Investigation the expression patterns of GmPT genes in response to various abiotic stresses and overexpression of GmPT11 in soybean hairy roots and Arabidopsis exhibited hypersensitivity to salt stress. Soybean is considered to be one of the significant oil crops globally, as it offers a diverse range of essential nutrients that contribute to human health. Salt stress seriously affects the yield of soybean through negative impacts on the growth, nodulation, reproduction, and other agronomy traits. The phosphate transporters 1(PHT1) subfamily, which is a part of the PHTs family in plants, is primarily found in the cell membrane and responsible for the uptake and transport of phosphorus. However, the role of GmPT (GmPT1–GmPT14) genes in response to salt stress has not been comprehensively studied. Here, we conducted a systematic analysis to ascertain the distribution and genomic duplications of GmPT genes, as well as their expression patterns in response to various abiotic stresses. Promoter analysis of GmPT genes revealed that six stress-related cis-elements were enriched in these genes. The overexpression of GmPT11 in soybean hairy roots and Arabidopsis exhibited hypersensitivity to salt stress, while no significant change was observed under low phosphate treatment, suggesting a crucial role in the response to salt stress. These findings provide novel insights into enhancing plant tolerance to salt stress.

Soybean is one of the major oil and economic crops for human beings, and the adequate root length ensures proper growth, development, stress tolerance, and yield in soybean. However, only a limited number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes governing primary root length (PRL) are currently identified in soybean. In this study, extensive variation of the PRL was observed in 324 soybean accessions in the seedling stage, and the soybean lines belonging landrace or cultivar subpopulation showed higher PRL than that belonging wild subpopulation. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of three novel QTLs that significantly associated with PRL were detected by genome-wide association study (GWAS), and they are distributed on chromosome (Chr.) 2, 19, and 20, respectively. The candidate genes were searched in three QTLs candidate regions, and all 22 putative candidate genes detected are in QTL qPRL_1. Four tandem duplications of gibberellin 20 oxidase 1-like (GA20ox1) were detected in the linkage disequilibrium (LD) block in the qPRL_1 region, and only GmGA20ox1 (Glyma.02G136000) showed higher expression in root tissue. A notable disparity in the PRL trait was observed when the association panel was genotyped using the SNP of Chr02_14101363 (C/G), and only the landrace and cultivar subpopulation accessions possessed the CC allele. The variant Chr02_14101363 (C/G) was located within the coding sequence region of the GmGA20ox1 gene and resulted in a nonsynonymous mutation. Eleven haplotypes were generated by eight SNPs in GmGA20ox1 and its promoter region, and soybean accessions carrying the superior haplotype (Hap3) of GmGA20ox1 showed highest average PRL trait and higher expression of GmGA20ox1. The genetic diversity analysis of GmGA20ox1 indicated that it was most likely selected during soybean domestication and improvement process, leading to the highest proportion of Hap3 of GmGA20ox1 both in landrace and cultivar subpopulations. The qPRL_1 and GmGA20ox1 identified in this study provide valuable genetic resources for soybean root traits, and GmGA20ox1 could be applied for soybean molecular breeding to develop desirable root system architecture (RSA) in the future.

The circadian system plays a pivotal role in facilitating the ability of crop plants to respond and adapt to fluctuations in their immediate environment effectively. Despite the increasing comprehension of PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORs and their involvement in the regulation of diverse biological processes, including circadian rhythms, photoperiodic control of flowering, and responses to abiotic stress, the transcriptional networks associated with these factors in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) remain incompletely characterized. In this study, we provide empirical evidence highlighting the significance of GmPRR3b as a crucial mediator in regulating the circadian clock, drought stress response, and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway in soybeans. A comprehensive analysis of DNA affinity purification sequencing and transcriptome data identified 795 putative target genes directly regulated by GmPRR3b. Among them, a total of 570 exhibited a significant correlation with the response to drought, and eight genes were involved in both the biosynthesis and signaling pathways of ABA. Notably, GmPRR3b played a pivotal role in the negative regulation of the drought response in soybeans by suppressing the expression of abscisic acid-responsive element-binding factor 3 (GmABF3). Additionally, the overexpression of GmABF3 exhibited an increased ability to tolerate drought conditions, and it also restored the hypersensitive phenotype of the GmPRR3b overexpressor. Consistently, studies on the manipulation of GmPRR3b gene expression and genome editing in plants revealed contrasting reactions to drought stress. The findings of our study collectively provide compelling evidence that emphasizes the significant contribution of the GmPRR3b-GmABF3 module in enhancing drought tolerance in soybean plants. Moreover, the transcriptional network of GmPRR3b provides valuable insights into the intricate interactions between this gene and the fundamental biological processes associated with plant adaptation to diverse environmental conditions.

Brassica yellows virus (BrYV) is an economically important virus on cruciferous species. In this study, a one-pot reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay coupled with the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas12a system was developed for the detection of BrYV. The limit of detection of this method reached 32.8 copies of the BrYV ORF5, which is 100-fold more sensitive than the RT-LAMP method. Moreover, there was no cross-reactivity with other rapeseed-infecting RNA viruses or poleroviruses. We dried the CRISPR/Cas12a reagent in a trehalose and pullulan mixture to retain its efficacy at the RT-LAMP temperature of 63 degrees C in order to allow portable BrYV detection in a water bath. The entire process can be performed in about 1 h, and a positive result can be rapidly and conveniently detected using a handheld UV lamp. In the field, the RT-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a assay was accurate and had higher sensitivity than RT-LAMP and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays. The novel RT-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a assay allows convenient, portable, rapid, low-cost, highly sensitive, and specific detection of BrYV and has great potential for on-site monitoring of BrYV.