Publications by authors named "Muhammad J Umer"

Peanut seeds are enriched with protein and fatty acids, making them susceptible to infection by Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus). The infected seeds are harmful to human health due to the aflatoxin contamination.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Plants like maize have developed advanced defenses against insect attacks, including the production of lignin and the ability to communicate stress signals to neighboring plants when infested by pests like Spodoptera frugiperda, enhancing their collective defense mechanisms.
  • - The protein EXP-A20 plays a critical role in mediating maize's defense response by facilitating the synthesis of key hormones like ethylene, which is essential for activating protective measures against pests such as Ostrinia furnacalis.
  • - This research uncovered that the volatile compound phytol can enhance defense responses but relies on EXP-A20 for its effectiveness, suggesting a significant connection between hormone signaling and cell wall defense strategies, and pointing towards new strategies for improving pest resistance in maize. *
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Peanut is a significant source of protein for human consumption. One of the primary objectives in peanut breeding is the development of new cultivars with enhanced nutritional values. To further this goal, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to analyze seed amino acids contents in 390 diverse peanut accessions collected worldwide, mainly from China, India, and the United States, in 2017 and 2018.

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Cotton plays a crucial role in the progress of the textile industry and the betterment of human life by providing natural fibers. In our study, we explored the genetic determinants of cotton architecture and fiber yield and quality by crossbreeding Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense, creating a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. Utilizing SNP markers, we constructed an extensive genetic map encompassing 7,730 markers over 2,784.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the genetic factors that affect flowering timing in wild cotton, focusing on the differences between early- and late-flowering Gossypium hirsutum genotypes.
  • Comparative transcriptomic profiling revealed that genes associated with flowering, especially those in the florigen pathways like FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), are expressed differently between genotypes, with higher expression in the early-flowering variety ZMS.
  • Misregulation of circadian clock and light signaling genes contributes to the delayed flowering in the photoperiod-sensitive landrace GhP, highlighting potential targets for improving cotton breeding programs through altered flowering time.
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Seed priming with beneficial endophytic fungi is an emerging sustainable strategy for enhancing plant resistance against insect pests. This study examined the effects of Beauvaria bassiana Bb20091317 and Metarhizium rileyi MrCDTLJ1 fungal colonization on maize growth, defence signalling, benzoxazinoid levels and gene expression. The colonization did not adversely affect plant growth but reduced larval weights of Spodoptera frugiperda.

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Plant Carbonic anhydrases (Cas) have been shown to be stress-responsive enzymes that may play a role in adapting to adverse conditions. Cotton is a significant economic crop in China, with upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) being the most widely cultivated species. We conducted genome-wide identification of the βCA gene in six cotton species and preliminary analysis of the βCA gene in upland cotton.

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Article Synopsis
  • Plants can get better at handling stress, like salt, by a process called priming.
  • Researchers looked at different types of cotton plants to see how they react to salt stress and found some shared genes that help them resist it.
  • One important gene, XTH6, when silenced, can actually help the plants grow better even when there's salt stress.
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Drought is one of the main environmental stressors that can alter the water status of plants; negatively affect growth, assimilation, and photosynthesis; and eventually reduce crop yield. We explored the dependence of drought tolerance traits on chlorophyll-A content. Local sunflower cultivars (FH-01, FH-628, FH-633, FH-572, and FH-653) were grown in pots and subjected to drought by withholding water for 10, 15, or 20 d.

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Background: The cotton industry suffers significant yield losses annually due to Verticillium wilt, which is considered the most destructive disease affecting the crop. However, the precise mechanisms behind this disease in cotton remain largely unexplored.

Methods: Our approach involved utilizing transcriptome data from G.

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Cotton (Gossypium) stands as a crucial economic crop, serving as the primary source of natural fiber for the textile sector. However, the evolutionary mechanisms driving speciation within the Gossypium genus remain unresolved. In this investigation, we leveraged 25 Gossypium genomes and introduced four novel assemblies-G.

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Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a widely cultivated cucurbitaceae crop appreciated by consumers worldwide. However, the long vine and abundant lateral branches of currently cultivated watermelon varieties hinder light simplification and mechanized cultivation, affecting plant spacing and row spacing requirements. To address this, the development of watermelon with dwarf and branchless traits has become a crucial direction for the industry.

