as the mass ratio of zein to lecithin (Lec) reached 4:1, the three-phase contact angle of Z/P/Lec was 83.07 degrees, which is close to neutral wettability, indicating that Z/P/Lec possess the potential to function as a stabilizer for Pickering emulsions. The droplet size of Pickering emulsion was decreased from 33.22 mu m to 10.99 mu m with the rise in Z/P/Lec concentration from 1.25% to 6.25%. Meanwhile, CLSM and CyroSEM imaging indicated that Z/P/Lec formed a tightly interfacial layer on the droplet surface, effectively providing protective barriers against droplet coalescence, thereby endowing it with long-term storage stability. Furthermore, the Pickering emulsions stabilized by Z/P/Lec provided sustained release of Hyp under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Overall, this study indicates that Z/P/Lec is a novel and effective stabilizer for Pickering emulsions and offers a strategy for designing emulsion based sustained delivery systems for hydrophobic bioactive compounds.

Corn-straw incorporation can improve the physical properties of loess and is important for agricultural-waste valorization. Electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity are key physical parameters reflecting soil structure and moisture conditions. This study investigated the effects of different straw contents (0–8%) and water contents (12–24%) on the electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of loess under identical dry density and specimen-preparation conditions. The results showed that, at low straw contents (<2%), electrical resistivity decreased continuously with increasing water content. At high straw contents (>4%), resistivity increased transiently as water content increased from 12% to 15% and then decreased. At a given water content, resistivity increased with increasing straw content. Thermal conductivity reached its maximum at 18% water content, increasing from 12% to 18% and decreasing from 18% to 24%. With increasing straw content, thermal conductivity decreased from 0% to 4%, increased from 4% to 6%, and decreased again from 6% to 8%. Joint evaluation of electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity can reduce the uncertainty associated with soil-state assessment using a single parameter. The findings provide a reference for evaluating the coupled electrical and thermal properties of straw-amended loess and for supporting straw-return practices in similar loess regions.

Nucleotide-binding site (NBS) leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptors (NLRs) are crucial for plant immunity but often come with trade-offs in plant growth. Understanding the mechanisms of their self-regulating activity for controlled immune responses is essential for optimising crop resistance. In this study, we investigated the activity fine-tuning of the wheat NLR protein NLRMoro, derived from the cultivars Moro and AvS + Yr10. Overexpression in Nicotiana benthamiana and wheat demonstrated that NLRMoro, or its N-terminal coiled-coil (CC) domain alone, auto-activated cell death and that plasma membrane-localised NLRMoro-CC conferred stripe rust resistance through induction of hypersensitive response, reactive oxygen species accumulation and Ca2+ influx. Through truncation analysis, we identified the amino acids 62-116 region within the CC domain as the minimal active region, essential and sufficient for its activity. Further investigation revealed that the adjacent central NBS domain suppresses the signalling activity of CC, while the C-terminal LRR domain alleviates this suppression, both exclusively via intramolecular interactions. Critical sites outside the CC domain, including the P-loop, RNBS-A and MHD motifs and the phosphorylation site S198, were found to significantly influence NLRMoro-induced cell death, presenting potential targets for fine-tuning NLR activity. This study advances our understanding of CC-NLR protein regulation and provides a theoretical foundation for optimising NLR activity to balance growth-defence trade-offs in plants.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a key gaseous signaling molecule involved in plant growth and stress responses, yet its role in wheat resistance to stripe rust remains poorly understood. Here, we show that exogenous H2S enhances resistance of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the causative agent of stripe rust. Comparative persulfidation proteomics identified the autophagy-related protein TaATG6c as a Pst-responsive H₂S target. Site-specific mass spectrometry and a modified biotin-switch assay demonstrated that Cys177 and Cys180 of TaATG6c undergo H₂S-induced persulfidation. Structural modeling based on AlphaFold predicted that these two site mutations reduced the binding activity of ATG6c to ATG14. Functional characterization using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) revealed that TaATG6 positively regulates wheat immunity against Pst, as silencing TaATG6 promoted fungal growth. Moreover, TaATG6 expression was markedly induced during Pst infection. Notably, the resistance-promoting effect of NaHS was compromised in TaATG6-silenced plants. Conversely, transient overexpression of TaATG6 enhanced wheat resistance to stripe rust, whereas mutation of Cys177 and Cys180 attenuated this effect. Endogenous biotin-switch assays further showed that TaATG6c persulfidation exhibits pathogen-responsive and dynamic characteristics, which were abolished in the TaATG6C177A/C180A mutant. Consistently, H₂S treatment and Pst infection stimulated the accumulation of lipidated ATG8 (ATG8–PE), indicating activation of autophagy, while this response was largely abolished in TaATG6-silenced plants. Together, these results suggest that H₂S promotes autophagy initiation through persulfidation of TaATG6c, thereby enhancing wheat resistance to stripe rust and highlighting a redox-regulated mechanism underlying plant stress adaptation.

