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Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2024) | Viewed by 12606

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xiaoping Hu

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Guest Editor

College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: wheat stripe rust; epidemiology, monitoring and integrated management of crop fungal diseases

Prof. Dr. Mingjun Li

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Guest Editor

College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: fruit quality; sugar metabolism and accumulation in both source and sink; phloem loading and transport; malate metabolism and accumulation; carbon-nitrogen interaction; nutrient uptake and metabolism; molecular physiology of abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and biotechnology of fruit crops with emphasis on apple and kiwifruit
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Prof. Dr. Dong Wang

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College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: plant physiology; plant nutrition; crop sciences; high-yield cultivation; wheat; nitrogen; water use efficiency
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Prof. Dr. Xiaojun Nie

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Guest Editor

College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: plant genomics; molecular mechanism underlying abiotic stress tolerance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Dilantha Fernando

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Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
Interests: canola and wheat pathology; epidemiology of plant pathogens; evolution/genetic variation of fungal pathogens; biological control of plant diseases; breeding for disease resistance microbial; ecology and microbial interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2024, originating from National Northwest Junior College of Agriculture and Forestry founded in 1934, which was the earliest institution of higher agriculture and forestry education in northwest China. NWAFU is a key national agricultural university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, and is supported by the national “Project 985” and “Project 211” of China as well as selected as one of the universities listed in the National “World-Class University and First-class Discipline” Project.

Since its establishment, Northwest A&F University has always shouldered the mission of providing theoretical and technical support for the sustainable development of agriculture in arid areas, focusing on the scientific and technical issues of sustainable development of agriculture in arid areas. It owned the significant characteristics and advantages in many research field, including crop genetic breeding and pest control, water and soil conservation and ecological restoration, efficient water use for agriculture in arid areas, breeding and cultivation of economic fruits, breeding and healthy breeding of livestock and poultry, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural engineering, grape and wine, making huge contributions to promoting the social development of arid areas and the modernization of agriculture in China. Now, it has been become agricultural university with the most complete disciplines of agriculture, forestry and hydrology in China. Agricultural science, plant and animal science and material science rank among the top 1‰ all over the world. It has achieved more than 6000 scientific research achievements in total, such as wheat variety “Bima No. 1” with the largest cumulative promotion area in the world, wild-cross hybrid wheat variety “Xiaoyan 6”, which has long dominated the wheat variety replacement in China, and the excellent apple variety “Qinguan”, which has the larges cultivation area in China.

In recognition of these achievements, Plants is planning a dedicated Special Issue entitled “Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University”. This Special Issue is soliciting contributions from people currently engaged in plant science research at the NWAFU, as well as distinguished alumni and anyone participating in collaborations with the NWAFU. Both original research papers and comprehensive literature reviews with unique scientific insights are welcome

Prof. Dr. Xiaoping Hu
Prof. Dr. Mingjun Li
Prof. Dr. Dong Wang
Prof. Dr. Xiaojun Nie
Prof. Dr. Dilantha Fernando
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

stress tolerance
green production
crop genetic breeding
pest control
efficient water use
yield improvement
crop quality

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 8742 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating Winter Canola Aboveground Biomass from Hyperspectral Images Using Narrowband Spectra-Texture Features and Machine Learning

by Xia Liu, Ruiqi Du, Youzhen Xiang, Junying Chen, Fucang Zhang, Hongzhao Shi, Zijun Tang and Xin Wang

Plants 2024, 13(21), 2978; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13212978 - 25 Oct 2024

