Biology and Life Sciences

Abstract: Intraindividual variation in floral traits is central to plant reproductive dynamics, yet within-crown patterns in tropical andromonoecious trees remain underexplored. We used dwarf cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) as a model to test three predictions: (i) floral output and sex ratio differ among crown quadrants due to microenvironmental gradients; (ii) male and hermaphroditic flowers show divergent phenological dynamics; and (iii) flowering abundance does not necessarily predict fruit set. We monitored 120 panicles per bloom across two flowering flushes in two years. Flowering intensity clustered early within the reproductive cycle and varied little between years, indicating stronger effects of within-flush timing than of broad seasonal context. Emission patterns of male and hermaphroditic flowers diverged, with male flowers requiring longer to reach anthesis. The north quadrant exhibited more hermaphroditic flowers, consistent with greater solar exposure, whereas fruit production peaked in the east and west quadrants, revealing a spatial decoupling between flowering and fruiting. We also observed protandrous dichogamy. These results show that within-crown microclimate and architectural position structure intraindividual floral variation and that post-floral filters help determine fruit set. Consequently, flowering alone is a poor proxy for reproductive success, underscoring the need to integrate positional, temporal, and post-floral processes when evaluating reproductive performance.

Abstract: Coptis teeta is the species central to our study. It is an endangered medicinal herb endemic to the Eastern Himalayas and a major source of berberine and coptisine. Previous transcriptomic study of this species under stress and normal condition was limited to differential gene expression analysis. Analysis on condition-specific regulatory relationships across stress and normal conditions was lacking. To address this gap, we reprocessed RNA-seq data from Nath et al. (2026) to construct separate drought and heat co-expression networks, and we tracked stress dependent changes in gene connectivity through an interpretable rewiring framework. We identified robust hub genes which were validated across multiple correlation thresholds.Then we ranked candidates using an integrated score factoring network centrality, expression magnitude and rewiring evidence. The robust hubs we identified were found significantly enriched among strongly rewired genes with p=0.038 and 81.5% the drought GO enrichment genes intersected with our prioritized set. This suggestsIni that stress adaptation actively reshapes primary regulatory centers. Independent cross validation against Nath et al. 2026 confirmed seven prioritized candidate genes. These consisted of tyrosine/DOPA decarboxylase (TYDC), which exhibited a ten-fold connectivity gain under drought, and a drought-responsive GATA transcription factor. Homology mapping using BLASTP resolved identities for 20 robust hubs out of 24. This topological approach offers a transparent framework to rank genes based on known, weighted factors in an endangered non-model plant with small sample sizes.

Abstract: According to the list of Traditional agri-food products (TAPs) of the Italian Minis-try of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, 1636 plant-based TAPs are currently registered in Italy. This study aimed at identifying strengths and constraints associated with the production, commercialization, and conservation status of plant-based TAPs selected in Campania. Data on all 246 TAPs recorded in the region were collected and analysed to assess their distribution in the 5 provinces. The conservation status was assessed by cross-referencing the TAPs list with the Regional Register of Plant Genetic Resources at Risk of Extinction and the National Register of Conservation Varieties. The study was conducted on a sample of 13 products, selected by edible organ (leaf, fruit, inflorescence, seed, and tuber/rhizome). Questionnaires concerning production and commercialization were distributed to two farmers per product. Most farms showed limited surfaces (< 1 ha in 69.2%), with low yearly production levels (< 10 q in 27% and 10–50 q in 38%). Cultivation mainly consists in organic farming (58%), reflecting the widespread adoption of low-input and environmentally sustainable practices, but entailing higher production costs and operational constraints, affecting farm economic sustainability and competitiveness in broader markets. All farms distribute products at the local level, while only a minority reaches the national (15%) and Euro-pean (23%) markets. Our results highlight the potential role of TAPs in supporting the sustainable utilisation of local plant genetic resources, the territorial identity and the rural food tourism. Strengthening the economic viability of plant-based TAPs may contribute to reducing the risk of genetic erosion and preserving Campania's plant biodiversity and cultural heritage.