In order to study the safe utilization of acid cadmium （Cd） contaminated soil， light and moderate Cd-contaminated farmland in Shangluo， Shaanxi Province was taken as the research object， and lime， biochar， and calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer were applied. Through the wheat-maize rotation experiment， the safe utilization effect of different amounts of passivator on Cd-contaminated soil was explored， and the best ratio of passivator was selected. The results showed that： ① the soil quality could be improved to varying degrees by applying the passivator. ② After the application of amendments， the grain yield of wheat and maize increased to different degrees. ③ The lime 2 340 kg·hm-2 （C3） treatment had the best effect， which increased the soil pH of wheat and corn by 1.453 and 1.717 units， respectively， and reduced the available Cd content by 34.38% and 30.20%， respectively. ④ The application of biochar 1 800 kg·hm-2 （B2） treatment had the best effect on reducing the Cd contents in wheat roots， straws， and grains， which were significantly reduced by 53.60%， 38.86%， and 52.96%， respectively， compared with that in CK. The Cd content in wheat grains was reduced to 0.09 mg·kg-1， which was lower than the limit value of wheat Cd （0.1 mg·kg-1） specified in the "National food safety standard food pollutant limit" （GB 2762-2017）. The application of the biochar 1 260 kg·hm-2 （B1） treatment had the best comprehensive effect on reducing the Cd contents of maize roots， straws， and grains， which were significantly reduced by 43.74%， 53.20%， and 94.57%， respectively， compared with that in CK. The Cd content of maize grains was reduced to 0.001 9 mg·kg-1， which was far lower than the limit value of maize Cd （0.1 mg·kg-1） specified in the "National food safety standard food pollutant limit" （GB 2762-2017）. Therefore， under the conditions of the field experiment， considering the influence of various indexes， biochar had the best effect on farmland soil in the wheat-maize rotation area with mild to moderate Cd pollution.

>As one of the main staple cereal crops,wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is cultivated worldwide,commonly in semi-arid or arid climates(Zhou et al.,2020;Mao et al.,2023).However,with increasingly severe weather events associated with global warming,drought stress presents a growing challenge to food security and production,to which arid regions may be especially vulnerable (Lesk et al.,2016;Eckardt et al.,2023).One key step in addressing this threat is to define the plant molecular mechanisms underlying drought stress response in order to improve crop resilience or tolerance to water deficit conditions (Zhang et al.,2021;He et al.,2024).Abscisic acid(ABA) is a key hormone in plants that regulates various physiological and molecular responses under drought stress,such as stomatal closure,gene activation,and cellular protection (Yoshida et al.,2015;Zhang et al.,2021).Essential to plant stress response are core mediators of the ABA signaling pathway,especially SNF1-related protein kinases 2s (SnRK2s) and ABA-response element(ABRE)-binding factors (ABFs)(Fujita et al.,2013;Yoshida et al.,2015).However,as of yet,the role of SnRK2s and ABFs in regulating drought response in wheat is not well understood.Here,our findings show that a TaSnRK2s-TaABF2 regulatory module can enhance tolerance to prolonged water deficit by directly modulating drought-responsive genes.

