Deciphering the core shunt mechanism in Arabidopsis cuticular wax biosynthesis and its role in plant environmental adaptation.

Plant cuticular waxes serve as highly responsive adaptations to variable environments. Aliphatic waxes consist of very-long-chain (VLC) compounds produced from 1-alcohol- or alkane-forming pathways. The existing variation in 1-alcohols and alkanes across Arabidopsis accessions revealed that 1-alcohol amounts are negatively correlated with aridity factors, whereas alkanes display the opposite behaviour.

Genetic Diversity, Association, and Path Coefficient Analyses of Sorghum [ (L.) Monech] Genotypes.

For sustainable genetic improvement of crops like sorghum, assessing genetic variability and knowing the nature and extent of the association between grain yield and yield-related traits is a prerequisite. However, there needs to be sufficient information about the genetic variability study as well as yield-related trait correlation and path coefficient analysis for sorghum accessions, especially those from southern Ethiopia. Hence, this field experiment assessed genetic variability, determined the nature and extent of phenotypic-genetic correlation, and analyzed the path coefficients among 17 quantitative traits.

Streamlining Global Germplasm Exchange: Integrating Scientific Rigor and Common Sense to Exclude Phantom Agents from Regulation.

This collaborative work by over 180 researchers from 40+ countries addresses the challenges posed by "phantom agents"-putative pathogenic agents named in literature without supporting data on their existence. Those agents remain on regulatory lists, creating barriers in trade and plant certification. Historically identified based solely on symptoms, these agents lack isolates or sequence data, making reliable detection or risk assessment impossible.

First report of foliar blight of castor bean caused by in Sinaloa, Mexico.

Castor bean (Ricinus communis) is cultivated agriculturally for oil and ornamentally for its bright foliage and seed. Ornamental castor bean has naturalized in many areas of the world, including the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, where it is not planted commercially. In a survey conducted in 2019 in Sinaloa, wild castor bean was found widely affected by a foliar blight with symptoms similar to Alternaria ricini previously described in the United States (Stevenson 1945) and in the state of Chiapas, Mexico (López-Guillén et al.

A data-integrative modeling approach accurately characterizes the effects of mutations on Arabidopsis lipid metabolism.

Collections of insertional mutants have been instrumental for characterizing the functional relevance of genes in different model organisms, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, mutations may often result in subtle phenotypes, rendering it difficult to pinpoint the function of a knocked-out gene. Here, we present a data-integrative modeling approach that enables predicting the effects of mutations on metabolic traits and plant growth.

ChromEvol v.3: modeling rate heterogeneity in chromosome number evolution.

Changes in chromosome numbers are a prominent driver of plant evolution, impacting ecological diversification, stress tolerance, and phenotypes. ChromEvol is a widely used software tool for deciphering patterns of chromosome-number change along a phylogeny of interest. It evaluates the fit of alternative models to the data, estimates transition rates of different types of events, and infers the expected number of events along each branch of the phylogeny.

Phylogenetic Analysis of 590 Species Reveals Distinct Evolutionary Patterns of Intron-Exon Gene Structures Across Eukaryotic Lineages.

Introns are highly prevalent in most eukaryotic genomes. Despite the accumulating evidence for benefits conferred by the possession of introns, their specific roles and functions, as well as the processes shaping their evolution, are still only partially understood. Here, we explore the evolution of the eukaryotic intron-exon gene structure by focusing on several key features such as the intron length, the number of introns, and the intron-to-exon length ratio in protein-coding genes.

Eco-phylogenetic study of Trebouxia in southern Africa reveals interbiome connectivity and potential endemism in a green algal lichen photobiont.

Premise: Southern Africa is a biodiversity hotspot rich in endemic plants and lichen-forming fungi. However, species-level data about lichen photobionts in this region are minimal. We focused on Trebouxia (Chlorophyta), the most common lichen photobiont, to understand how southern African species fit into the global biodiversity of this genus and are distributed across biomes and mycobiont partners.

Identifying climatic drivers of forage quantity and quality in Mediterranean rangelands using remote sensing.

Rangelands are dynamic ecosystems shaped by fluctuations in precipitation, temperature, and grazing intensity. Accurate assessment of forage availability is critical for optimizing land use, preventing overgrazing, and mitigating degradation, especially under future climate change scenarios. This study employed a multi-scale approach to monitor pasture using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, calibrated with ground truth measurements, and enhanced with drone-derived vegetation cover estimates.

The roles of florivory and herbivory in maintaining intra-population flower colour variation in Anemone coronaria.

Most flowering plants are colour monomorphic, while within-population flower colour variation is rare. Multiple selection agents on flower colour, each favouring a different colour morph, may drive such uncommon polymorphisms. We tested the role of biotic antagonistic interactions in maintaining flower colour variation in Anemone coronaria (Ranunculaceae), in colour-polymorphic populations comprised of red, purple, and white flowers.

Effect of Mixed Manure and Inorganic Fertilizer on Phosphorus Adsorption and Desorption Characteristics of Vertisols in Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia.

Applying inorganic phosphorus fertilizer is less effective in increasing crop yields in tropical soils due to precipitation and adsorption reactions. However, research suggests that partial substitution of organic and inorganic fertilizers has shown to improve the efficiency of applied phosphorus fertilizer by reducing its adsorption and enhancing desorption due to their synergistic effects. This study aimed to investigate the impact of treating the soil with mixed manure (MM) rates and blended nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and boron (NPSB) fertilizer on the soil's phosphorus adsorption and desorption characteristics.

PP2C phosphatase Pic6 suppresses MAPK activation and disease resistance in tomato.