Abstract: Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) trap closure is a discrete, energetically costly commitment that requires two action potentials (APs) within a memory window. A threshold-product model, R = Φ·(A·D·C) ≥ θ, was previously applied to this system (Rahman, 2026a) and then frozen with parameters in an unpublished pre-registration, including a slow inactivation gate (recovery constant τ_φ0 = 8 s) that vetoes a second AP arriving within 4.6 s of the first. Here the frozen model is tested against trial-level data from Burri et al. (2020) and against values reported in more than a dozen further studies. In the raw voltage traces of closing events, the two APs were separated by 0.98 s (single slow deflection) and approximately 0.75–1.1 s (double deflection), and both traps closed. This bounds τ_φ0 at 1.7 s or less and falsifies the frozen veto boundary. In 31 matched fail/succeed pairs of single deflections, the AP threshold in angular-displacement × angular-velocity space was a bounded window: a model with a velocity window ranked 29 of 31 pairs correctly under leave-one-out, against 22 for a power-law product and 9 for an additive rule. All six traps that failed at fast velocity (1.4–6.5 rad/s) fired when velocity was halved at equal or larger displacement, which no rule monotone in both factors permits. Across studies, the calcium memory constant converged (30–40 s), while reported two-touch windows ranged from 16 to 50 s. Digitized temperature data (Molis et al., 2006) fit a single calcium memory with τ = 32 s at 20 °C and Q10 = 1.64, and show that the memory is partly local to the touched hair. Counts of stimuli to closure at intervals up to 20 min (Brown, 1916) require a second, slow component with a time constant of hours. A revised model, frozen before independent calcium-imaging data (Suda et al., 2020) were examined, predicted a two-stimulus closure window of 13.5 s; the measured 50% closure duration was 30.9 s (95% CI 21.4–45.4 s), which locates the failure in a closure threshold imported from another preparation. Two independent trigger-hair transcriptomes over-express CYP710A1, which converts sitosterol to stigmasterol, so any sterol-dependent gate is more likely in the sensor than across the trap. Because stigmasterol also activates the H⁺-ATPase, such a gate would act on drive as well as on Φ. A flat-lobed mutant (DYSCALCULIA) shows that a deficit in A can be offset by more APs, but it cannot separate a product from a sum. The data support conjunctive gating with vetoes at both edges of the stimulus window and a fast baseline recovery gate. The multiplicative A·D·C product and a sterol-dependent Φ remain untested; six experiments are specified with kill conditions and sample sizes, including a factorial with independent measurement of drive and sterol analysis of the trigger hair.

Abstract: Rising atmospheric CO₂ suppresses photorespiration, whereas warming and drying can limits leaf carbon gain. We coupled a Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry photosynthesis model with an ATP/NADPH budget, soil-plant hydraulics, and leaf energy balance, assigning photosystem II thermal thresholds based on leaf habit. Using ISIMIP3b forcing from five CMIP6 models, we simulated eight tree species across 27 species-site combinations at six locations in Türkiye, comparing the periods 2020–2030 and 2070–2080 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. With soil moisture reset each season, the mean seasonal net assimilation increased by 130.3 gC m⁻² of leaf area (95% CI: 76–187 gC m⁻²). The forcing-channel contributions were +219.5 gC m⁻² from CO₂, −66.7 gC m⁻² from temperature/VPD, −38.8 gC m⁻² from precipitation, and −2.8 gC m⁻² from radiation (residual: +19.1). Species and sites accounted for 81% of the fitted variance, compared to 3.1% for GCMs. Under year-round soil water tracking, the mean increase was 106.5 gC m⁻² (95% CI: +43 to +167), with declines in 11 of 135 cells. Days with peak leaf temperature exceeding assigned thermal thresholds increased from 1.5 to 12.2 per season, primarily in broad-leaved species. These counts were sensitive to thermal parameters and stomatal assumptions and do not directly quantify tissue damage. Within the tested configurations, higher modeled leaf assimilation coexisted with more frequent threshold exceedance. Neither outcome alone establishes stand productivity or forest resilience.