Wheat stripe rust disease caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) seriously affects wheat yield. We studied the fungal infection process and host response between wheat 'AvS' and its near-isogenic line 'AvS+Yr10', which formed compatible and incompatible interactions, respectively, when challenged with Pst race CYR32. The difference in reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation between the compatible and incompatible interactions was analyzed by measuring the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration and observing H2O2 production. Hydrogen peroxide concentrations, H2O2 accumulation areas, necrotic areas and expression of several resistance-related genes in the AvS+Yr10/CYR32 interaction were higher than those in the AvS/CYR32 interaction during the entire infection process. Pst growth was effectively inhibited in the AvS+Yr10 all-stage resistant wheat line. Thus, ROS accumulation is crucial in wheat defence against pathogens.

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici ( Pst ), is a catastrophic disease that threatens global wheat yield. Yr10 is a race-specific all-stage disease resistance gene in wheat. However, the resistance mechanism of Yr10 is poorly characterized. Therefore, to elucidate the potential molecular mechanism mediated by Yr10 , transcriptomic sequencing was performed at 0, 18, and 48 h post-inoculation (hpi) of compatible wheat Avocet S (AvS) and incompatible near-isogenic line (NIL) AvS + Yr10 inoculated with Pst race CYR32. Respectively, 227, 208, and 4050 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at 0, 18, and 48 hpi between incompatible and compatible interaction. The response of Yr10 to stripe rust involved various processes and activities, as indicated by the results of Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Specifically, the response included photosynthesis, defense response to fungus, metabolic processes related to salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), and activities related to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Ten candidate genes were selected for qRT-PCR verification and the results showed that the transcriptomic data was reliable. Through the functional analysis of candidate genes by the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system, it was found that the gene TaHPPD ( 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase ) negatively regulated the resistance of wheat to stripe rust by affecting SA signaling, pathogenesis-related ( PR ) gene expression, and ROS clearance. Our study provides insight into Yr10- mediated resistance in wheat.

The fresh fruit sector and its processing industry are always looking for reliable non-destructive methods to help them better understand fruit characteristics and control product quality. In this study, mulberry fruits harvested at commercial ripeness were sorted into eight groups (S1-S8) depending on their density. The physicochemical parameters, nutritional quality, bioactive compounds, and cellular structure were analyzed. Lower density mulberries were found to contain lower total soluble solids, higher 1-deoxynojirimycin, and chlorogenic acid. The highest contents of ascorbic acid, phenolics acid, and flavonoids were found in mulberries at the 56 stage, with 257.4 mg/100g DW, 524.06 mg/100g DW and 463.62 mg/100g DW, respectively. Moreover, The Order Performance based on the Similarity to Ideal Solution method (TOPSIS) analysis indicated that mulberry at the 56 stage had the highest nutritional value. Besides, a rapid decrease in fruit hardness, degradation of the middle lamella in the cell wall, and decrease in the content of bioactive compounds after the fruit density exceeded 1.025 g/cm(3) indicates that they are not suitable for further storage and should be consumed or processed immediately. The findings of this study will provide a basis for precisely classifying mulberries for further fine processing.

Betulinic acid (BA) has anti-inflammatory, antioxidative stress, and antitumor activities, but BA bioavailability is low due to its poor water solubility and short half-life. This study aimed to construct a BA delivery system to improve its utilization in vitro. Glycosylated zein (G-zein) was prepared using the wet heating method, and BA-loaded zein composite nanoparticles were prepared using the antisolvent method. Compared to zein, G-zein had the advantages of higher solubility and lower surface hydrophobicity. The encapsulation efficiency of G-zein@BA reached over 80% when the BA concentration was 1 mg/mL. Compared to zein@BA nanoparticles, G-zein@BA was characterized by smaller droplets, higher encapsulation efficiency, and a more stable morphology. The sustained release and solubility of G-zein@BA nanoparticles were also superior to those of zein@BA. Compared with free BA, the dispersions of zein@BA and G-zein@BA nanoparticles in water increased 2.27- and 2.91-fold, respectively. In addition, zein@BA and G-zein@BA nanoparticles markedly inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells. This study provides new insights into the structural properties and antitumor activity of BA composite nanoparticles to aid in the development of zein particles as functional materials to deliver bioactive compounds.