Viewed by 419

Abstract

Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a critical indicator for monitoring the crop growth status and predicting yields. UAV remote sensing technology offers an efficient and non-destructive method for collecting crop information in small-scale agricultural fields. High-resolution hyperspectral images provide abundant spectral-textural information, but whether they can enhance the accuracy of crop biomass estimations remains subject to further investigation. This study evaluates the predictability of winter canola AGB by integrating the narrowband spectra and texture features from UAV hyperspectral images. Specifically, narrowband spectra and vegetation indices were extracted from the hyperspectral images. The Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) method was employed to compute texture indices. Correlation analysis and autocorrelation analysis were utilized to determine the final spectral feature scheme, texture feature scheme, and spectral-texture feature scheme. Subsequently, machine learning algorithms were applied to develop estimation models for winter canola biomass. The results indicate: (1) For spectra features, narrow-bands at 450~510 nm, 680~738 nm, 910~940 nm wavelength, as well as vegetation indices containing red-edge narrow-bands, showed outstanding performance with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.49 to 0.65; For texture features, narrow-band texture parameters CON, DIS, ENT, ASM, and vegetation index texture parameter COR demonstrated significant performance, with correlation coefficients between 0.65 and 0.72; (2) The Adaboost model using the spectra-texture feature scheme exhibited the best performance in estimating winter canola biomass (R² = 0.91; RMSE = 1710.79 kg/ha; NRMSE = 19.88%); (3) The combined use of narrowband spectra and texture feature significantly improved the estimation accuracy of winter canola biomass. Compared to the spectra feature scheme, the model’s R² increased by 11.2%, RMSE decreased by 29%, and NRMSE reduced by 17%. These findings provide a reference for studies on UAV hyperspectral remote sensing monitoring of crop growth status. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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14 pages, 4097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polyacrylamide Regulated Phytohormone Balance and Starch Degradation to Promote Seed-Potato Sprouting and Emergence

by Meiqiang Yin, Dongmei Hu, Xiaohang Yu, Yijie Wang, Sa Song, Chongyue Wang, Qilin Hu and Yinyuan Wen

Plants 2024, 13(19), 2796; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192796 - 5 Oct 2024

Viewed by 726

Abstract

Potatoes are typically seeded as tubers, and their slow sprouting significantly impacts production. Therefore, the effects of polyacrylamide (20 g·L⁻¹, 30 g·L⁻¹, and 40 g·L⁻¹) as a seed potato dressing on sprouting, seedling growth, and biomass were investigated. The phytohormone content, respiratory intensity, and starch metabolism enzyme activity were analyzed to elucidate the physiological mechanisms involved. The sprouting rate significantly increased after 20 g·L⁻¹ and 30 g·L⁻¹ treatments by 40.63% and 15.63%, respectively. The sprouting energy was the highest (52.0%) at 20 g·L⁻¹, 7.67 times higher than the control. The 20 g·L⁻¹ and 30 g·L⁻¹ treatments also promoted emergence and growth, with the emergence rate increasing by 18.18% and 27.27% and growth increasing by over 8.1% and 11.9%, respectively. These effects were related to changes in phytohormone content and accelerated starch conversion. After treatment, the auxin and cytokinin contents in the apical buds increased significantly at the germination initiation stage, and during the germination and vigorous growth phases, the auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin contents increased. Polyacrylamide treatment activated α-amylase and promoted starch degradation, increasing soluble sugar content to provide nutrients and energy for sprouting. This study provides a promising approach for promoting potato tuber sprouting and seedling growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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12 pages, 3410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Identification of the COMT Gene Family in Juglans regia L. and Response to Drought Stress

by Xiaolan Ma, Hongjia Luo, Jianhong Li, Zhiyue Wei, Yanlong Gao, Zhongxing Zhang and Yanxiu Wang

Plants 2024, 13(19), 2690; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192690 - 25 Sep 2024