Abstract: Plants are prone to injury in nature, yet how woody stems repair damaged protective and vascular tissues remains poorly understood. We established an in vitro bridge-culture system in hybrid poplar to track regeneration after longitudinal stem cutting. Lignin deposition began in diverse cells beneath the wound by 2 days after cutting (DAC), marking an early wound response. Repair then followed distinct tissue-specific trajectories. In the cortex and secondary phloem, cell division generated callus-like tissue that covered the wound by 2–4 DAC. New phellogen subsequently formed beneath the callus and produced phelloderm and ligno-suberized phellem, forming a wound periderm resembling native periderm by 12 DAC. In vascular cambium and young phloem, cells expanded and proliferated to reconnect the wound by 4 DAC, while restoration of cambium- and phloem-associated gene expression by 8–12 DAC indicated vascular recovery. Auxin responses also differed between tissues. PtaDR5::GUS activity was transiently induced during periderm regeneration but persisted in vascular regions until vascular development resumed. Exogenous auxin promoted periderm regeneration but had little effect on vascular cell divisions, whereas inhibiting polar auxin transport impaired vascular wound closure. Thus, periderm and vascular tissues undergo coordinated yet distinct repair processes regulated by tissue-specific auxin responses and transport.

Abstract: Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IPPI) is a key enzyme catalyzing the interconversion between isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP), two isoprenyl C5 units that are precursors for terpenoid biosynthesis. Previous study has identified two IPPIs, namely AaIPPI1 and AaIPPI2 from Artemisia annua, and revealed the positive role of AaIPPI1 in regulating the biosynthesis of terpenoids. However, the role of AaIPPI2 in regulating terpenoid biosynthesis remains to be clarified. In this study, we explored the contribution of AaIPPI2 to terpenoid biosynthesis in Artemisia annua. Overexpression of AaIPPI2 in A. annua significantly enhanced the contents of diverse monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Suppression of AaIPPI2 by RNA interference (RNAi) in A. annua markedly reduced the biosynthesis of these sesquiterpenes, but only caused a modest decrease in several monoterpenes’ levels with no change in other monoterpenes’ levels, suggesting that AaIPPI2 plays a lesser part in the regulation of monoterpenes biosynthesis in plastids compared to AaIPPI1. Taken together, these results demonstrate that AaIPPI2 plays a positive role in regulating the biosynthesis of terpenoids. Our findings enhanced the understanding of the distinction between the roles of the two IPPIs in the regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis in A. annua and provided candidate genes for optimizing terpene production in plants.

Abstract: Membraneless compartments assembled by liquid–liquid phase separation have moved rapidly from a curiosity of in vitro biophysics to a working explanation for how crop plants sense temperature, water, ions and pathogens. In this review, we synthesize the physicochemical rules that govern condensate assembly in plant cells, trace how those rules are deployed across the horticultural pathosystems and stress physiologies that matter for food production and evaluate the emerging engineering and chemical toolkits — synthetic scaffolds, optogenetic phase regulators, condensate-targeting phytovirucides and condensate-aware breeding alleles — that aim to convert condensate biology into agronomic gain.

Abstract: Reliable ginseng authentication requires analytical signatures that distinguish plant category, production region, and growth duration while remaining interpretable and operationally compact. This study evaluated laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a proximal elemental-sensing method for these three classification tasks. The datasets comprised 200 spectra from four plant categories, 100 spectra from two geographical origins, and 100 spectra from two growth years; each class contained 50 pressed pellets prepared from one homogenized powder batch. Four chemometric pipelines were compared using five-fold nested cross-validation repeated five times, with all preprocessing and model selection confined to training folds. The best mean balanced accuracies were 1.000, 0.982, and 1.000 for plant category, origin, and growth year, respectively. A sparse model using only 50 of 12,990 wavelengths retained balanced accuracies of 1.000, 0.980, and 1.000. Stable regions were provisionally associated with Ba, Sr, and K for plant category, Al for origin, and Ca and Fe for growth year. Standard normal variate preprocessing suppressed sensitivity to uniform intensity scaling and offsets, whereas detector-channel shifts caused marked deterioration. The results show that compact LIBS fingerprints can encode multiple ginseng attributes and identify wavelength registration, rather than intensity variation alone, as a central requirement for future transfer across batches and measurement settings.