The role of abscisic acid (ABA) receptors, PYR1/PYL/RCAR (PYLs), is well established in ABA signalling and plant drought response, but limited research has explored the regulation of wheat PYLs in this process, especially the effects of their allelic variations on drought tolerance or grain yield. Here, we found that the overexpression of a TaABFs-regulated PYL gene, TaPYL1-1B, exhibited higher ABA sensitivity, photosynthetic capacity and water-use efficiency (WUE), all contributed to higher drought tolerance than that of wild-type plants. This heightened water-saving mechanism further increased grain yield and protected productivity during water deficit. Candidate gene association analysis revealed that a favourable allele TaPYL1-1B(In-442), carrying an MYB recognition site insertion in the promoter, is targeted by TaMYB70 and confers enhanced expression of TaPYL1-1B in drought-tolerant genotypes. More importantly, an increase in frequency of the TaPYL1-1B(In-442) allele over decades among modern Chinese cultivars and its association with high thousand-kernel weight together demonstrated that it was artificially selected during wheat improvement efforts. Taken together, our findings illuminate the role of TaPYL1-1B plays in coordinating drought tolerance and grain yield. In particular, the allelic variant TaPYL1-1B(In-442) substantially contributes to enhanced drought tolerance while maintaining high yield, and thus represents a valuable genetic target for engineering drought-tolerant wheat germplasm.

Hyperoside (HYP) has various potential benefits, however, its low water-solubility and poor bioavailability have restricted its application. Here, HYP-loaded zein-tea polyphenols (TP)-pectin ternary complex nanoparticles (Z/TP/P-HYP) were prepared by the antisolvent precipitation method for HYP delivery. The formed Z/TP/P-HYP are negatively charged spherical particles with a size of 246 nm, and have the highest HYP encapsulation efficiency (94.2%) at TP was 0.25 mg/mL. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic effects were major interactions to Z/TP/P-HYP formation. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed that encapsulated HYP was in an amorphous state. Freeze-dried Z/TP/P-HYP displayed good water-redispersibility and high particle yield (95.2%). Z/TP/P-HYP exhibited improved pH (2.0-8.0) and ionic (0-500 mM) stability. Furthermore, Z/TP/P-HYP demonstrated stronger antioxidant properties than free HYP and provided HYP sustained release under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Therefore, Z/TP/P-HYP have great potential as an effective HYP delivery system for applications in foods.

NAC transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in plant abiotic stress responses. However, information on the roles of NAC TFs is limited in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, we isolated three wheat TaSNAC4 homeologous genes, TaSNAC4-3A, TaSNAC4-3B, and TaSNAC4-3D, and characterized the function of TaSNAC4-3A in plant drought tolerance. TaSNAC4 is highly expressed in seedling leaves, and expression is induced by various abiotic stresses. Transient expression and transactivation assays showed that TaSNAC4-3A is localized to the nucleus, and the C-terminal region has transcriptional activation activity. Overexpression of TaSNAC4-3A in Arabidopsis led to stimulated germination and root growth when exposed to salt and osmotic stresses, and drought stress tolerance was significantly increased in the TaSNAC4-3A transgenic lines. When compared to the control plants, the transgenic lines overexpressing TaSNAC4-3A exhibited reduced stomatal aperture size under drought stress, and therefore had lower water loss rates. In addition, the overexpression of TaSNAC4-3A led to abscisic acid (ABA) hypersensitivity at the root elongation and seed germination stages. Further transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that there was a significant up-regulation of stress responsive genes in the TaSNAC4-3A transgenic lines. Our findings have revealed the important role of TaSNAC4-3A in plant drought tolerance.