Viewed by 617

Abstract

Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT), as a multifunctional enzyme involved in various physiological and biochemical processes in lignin metabolism, plays an important role in a plant’s response to stress. In this study, we isolated COMT family members from the walnut genome by bioinformatics and analyzed their physicochemical properties and their expression under drought stress to provide gene resources for drought resistance in walnut. The results showed that 33 COMT genes were identified from walnuts and distributed on different chromosomes. The molecular weight of proteins varies greatly. According to the phylogenetic tree, the family can be divided into seven subgroups, which are relatively conservative in evolution and closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana. Promoter analysis showed that the promoter of the walnut COMT gene contains rich cis-elements of plant hormone response and stress response, and the real-time fluorescence scale name can be significantly induced by drought stress. Compared with wild-type Arabidopsis, overexpression JrCOMT19 significantly increased the enzyme activity (SOD, POD, and CAT) and proline content. Meanwhile, overexpression of JrCOMT19 significantly increased the lignin content and expression of related genes. Therefore, JrCOMT plays an important role in responding to drought in walnuts, and overexpression JrCOMT19 can improve the resistance to drought stress by increasing lignin content, antioxidant enzyme activity, and osmotic substance content. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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20 pages, 8571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Soybean Soil Moisture Content Based on UAV Multispectral and Thermal-Infrared Remote-Sensing Information Fusion

by Hongzhao Shi, Zhiying Liu, Siqi Li, Ming Jin, Zijun Tang, Tao Sun, Xiaochi Liu, Zhijun Li, Fucang Zhang and Youzhen Xiang

Plants 2024, 13(17), 2417; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13172417 - 29 Aug 2024

Viewed by 857

Abstract

By integrating the thermal characteristics from thermal-infrared remote sensing with the physiological and structural information of vegetation revealed by multispectral remote sensing, a more comprehensive assessment of the crop soil-moisture-status response can be achieved. In this study, multispectral and thermal-infrared remote-sensing data, along with soil-moisture-content (SMC) samples (0~20 cm, 20~40 cm, and 40~60 cm soil layers), were collected during the flowering stage of soybean. Data sources included vegetation indices, texture features, texture indices, and thermal-infrared vegetation indices. Spectral parameters with a significant correlation level (p < 0.01) were selected and input into the model as single- and fuse-input variables. Three machine learning methods, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Random Forest (RF), and Genetic Algorithm-optimized Backpropagation Neural Network (GA-BP), were utilized to construct prediction models for soybean SMC based on the fusion of UAV multispectral and thermal-infrared remote-sensing information. The results indicated that among the single-input variables, the vegetation indices (VIs) derived from multispectral sensors had the optimal accuracy for monitoring SMC in different soil layers under soybean cultivation. The prediction accuracy was the lowest when using single-texture information, while the combination of texture feature values into new texture indices significantly improved the performance of estimating SMC. The fusion of vegetation indices (VIs), texture indices (TIs), and thermal-infrared vegetation indices (TVIs) provided a better prediction of soybean SMC. The optimal prediction model for SMC in different soil layers under soybean cultivation was constructed based on the input combination of VIs + TIs + TVIs, and XGBoost was identified as the preferred method for soybean SMC monitoring and modeling, with its R² = 0.780, RMSE = 0.437%, and MRE = 1.667% in predicting 0~20 cm SMC. In summary, the fusion of UAV multispectral and thermal-infrared remote-sensing information has good application value in predicting SMC in different soil layers under soybean cultivation. This study can provide technical support for precise management of soybean soil moisture status using the UAV platform. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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15 pages, 3182 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crop Safety and Weed Control of Foliar Application of Penoxsulam in Foxtail Millet

by Shuqi Dong, Tingting Chen, Ruize Xi, Shulin Gao, Gaofeng Li, Xuena Zhou, Xie Song, Yongqing Ma, Chunyan Hu and Xiangyang Yuan

Plants 2024, 13(16), 2296; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13162296 - 18 Aug 2024

Viewed by 579

Abstract

Grass damage has become an important factor restricting foxtail millet production; chemical weeding can help resolve this issue. However, special herbicides in foxtail millet fields are lacking. Penoxsulam has a broad weed control spectrum and a good control effect. In this project, Jingu 21 was used as the test material, and five different concentrations of penoxsulam were used for spraying test in the three–five leaf stage. In this experiment, the effects on the growth of foxtail millet were discussed by measuring the agronomic characters and antioxidant capacity of foxtail millet after spraying penoxsulam. The results showed that: (1) penoxsulam is particularly effective in controlling Amaranthus retroflexus L. (A. retroflexus) and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. (E. crus-galli), but is ineffective in controlling Chenopodium album L. (C. album) and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. (D. sanguinalis); (2) the stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight of the above-ground parts decreased with the increase in spraying amount; (3) as the spraying dosage increased, the superoxide (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities in the foxtail millet initially increased and subsequently decreased; the malonaldehyde (MDA) content increased. Our experiment found that 1/2X and 1X spraying dosages had certain application value in controlling gramineous weeds in foxtail millet field. Other spraying dosages are not recommended as they may harm the crops. Our findings provide reference for identifying new herbicides in the foxtail millet field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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15 pages, 1744 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drip Fertigation Increases Maize Grain Yield by Affecting Phenology, Grain Filling Process, Biomass Accumulation and Translocation: A 4-Year Field Trial