Type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) are essential for regulating plant immune responses to pathogens. Our study focuses on the tomato PP2C-immunity associated candidate 6 (Pic6), elucidating its role in negatively regulating pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) signaling pathways in tomato. Using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), we observed that treatment with microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs)- flg22 and flgII-28-significantly increased mRNA levels in wild-type (RG-PtoR) tomato plants.

A single NLR gene confers resistance to leaf and stripe rust in wheat.

Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) disease resistance genes typically confer resistance against races of a single pathogen. Here, we report that Yr87/Lr85, an NLR gene from Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops longissima, confers resistance against both P. striiformis tritici (Pst) and Puccinia triticina (Pt) that cause stripe and leaf rust, respectively.

Metagenome-assembled genomes of freshwater sp. G-191 and sp. enriched from Cedar Swamp, Woods Hole, MA.

are facultative denitrifying anaerobes capable of using one-carbon compounds as a sole carbon source. sp. G-191 was enriched from Cedar Swamp, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, using a selective medium for methanol-utilizing bacteria.

A strategy for identification and characterization of genic mutations using a temperature-sensitive chlorotic soybean mutant as an example.

Screening a transposon-mutagenized soybean population led to the discovery of a recessively inherited chlorotic phenotype. This "y24" phenotype results in smaller stature, weaker stems, and a smaller root system. Genome sequencing identified 15 candidate genes with mutations likely to result in a loss of function.

Enhanced pollen tube performance at high temperature contributes to thermotolerant fruit and seed production in tomato.

Rising temperature extremes during critical reproductive periods threaten the yield of major grain and fruit crops. Flowering plant reproduction depends on the ability of pollen grains to generate a pollen tube, which elongates through the pistil to deliver sperm cells to female gametes for double fertilization. We used tomato as a model fruit crop to determine how high temperature affects the pollen tube growth phase, taking advantage of cultivars noted for fruit production in exceptionally hot growing seasons.

Taxonomic review of the grasshopper genus Karsch, 1891 (Orthoptera, Acrididea, Catantopinae) with description of three new species and a preliminary phylogeny of the Cameroonian species.

The Afrotropical grasshopper genus Karsch, 1891, is reviewed. Some species present in Cameroon are described, Donskoff, 1981, is recorded for the first time in the country, and three new species are described from Cameroon, Yetchom & Husemann, , Yetchom & Husemann, and Yetchom & Husemann, , increasing the number of species in Cameroon from eight to 12, and overall to 30 species in Central Africa. An updated key of is provided.

In silico analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factors in the basal eudicot model, .

Unlabelled: R2R3-MYBs are an important group of transcription factors that regulate crucial developmental processes across the plant kingdom; yet no comprehensive analysis of the R2R3-MYBs in the early-diverging eudicot clade of Ranunculaceae has been conducted so far. In the present study,  is chosen to understand the extent of conservation and divergence of R2R3-MYBs as a representative of the family by analysing the genomic distribution, organization, gene structure, physiochemical properties, protein architecture, evolution and possible mode of expansion. Genome-wide analysis showed the presence of 82 putative homologues classified into 21 subgroups, based on phylogenetic analysis of full-length protein sequences.

The Impact of Microbial Interactions on Ecosystem Function Intensifies Under Stress.

A major challenge in ecology is to understand how different species interact to determine ecosystem function, particularly in communities with large numbers of co-occurring species. We use a trait-based model of microbial litter decomposition to quantify how different taxa impact ecosystem function. Furthermore, we build a novel framework that highlights the interplay between taxon traits and environmental conditions, focusing on their combined influence on community interactions and ecosystem function.

Aflatoxins Levels in Concentrate Feeds Collected from Specialized Dairy Farms and Local Markets in Selected Urban Centers of Eastern Ethiopia.

Aflatoxin constitutes a significant concern for food and feed safety, posing detrimental health risks to both animals and humans. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and concentration of aflatoxins in maize feed, total mixed ration, and wheat bran collected from specialized dairy farms and local markets in three major urban centers in eastern Ethiopia. A total of 180 feed samples were collected from September 2021 to January 2022 in Chiro town, Dire Dawa city, and Harar city.

Non-Feeding Transmission Modes of the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus by the Whitefly Do Not Contribute to Reoccurring Leaf Curl Outbreaks in Tomato.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) causes significant yield loss in tomato production in the southeastern United States and elsewhere. TYLCV is transmitted by the whitefly cryptic species in a persistent, circulative, and non-propagative manner. Unexpectedly, transovarial and sexual transmission of TYLCV has been reported for one strain from Israel.

A complete genome sequence of pathovar YM7902.

pathovar YM7902 was originally isolated as a pathogen of cucumber in Japan. Here, we report a nearly complete genome sequence for this strain, assembled using a hybrid approach combining Illumina paired-end reads and longer reads sequenced using technology from Oxford Nanopore.

Integrated Metabolomic, Lipidomic and Proteomic Analysis Define the Metabolic Changes Occurring in Curled Areas in Leaves With Leaf Peach Curl Disease.

Peach Leaf Curl Disease, caused by Taphrina deformans, is characterized by reddish hypertrophic and hyperplasic leaf areas. To comprehend the biochemical imbalances caused by the fungus, dissected symptomatic (C) and asymptomatic areas (N) from leaves with increasing disease extension were analyzed by an integrated approach including metabolomics, lipidomics, proteomics, and complementary biochemical techniques. Drastic metabolic differences were identified in C areas with respect to either N areas or healthy leaves, including altered chloroplastic functioning and composition, which differs from the typical senescence process.