Nervonic acid (NA) has considerable potential for promoting brain development, but its utilization is limited attributed to its poor water solubility. Novel NA-loaded nanoemulsions (NA-NEs) were fabricated with planted-based soybean protein isolates (SPI), compared with whey protein isolates and Tween 20. The impact of emulsifiers on NA-NEs properties and stabilities was evaluated. Emulsions formulated with 0.5 mg/mL nervonic acid and 1.5 wt% SPI under pressure (120 MPa, 5 cycles) contained nano-scale droplets and considerable rheologic properties. The oil droplets were spherical and encapsulated within the emulsions, evidenced by atomic force microscope and confocal laser scanning microscopy. SPI-emulsions were stable under thermal treatment, NaCl concentrations, storage at 4 degrees C (30 days), and multiple scattering experimental conditions. SPI behaved similarly to the other two emulsifiers under the studied conditions. These findings demonstrate that SPI is a promising plant-based emulsifier for applications in nervonic acid-fortified food. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Members of the R2R3-MYB transcription factor superfamily have been implicated in plant development, improved disease resistance, and defense responses to several types of stresses. To study the function of TaMYB29 transcription factor-a member of the R2R3-MYB superfamily-in response to an avirulent race of stripe rust pathogen, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), we identified and cloned the TaMYB29 gene from wheat cultivar (cv.) AvS+Yr10 following infection with Pst. The TaMYB29 protein, comprising 261 amino acids, contains two highly conserved MYB domains. We first showed that TaMYB29 is a transcription factor, whose transcriptional levels are significantly induced by salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene (ET), and Pst. The results showed that TaMYB29 is involved in the wheat response to stipe rust. The overexpression of the TaMYB29 gene resulted in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pathogen-independent cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The silencing of TaMYB29 gene in wheat cv. AvS+Yr10, containing the stripe rust resistance gene Yr10, promoted hyphae growth, significantly downregulated the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, and substantially reduced the wheat resistance to Pst compared with the non-silenced control. In addition, the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) significantly decreased, and the activity of catalase, an enzyme required for H2O2 scavenging, was elevated. Altogether, TaMYB29 positively regulates the defense response against stripe rust in wheat AvS+Yr10 by enhancing H2O2 accumulation, PR gene expression, and SA signaling pathway-induced cell death. These results provide new insights into the contribution of TaMYB29 to the defense response against rust pathogens in wheat.

小麦抗条锈病基因Yr10作为全生育期抗性基因,对国内大部分的条锈菌生理小种表现抗性,为探究Yr10介导的抗病通路,以小麦AvocetS(AvS)和其近等基因系AvS Yr10NIL(AvS+ Yr10)为材料,接种条锈菌CYR31后分别构成亲和与非亲和体系,通过分析含有抗病基因Yr10非亲和体系中的信号分子变化,比较非亲和与亲和体系中抗病过程相关基因的表达差异和功能,进而解析Yr10的抗病通路.结果 表明,在含有抗病基因Yr10的非亲和体系中,RAR1、HSP90和SGT1可能参与抗病基因(R)激活下游的抗病通路.R基因的激活引发活性氧在接菌后早期迅速积累,同时内源SA水平在接菌后出现高峰,随后寄主细胞迸发活性氧,并引起下游病程相关基因PR1表达显著上调,促进植物细胞的坏死,表现为过敏性坏死反应(HR).总体来说,Yr10的抗病通路为通过R基因的激活后引发SA信号分子,进而影响活性氧的积累,最终诱导下游PR基因的表达和HR反应的发生.