by Ruiqi Du, Zhijun Li, Youzhen Xiang, Tao Sun, Xiaochi Liu, Hongzhao Shi, Wangyang Li, Xiangyang Huang, Zijun Tang, Junsheng Lu, Junying Chen and Fucang Zhang

Plants 2024, 13(14), 1903; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13141903 - 10 Jul 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 691

Abstract

Drip fertigation (DF) is a widely used technology to increase grain yield with water and fertilizer conservation. However, the mechanism of high grain yield (GY) under DF is still unclear. Here, a four-year field experiment assessed the impacts of four treatments (i.e., conventional irrigation and nitrogen application, CK; drip irrigation with conventional nitrogen fertilization, DI; split-nitrogen fertigation with conventional irrigation, SF; and drip fertigation, DF) on maize phenology, leaf photosynthetic rates, grain filling processes, plant biomass, and GY. The results showed that DF significantly increased maize GY by affecting phenology, grain filling traits, aboveground biomass (BIO) accumulation, and translocation. Specifically, DF significantly increased leaf chlorophyll content, which enhanced leaf photosynthetic rates, and together with an increase of leaf area index, promoted BIO accumulation. As a result, the BIO at the silking stage of DF increased by 29.5%, transported biomass increased by 109.2% (1.2 t ha⁻¹), and the accumulation of BIO after silking increased by 23.1% (1.7 t ha⁻¹) compared with CK. Meanwhile, DF prolonged grain filling days, significantly increased the grain weight of 100 kernels, and promoted GY increase. Compared with CK, the four-year averaged GY and BIO increased by 34.3% and 26.8% under DF; a 29.7%, 46.1%, and 24.2% GY increase and a 30.7%, 39.5%, and 29.9% BIO increase were contributed by irrigation, nitrogen, and coupling effects of irrigation and nitrogen, respectively. These results reveal the high yield mechanism of drip-fertigated maize, and are of important significance for promoting the application of drip fertigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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14 pages, 9008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Maize Autophagy-Related Protein ZmATG3 Confers Tolerance to Multiple Abiotic Stresses

by Mengli Liu, Li Ma, Yao Tang, Wangjing Yang, Yuying Yang, Jing Xi, Xuan Wang, Wanchao Zhu, Jiquan Xue, Xinghua Zhang and Shutu Xu

Plants 2024, 13(12), 1637; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13121637 - 13 Jun 2024

Viewed by 915

Abstract

Abiotic stresses pose a major increasing problem for the cultivation of maize. Autophagy plays a vital role in recycling and re-utilizing nutrients and adapting to stress. However, the role of autophagy in the response to abiotic stress in maize has not yet been investigated. Here, ZmATG3, which is essential for ATG8-PE conjugation, was isolated from the maize inbred line B73. The ATG3 sequence was conserved, including the C-terminal domains with HPC and FLKF motifs and the catalytic domain in different species. The promoter of the ZmATG3 gene contained a number of elements involved in responses to environmental stresses or hormones. Heterologous expression of ZmATG3 in yeast promoted the growth of strain under salt, mannitol, and low-nitrogen stress. The expression of ZmATG3 could be altered by various types of abiotic stress (200 mM NaCl, 200 mM mannitol, low N) and exogenous hormones (500 µM ABA). GUS staining analysis of ZmATG3-GUS transgenic Arabidopsis revealed that GUS gene activity increased after abiotic treatment. ZmATG3-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants had higher osmotic and salinity stress tolerance than wild-type plants. Overexpression of ZmATG3 up-regulated the expression of other AtATGs (AtATG3, AtATG5, and AtATG8b) under NaCl, mannitol and LN stress. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of ZmATG3 can improve tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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13 pages, 2976 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Drought Tolerant Quantitative Trait Loci in Spring Wheat