Abstract:

Arabidopsis thaliana plants of two mutant lines with knocked out the At3g52720 gene, encoding stromal α-carbonic anhydrase 1, αCA1 (αCA1-KO), and wild-type plants, of the Columbia ecotype (Col), were grown under 450 ppm (NCO₂) and 150 ppm (LCO₂) CO₂ in the air. The CO₂ assimilation rate (ACO₂) in plants grown under NCO₂ was lower in the αCA1-KO plants than in Col plants at CO₂ concentrations from 600 to 1200 ppm in the measurement chamber. In LCO₂-grown plants, ACO₂ values were lower than in NCO₂-grown plants both in Col and mutants, with the same values in mutants and Col. Water use efficiency (WUE) in NCO₂ grown mutant plants was lower than in Col at a CO₂ concentration of 600 ppm and above, and in LCO₂-grown mutants WUE became lower than in Col at 1200 ppm. The starch content was lower in leaves of mutants than in Col under both NCO₂ and LCO₂ conditions due to its reduced synthesis during the daytime photosynthesis. Under NCO₂, the content of hydrogen peroxide was twice higher in αCA1‑KO plant leaves than in Col. Under LCO₂, the content of Н₂О₂ in Col increased to more than three times its level under NCO₂, and became 2.5 times higher than in αCA1‑KO, in which it decreased by 1.5 times compared to that in NCO₂ plants. Under NCO₂ conditions, the contents of the stromal, cytoplasmic and peroxisomal forms of ascorbate peroxidases (APXs) were about twice higher in αCA1-KO than in Col plants. Contrariwise, in LCO₂-grown plants the contents of APXs were lower in mutants than in Col. The total protein amount, as well as the level of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, were the same in Col and mutants under NCO₂ conditions, but were 35% and 45-50%, respectively, lower in αCA1-KO than in Col under LCO₂ conditions. In the leaves of NCO₂-grown plants, the stomatal conductance was higher in αCA1-KO than in Col with slower stomatal opening and delayed closure in response to decreases and increases in CO₂ level, respectively. At the same time, in the absence of αCA1, both the total number of stomata per unit leaf surface area, and the relative number of open stomata were higher than in Col leaves. In the protoplasts isolated from NCO₂-grown αCA1-KO plants, the steady-state rates of oxygen evolution were 30 % lower in mutants than in Col and were reached at a lower HCO₃¯ concentration (5 mM) than in protoplasts from Col (8 mM). The apparent half-saturating bicarbonate concentration was approximately 2 mM for αCA1-KO and 3 mM for Col. Our data demonstrate the involvement of the stromal chloroplast αCA1 in providing A. thaliana cells with CO₂, the importance of this enzyme for starch synthesis, as well as the significance of αCA1 for protein synthesis in plants. The increase in the total number of stomata per unit of leaf surface area and in the relative proportion of open stomata, as well as the reduced rate of stomatal responses in plants lacking αCA1, suggests the possible involvement of this enzyme in signaling processes regulating both stomatal movement and development.

Abstract: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can modulate plant growth and development, but the signaling mechanisms underlying their effects on organogenesis remain unclear. Here, we found that MWCNTs promote adventitious root (AR) formation and that RBOH-dependent hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production plays a key role in this process in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and Arabidopsis thaliana. MWCNTs treatment promoted AR formation in cucumber hypocotyls. Concomitantly, endogenous H₂O₂ levels increased rapidly, along with enhanced CsRBOHD expression and NADPH oxidase activity, suggesting activation of an RBOH-dependent H₂O₂ response. Consistent with this, scavenging H₂O₂ or inhibiting NADPH oxidase markedly reduced MWCNTs-induced rooting, whereas exogenous H₂O₂ partially restored AR formation under NADPH oxidase inhibition. Genetic evidence further supported this relationship, as Atrbohd and Atrbohf mutants showed reduced responses to MWCNTs but remained responsive to exogenous H₂O₂, suggesting that RBOH-mediated H₂O₂ generation is a critical step in MWCNTs-induced adventitious rooting. In parallel, MWCNTs and H₂O₂ treatments enhanced the expression of genes associated with adventitious root development. Together, these findings support a model in which MWCNTs promote adventitious rooting through RBOH-dependent H₂O₂ signaling, providing new insight into nanomaterial-mediated regulation of plant development.