The effect and mechanism of wheat bran cellulose (WBC) on the gelling characteristics of soy protein isolate (SPI) were evaluated. It was found that the water holding capacity, gel strength, and viscoelasticity of SPI gel were improved with the increase of WBC concentration. The addition of WBC (0.5-2.0%, w/v) stabilized the moisture phase and induced the construction of the regular and homogenous three-dimensional gel network. The Raman spectroscopy revealed that WBC addition caused a significant reduction in α-helix percentage (28.92-63.08%) (p < 0.05) with a concomitant increase in β-sheet (16.92-34.37%) (p < 0.05) and β-turn (8.09-13.54%) (p > 0.05) percentages of the pure SPI gel. Additionally, hydrogen-bonding interaction between SPI and WBC and the enhanced thermal stability were proposed in the composite gels. Overall, WBC is effective in improving the gel properties of SPI, suggesting its potential application as novel gel modifier in the food industry.

AZC_2928 gene (GenBank accession no. BAF88926.1) of Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571 has sequence homology to 2,3-aminomutases. However, its function is unknown. In this study, we are for the first time to knock out the gene completely in A. caulinodans ORS571 using the current advanced genome editing tool, CRISPR/Cas9. Our results show that the editing efficiency is 34% and AZC_2928 plays an extremely important role in regulating the formation of chemotaxis and biofilm. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of AZC_2928 (△AZC_2928) significantly enhanced chemotaxis and biofilm formation. Both chemotaxis and biofilm formation play an important role in nitrogen-fixing bacteria and their interaction with their host plants. Interestingly, AZC_2928 did not affect the motility of A. caulinodans ORS571 and the nodulation formation in their natural host plant, Sesbania rostrata. Due to rhizobia needing to form bacteroids for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in mature nodules, AZC_2928 might have a direct influence on nitrogen fixation efficiency rather than the number of nodulations.

Summary NPR1 has been found to be a key transcriptional regulator in some plant defence responses. There are nine NPR1 homologues (TaNPR1) in wheat, but little research has been done to understand the function of those NPR1‐like genes in the wheat defence response against stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) pathogens. We used bioinformatics and reverse genetics approaches to study the expression and function of each TaNPR1. We found six members of TaNPR1 located on homoeologous group 3 chromosomes (designated as TaG3NPR1) and three on homoeologous group 7 chromosomes (designated as TaG7NPR1). The group 3 NPR1 proteins regulate transcription of SA‐responsive PR genes. Downregulation of all the TaNPR1 homologues via virus‐induced gene co‐silencing resulted in enhanced resistance to stem rust. More specifically downregulating TaG7NPR1 homeologues or Ta7ANPR1 expression resulted in stem rust resistance phenotype. By contrast, knocking down TaG3NPR1 alone did not show visible phenotypic changes in response to the rust pathogen. Knocking out Ta7ANPR1 enhanced resistance to stem rust. The Ta7ANPR1 locus is alternatively spliced under pathogen inoculated conditions. We discovered a new mode of NPR1 action in wheat at the Ta7ANPR1 locus through an NB‐ARC–NPR1 fusion protein negatively regulating the defence to stem rust infection.

Wheat bran is an abundant source of cellulose and is still going to waste because of the lack of knowledge about its further exploitation and comprehensive utilisation. Here, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were prepared from wheat bran via sulfuric acid hydrolysis. The effects of hydrolysis time on the morphology, surface charge, yield, structure, thermal stability, physicochemical properties, and cytotoxicity of CNC were investigated. Results showed that non-cellulosic components were extensively removed by the purification process. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the obtained CNC displayed a needle-like shape with various dimensions. Zeta potential values of the CNC suspensions ranged from -36.5 to -39.8 mV. A hydrolysis time of 60 min resulted in CNC with the highest crystallinity (70.32%). The thermal stability of CNC shifted to lower temperature with increasing hydrolysis time. In addition, the obtained CNC exhibited interesting physicochemical properties (the water/oil retention capacities and the adsorption capacities to heavy metals) and good biocompatibility, suggesting their great potential as reinforcement for the manufacture of nanocomposites.