by Zhong Wang, Xiangjun Lai, Chunsheng Wang, Hongmei Yang, Zihui Liu, Zheru Fan, Jianfeng Li, Hongzhi Zhang, Manshuang Liu and Yueqiang Zhang

Plants 2024, 13(6), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060898 - 21 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1343

Abstract

Drought-induced stress poses a significant challenge to wheat throughout its growth, underscoring the importance of identifying drought-stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for enhancing grain yield. Here, we evaluated 18 yield-related agronomic and physiological traits, along with their drought tolerance indices, in a recombinant inbred line population derived from the XC7 × XC21 cross. These evaluations were conducted under both non-stress and drought-stress conditions. Drought stress significantly reduced grain weight per spike and grain yield per plot. Genotyping the recombinant inbred line population using the wheat 90K single nucleotide polymorphism array resulted in the identification of 131 QTLs associated with the 18 traits. Drought stress also exerted negative impacts on grain formation and filling, directly leading to reductions in grain weight per spike and grain yield per plot. Among the identified QTLs, 43 were specifically associated with drought tolerance across the 18 traits, with 6 showing direct linkages to drought tolerance in wheat. These results provide valuable insights into the genetic mechanisms governing wheat growth and development, as well as the traits contributing to the drought tolerance index. Moreover, they serve as a theoretical foundation for the development of new wheat cultivars having exceptional drought tolerance and high yield potentials under both drought-prone and drought-free conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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14 pages, 3480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Transcriptomics Uncovers Upstream Factors Regulating BnFAD3 Expression and Affecting Linolenic Acid Biosynthesis in Yellow-Seeded Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

by Xiao-Yu Chen, Hao-Xue Wu, Xiao-Han Zhang, Rong-Hao Guo, Kang Li, Yong-Li Fu, Zhen Huang, Ai-Xia Xu, Jun-Gang Dong and Cheng-Yu Yu

Plants 2024, 13(6), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060760 - 7 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1194

Abstract

α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is an important nutrient component in rapeseed oil, and rapeseed breeders want to either restrain or enhance the function of fatty acid desaturases (FADs) in the ALA biosynthesis pathway. To determine the reason for the upregulation of rapeseed BnFAD genes in two high-ALA accessions, R8Q10 and YH25005, we compared their transcriptome profiles in the seed at 24 days after pollination (DAP) with those of two low-ALA lines, A28 and SW. The expression levels of twenty-eight important genes in the seed samples at 20, 27, and 34 DAP were also investigated using an RT-qPCR. The expression levels of genes involved in flavonoid and proanthocyanidin synthesis, including BnCHS, BnCHI, BnDFR, BnFLS1, BnLDOX, BnBAN, BnTT10, and BnTT12 and genes encoding the transcription factors BnTT1, BnTT2, BnTT8, and BnTT16 were lower in R8Q10 and YH25005 than in A28 and SW. The expression levels of genes encoding master transcription factors in embryo development, such as BnLEC1, BnABI3, BnFUS3, BnL1L, BnAREB3, and BnbZIP67, were elevated significantly in the two high-ALA accessions. Combined with previous results in the Arabidopsis and rapeseed literature, we speculated that the yellow-seededness genes could elevate the activity of BnLEC1, BnABI3, BnFUS3, and BnbZIP67, etc., by reducing the expression levels of several transparent testa homologs, resulting in BnFAD3 and BnFAD7 upregulation and the acceleration of ALA synthesis. Yellow-seededness is a favorable factor to promote ALA synthesis in the two high-ALA accessions with the yellow-seeded trait. These findings provide initial insights into the transcriptomic differences between high-/low-ALA germplasms and a theoretic basis for seed quality breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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17 pages, 3048 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multivariate Analysis Compares and Evaluates Heat Tolerance of Potato Germplasm

by Sujie Zhang, Han Ye, Lingshuang Kong, Xiaoyu Li, Yeqing Chen, Shipeng Wang and Bailin Liu