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Lint percentage is one of the most essential yield components and an important economic index for cotton planting. Improving lint percentage is an effective way to achieve high-yield in cotton breeding worldwide, especially upland cotton ( L.).

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Cottonseed is an invaluable resource, providing protein, oil, and abundant minerals that significantly contribute to the well-being and nutritional needs of both humans and livestock. However, cottonseed also contains a toxic substance called gossypol, a secondary metabolite in Gossypium species that plays an important role in cotton plant development and self-protection. Herein, genome-wide analysis and characterization of the terpene synthase (TPS) gene family identified 304 TPS genes in Gossypium.

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Leaf color mutants are common in higher plants that can be used as markers in crop breeding and are important tools in understanding regulatory mechanisms of chlorophyll biosynthesis and chloroplast development. Genetic analysis was performed by evaluating F, F and BC populations derived from two parental lines (Charleston gray with green leaf color and Houlv with delayed green leaf color), suggesting that a single recessive gene controls the delayed green leaf color. In this study, the delayed green mutant showed a conditional pale green leaf color at the early leaf development but turned to green as the leaf development progressed.

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The soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae, also referred as "The Cotton Cancer," is responsible for causing Verticillium wilt in cotton crops, a destructive disease with a global impact. To infect cotton plants, the pathogen employs multiple virulence mechanisms such as releasing enzymes that degrade cell walls, activating genes that contribute to virulence, and using protein effectors. Conversely, cotton plants have developed numerous defense mechanisms to combat the impact of V.

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Seed production for polyploid watermelons is costly, complex, and labor-intensive. Tetraploid and triploid plants produce fewer seeds/fruit, and triploid embryos have a harder seed coat and are generally weaker than diploid seeds. In this study, we propagated tetraploid and triploid watermelons by grafting cuttings onto gourd rootstock (C.

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Background: Flooding is a major stress factor impacting watermelon growth and production globally. Metabolites play a crucial role in coping with both biotic and abiotic stresses.

Methods: In this study, diploid (2X) and triploid (3X) watermelons were investigated to determine their flooding tolerance mechanisms by examining physiological, biochemical, and metabolic changes at different stages.

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Background: Seed Myco-priming based on consortium of entomopathogenic fungi is very effective seed treatment against Ostrinia furnacalis herbivory. Maize regulates defense responses against herbivory by the production of defense-related enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, phytohormones, and their corresponding genes. Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a key role in plant-entomopathogenic fungi-herbivore interaction.

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Although crop domestication has greatly aided human civilization, the sequential domestication and regulation of most quality traits remain poorly understood. Here, we report the stepwise selection and regulation of major fruit quality traits that occurred during watermelon evolution. The levels of fruit cucurbitacins and flavonoids were negatively selected during speciation, whereas sugar and carotenoid contents were positively selected during domestication.

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The plant-specific IQ67 domain (IQD) is the largest class of calmodulin targets found in plants, and plays an important role in many biological processes, especially fruit development processes. However, the functional role of IQD proteins in the development of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) shape remains unknown, as the IQD protein family in watermelon has not been systematically characterized. Herein, we elucidated the gene structures, chromosomal locations, evolutionary divergence, and functions of 35 IQD genes in the watermelon genome.

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Background: Crops face several environmental stresses (biotic and abiotic), thus resulting in severe yield losses. Around the globe abiotic stresses are the main contributors of plant damages, primarily drought and salinity. Many genes and transcription factors are involved in abiotic and biotic stress responses.

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Drought has been identified as a major threat for global crop production worldwide. Phosphofructokinase (PFK) is vital for sugar metabolism. During phosphorylation, plants have two enzymes: ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase (PFK) and pyrophosphate-dependent fructose-6-phosphate phosphotransferase (PFP).

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Trichomes protect plants against insects, microbes, herbivores, and abiotic damages and assist seed dispersal. The function of genes have been found to be involved in the trichome development but the research on the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms are extremely limited. Herein, genome wide identification and characterization of genes was performed.

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