Abstract: Multi-omics has emerged as an important systems-level approach for elucidating plant responses to abiotic stress. By integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, interactomics, and miRNAomics, researchers can connect genetic variation with transcriptional regulation, protein dynamics, metabolic remodeling, and physiological adaptation. This review summarizes recent advances in multi-omics studies of plant responses to major abiotic stresses, including salinity, drought, temperature extremes, heavy metals, and combined environmental stresses. Integrated analyses reveal that stress adaptation is governed by coordinated regulatory networks involving ion homeostasis, osmotic adjustment, antioxidant defense, hormone signaling, transcriptional regulation, protein quality control, and epigenetic modulation. We further compare stress-response strategies among model plants, crops, legumes, perennial trees, and horticultural species, highlighting the influence of evolutionary adaptation and breeding objectives on stress tolerance mechanisms. In addition, recent progress in artificial intelligence-assisted multi-omics analysis is discussed, particularly in data integration, regulatory-network inference, candidate-gene identification, and genotype-environment-phenotype prediction. Despite substantial progress, challenges remain in high-dimensional data integration, causal validation, spatiotemporal resolution, and the translation of molecular findings into practical crop improvement strategies. Future integration of advanced omics technologies, systems biology, bioinformatics, and precision breeding approaches will accelerate the development of climate-resilient crops and contribute to sustainable agricultural production under changing environmental conditions.

Abstract: Improving crop yield to feed rapidly growing population under the conditions of limited cultivable land and climate change is a global concern. Besides different genetic and environmental factors, plant carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) levels largely influence plant growth and development. Key genes from both C and N assimilation pathways have been utilized for overexpression aiming to improve yield in transgenic plants. However, majority of these studies primarily focused on molecular and biochemical characterization of transgenic plants, providing limited or no data on yield or other growth related parameters. In addition, there are cases where the same target transgene produced variable effect on the physiological traits of host plant. This review summarizes different studies where genes from C and/or N assimilation pathways have been utilized for heterologous expression in plants. More specifically, we aim to provide an overview of different genetic modifications to enhance C and N assimilation vis-à-vis their physiological consequences in transgenic plants. Further, significance of simultaneous enhancement of C and N assimilation in plants for higher yield is being discussed.

Abstract: Plants have to deal with a wide variety of unfavourable and unavoidable environmental conditions, among which low temperature is one of the most harmful. The temperature conditions determine plant growth, development, and geographic distribution. Recently, climate change results in an increase in the frequency of unfavourable weather phenomena, including sudden frosts. Exposure to low temperature results in disturbance of cellular metabolism and structure, leading, among other negative effects, to the occurrence of oxidative stress. Photosynthetic apparatus is especially prone to damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) formed because of its overexcitation occurring at low temperatures under light. Among the mechanisms of acclimatisation to cold stress, an important one is an increase in the share of polyunsaturated fatty acid chains (PUFA) in membrane lipids to maintain membrane fluidity. However, PUFA are very susceptible to lipid peroxidation. Therefore, antioxidant protection of lipids is crucial to provide tolerance to cold stress. Prenyllipids, such as carotenoids, isoprenoid chromanols, and isoprenoid quinols, are potent lipophilic antioxidants. Additionally, carotenoids play a crucial role in photoprotection. In this review we tackle the role of lipophilic antioxidants in low temperature-induced stress. Firstly, we describe ROS properties and action, sites of their formation, and the ways of their detoxication. Then, we summarise the current knowledge concerning chemical structures, occurrence, biosynthesis, and function of prenyllipid antioxidants. The third part is devoted to the effects of low temperature stress on plants and the mechanisms enabling acclimatisation and adaptation to cold and frost. The final part focusses on the literature data concerning the role of prenyllipid antioxidants in the response to cold stress.