Plants 2024, 13(1), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13010142 - 4 Jan 2024

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2228

Abstract

High temperature is the most important environmental factor limiting potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield. The tuber yield has been used to evaluate the heat tolerance of some potato cultivars, but potato yield was closely correlated with the maturation period. Therefore, it is necessary to employ different parameters to comprehensively analyze and evaluate potato tolerance to heat stress. This study aimed to investigate physiologic changes during growth and development, and develop accurate heat tolerance evaluation methods of potato cultivars under heat stress. About 93 cultivars (including foreign elite lines, local landraces and cultivars) were screened using an in vitro tuber-inducing system (continuous darkness and 8% sucrose in the culture medium) under heat stress (30 °C) and normal (22 °C) conditions for 30 days. The tuber yield and number decreased significantly under heat stress compared to the control. A total of 42 cultivars were initially selected depending on tuber formation, after in vitro screening, further testing of selected cultivars was conducted in ex vitro conditions. The screened cultivars were further exposed to heat stress (35 °C/28 °C, day/night) for 60 days. Heat stress led to an increase in the plant height growth rate, fourth internode growth rate, and membrane damage, and due to heat-induced damage to chloroplasts, decrease in chlorophyll biosynthesis and photosynthetic efficiency. Three principal components were extracted by principal component analysis. Correlation and regression analysis showed that heat tolerance is positively correlated with the plant height growth rate, fourth internode growth rate, the content of chlorophyll b, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, tuber number, and tuber yield, and negatively correlated with the cell membrane injury level. The nine traits are accurate and representative indicators for evaluating potato tolerance to heat stress and could determine a relatively high mean forecast accuracy of 100.0% for the comprehensive evaluation value. Through cluster analysis and screening, cultivar FA, D73, and C132 had the highest heat comprehensive evaluation value, which could be further selected as heat-resistant varieties. This study provides insights into the different physiological mechanisms and accurate evaluation methods of potato cultivars under heat stress, which could be valuable for further research and breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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17 pages, 4408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of the Maize LEA Gene Family and Its Relationship with Kernel Dehydration

by Yaping Zhang, Xiaojun Zhang, Liangjia Zhu, Lexin Wang, Hao Zhang, Xinghua Zhang, Shutu Xu and Jiquan Xue

Plants 2023, 12(21), 3674; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12213674 - 25 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1496

Abstract

Maize, the most widely planted and highest yielding of the three major crops in the world, requires the development and breeding of new varieties to accommodate the shift towards mechanized harvesting. However, the moisture content of kernels during harvest poses a significant challenge to mechanized harvesting, leading to seed breakage and increased storage costs. Previous studies highlighted the importance of LEA (Late Embryogenesis Abundant) members in regulating kernel dehydration. In this study, we aimed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the LEA family and grain dehydration in maize. Through expression pattern analysis of maize, we identified 52 LEA genes (ZmLEAs) distributed across 10 chromosomes, organized into seven subgroups based on phylogenetic analysis, gene structure, and conserved motifs. Evolutionary and selective pressure analysis revealed that the amplification of ZmLEA genes primarily resulted from whole-genome or fragment replication events, with strong purifying selection effects during evolution. Furthermore, the transcriptome data of kernels of two maize inbred lines with varying dehydration rates at different developmental stages showed that 14 ZmLEA genes were expressed differentially in the two inbreds. This suggested that the ZmLEA genes might participate in regulating the kernel dehydration rate (KDR) in maize. Overall, this study enhances our understanding of the ZmLEA family and provides a foundation for further research into its role in regulating genes associated with grain dehydration in maize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Stress Tolerance and Green Production: Celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Northwest A&F University)

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