Abstract: Photosynthetic organisms inhabiting extreme environments - deserts, polar regions, geothermal springs, hypersaline lakes, deeply shaded understories and more - have evolved diverse strategies to maintain chloroplast energy balance under chronic environmental pressure. Harsh-environment photosynthesis has conventionally been categorised either by habitat (cold, heat, drought, salinity) or by individual protective mechanism (cyclic electron flow, non-photochemical quenching), classifications that obscure the bioenergetic principles shared by unrelated organisms. Here, I propose a complementary framework that classifies environmental stresses by which bioenergetic variable becomes disproportionate: excess excitation pressure, carbon-sink limitation, high ATP demand, redox overload and energy limitation. These five modes are not mutually exclusive, and a single environment frequently imposes more than one simultaneously. Rather than grouping organisms by habitat, taxonomy or the specific pathway they deploy, this framework groups them by the energetic problem they solve, allowing direct comparison across taxonomically and ecologically distant systems. It further reframes alternative electron-transport and metabolic pathways as interconnected modules of a shared chloroplast energy-balancing network, rather than as isolated protective safety valves. Applied systematically, this bioenergetic lens offers a route for translating natural stress-tolerance strategies from extremophiles into testable hypotheses in genetically tractable model systems, and ultimately into the rational engineering of stress-resilient photosynthesis in crops and algal biomass platforms.

Abstract: Cutaneous wound healing requires coordinated keratinocyte migration, proliferation, and epithelial remodeling. Natural products, particularly pentacyclic triterpenoids, have emerged as promising agents for tissue repair. Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch., a medicinal plant distributed across South and Southeast Asia and traditionally used for skin disorders and wounds, contains the bioactive triterpenoids friedelin and lupeol. However, the signaling mechanisms underlying the wound-repair effects of its extracts and bioactive compounds remain incompletely understood. This study investigated the wound-repair potential of H. integrifolia bark and leaf extracts and their major triterpenoids, friedelin and lupeol, using in vitro models and molecular analyses. Scratch assays in canine primary epidermal keratinocytes (CPEK) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) showed that both extracts and triterpenoids significantly enhanced keratinocyte migration and accelerated wound closure in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blotting revealed increased Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) levels, accompanied by reduced mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (MST1) and E-cadherin expression, supporting modulation of Hippo signaling toward a pro-migratory phenotype. Molecular docking predicted favorable interactions of friedelin and lupeol with MST1 and YAP. Collectively, these findings indicate that H. integrifolia extracts and their triterpenoids promote keratinocyte-mediated wound repair through coordinated modulation of Hippo and MAPK signaling, supporting friedelin and lupeol as natural candidates for cutaneous wound healing and skin regeneration.

Abstract: The degradation of autophagic bodies in the plant vacuole is required to complete autophagic flux, yet the hydrolases involved in membrane breakdown and cargo processing remain incompletely defined. We investigated candidate vacuolar lipases and vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) in embryonic axes of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) and Andean lupin (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet) exposed to carbon starvation. Carbon starvation increased total p-nitrophenyl-palmitate-hydrolyzing and Ac-ESEN-MCA-hydrolyzing activities, whereas asparagine and pharmacological perturbation of autophagic or vacuolar processes attenuated these responses. AlphaFold 3 models, enhanced conformational sampling, and molecular docking indicated that selected candidate lipases possess α/β-hydrolase-like architectures and can accommodate several membrane-associated lipids; however, these predictions do not establish catalytic activity or physiological substrate preference. Vacuole-targeted XP_019420123.1 failed to restore Ape1 maturation or AtAtg8a-GFP processing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae atg15Δ cells, indicating that the construct did not functionally substitute for Atg15 under the conditions tested. By contrast, partial inhibition of VPE-like activity with Ac-YVAD-cmk increased the number of intravacuolar autophagic-body-like structures while phagophores and autophagosomes remained detectable. Transcriptomic and RT-qPCR analyses further revealed gene-specific responses of VPE/legumain transcripts to carbon status and pharmacological treatments. Collectively, the results support an association between VPE-like proteolytic activity and efficient late intravacuolar degradation during carbon starvation. The analyzed lipases remain candidates for vacuolar lipid metabolism, but direct biochemical and genetic evidence is required before assigning them a role in autophagic-body membrane hydrolysis.

Abstract: Plants frequently encounter abiotic stresses such as drought, cold, and high light, which severely reduce crop yields. B-box (BBX) transcription factors are emerging as central regulators that link light signalling to stress responses, but their global regulatory networks remain poorly defined. This review synthesises evidence from Arabidopsis and major crops, including tomato, rice, apple, and tobacco, drawing on gene expression analyses, mutant phenotyping, protein interaction assays, and ubiquitination studies. The compiled results show that BBX proteins act as either positive or negative modulators depending on species and stress type. They control stress tolerance by physically interacting with partners like HY5 and PIFs, directly regulating downstream target genes, and undergoing COP1- or MIEL1-mediated proteasomal degradation. Notably, the C-terminal region dictates their functional divergence, as confirmed by domain-swapping experiments. These findings establish BBX proteins as versatile hubs that integrate environmental cues with developmental programmes. The conclusions suggest that precise manipulation of specific BBX members or their regulatory domains offers a viable route to enhance broad-spectrum stress resilience in crops, supporting sustainable food production under changing climates.

Abstract: Terrestrial plants have developed structural and physiological traits to maintain water balance under variable environments. Protective surfaces reduce water loss but also restrict CO₂ diffusion. This constraint has been overcome via stomata, which control gas exchange between plant and atmosphere. Moreover, the development of an efficient xylem allowed long-distance water transport and higher growth. The soil–plant–atmosphere continuum (SPAC) establishes that water fluxes are governed by water potential gradients and are modulated by plant hydraulic traits. The atmosphere is the ultimate driver of water fluxes. It determines the strength of the gradient that sustains transpiration, establishing a strong vapor pressure gradient between the leaf and the surrounding air (i.e. the vapor pressure deficit, VPD). We focus on how high VPD by itself can negatively affect plant functioning. Specifically, we analyze: i) cuticle as a protective surface to reduce water loss, ii) stomata as the regulator of gas exchange between plant and atmosphere, iii) plant water transport at long distances to supply water to transpiring surfaces, and iv) drought-avoidance strategies reflecting contrasting coordination between stomatal regulation and hydraulic supply. Understanding the coordination of these processes is essential for predicting plant performance and species vulnerability under increasingly dry atmospheric conditions.

Abstract: Microalgae are emerging photosynthetic chassis for sustainable bioproduction and biological research. Yet, relative to plant and animal systems, their development as broadly engineerable platforms remains constrained, with many advances still limited to organism-specific or compartment-specific demonstrations. This review asks why this gap persists and how it may be closed. We evaluate genome engineering across the three genetic compartments of the microalgal cell—the nuclear genome, plastid genome, and mitochondrial genome. For every compartment, we trace the progression such as from random mutagenesis and programmable nucleases, including ZFNs and TALENs, to CRISPR/Cas systems and DSB-independent platforms such as base and prime editors. We distinguish broadly transferable engineering principles from host-specific implementation details and evaluate their applicability under the compartment-specific constraints of microalgae. Recurrent barriers include inefficient delivery, limited control over DSB repair outcomes, unstable transgene expression, and the limited availability of well-characterized genomic safe harbor loci across microalgal species, as well as guide RNA delivery barriers, multicopy organellar genomes, and compartment-specific DNA repair constraints in chloroplasts and mitochondria. From this comparative analysis, we outline a practical roadmap based on technologies already proven in other systems: compact RNA-guided platforms such as TIGR–Tas to reduce cargo burden, protein-only base editors including DdCBE, TALED, and CyDENT for organellar genomes, genomic safe harbor loci for stable expression, and transient delivery or tightly regulated or inducible systems to restrict prolonged nuclease activity and minimize associated fitness costs. By integrating nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial engineering within a single cross-kingdom framework, we highlight the potential of microalgae not only as industrial production hosts but also as versatile experimental systems for advancing next-generation genome engineering technologies.