Agriculture faces significant limitations from climate change, soil degradation, and a wide range of abiotic and biotic stresses that continually threaten global food security. Although transcriptional and hormonal regulatory networks have been extensively studied, post-translational modifications (PTMs), particularly phosphorylation, remain comparatively underexplored despite their central role in rapid stress signaling. In this review, we synthesize recent advances in phosphoproteomics, kinase network mapping, and systems biology to highlight phosphorylation as a key regulatory hub in plant stress responses. Drawing from both model species and crops, we emphasize major kinase families, including MAPKs, CDPKs, RLKs, and SnRK1/TOR, which translate calcium signatures, reactive oxygen species (ROS) waves, and cellular energy status into precise physiological outputs. We also discuss how multi-omics integration, precision breeding, synthetic biology, and microbiome engineering can leverage phosphorylation dynamics to advance climate-smart agriculture. By outlining phosphorylation networks as functional regulators, this work underscores their translational potential for developing resilient crops that can maintain yield under environmental extremes.

A 27-aa peptide coding sequence NLP27 was moderately overexpressed in potato, conferring enhancing plant resistance to Phytophthora infestans and Streptomyces scabies infection without yield penalty through plant immunity promotion. The conserved short peptides derived from pathogen effectors can stimulate plant innate immunity response against pathogens through exogenous application. However, it remains to be explored whether the ectopic expression of these peptides in plants can trigger plant defense responses and affect plant growth. Here, we modified the nucleotide sequence of conserved 27-amino acid peptide derived from Verticillium dahliae NLP1 gene and ectopically expressed in potato, generating transgenic plants designated as NLP27 lines. Based on inoculation analysis, three transgenic lines with moderate NLP27 expression levels, PT1, PT6, and PT7, exhibited significantly higher resistance to Phytophthora infestans and Streptomyces scabies compared to the control plants transformed with the empty vector, the disease resistance is enhanced by 53.6% to 85.7%. Staining and biochemical analyses revealed that the accumulation of O2- and H2O2 and callose deposition were significantly higher in the three transformants compared to the control. The transcriptional levels of eight defense-related genes-involved in the SA (PR1, PR5, and PAL1) and JA (AOS1, PDF1.2, and LOX1) pathways, or associated with basal defense responses (WRKY8 and NAC2)-were significantly upregulated in the three transgenic lines compared to the control. Extremely high expression levels of NLP27 in potato transformants inhibited plant growth, leading to yield reduction. However, moderate expression of NLP27, as in lines PT1, PT6, and PT7, increased resistance to potato late blight and scab without yield penalty. In summary, this study provides insight into the novel mechanisms and management in balancing defense and growth in potatoes ectopically expressing the NLP27 short peptide.

This work identifies GhMYB102 as an R2R3-MYB transcription factor positively regulating cotton resistance to Verticillium dahlia likely by promoting lignin biosynthesis, offering a promising gene resource for breeding Verticillium wilt-resistant cotton varieties. Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae, is a devastating vascular disease of cotton that leads to significant yield losses worldwide. Therefore, identifying genes that confer resistance to Verticillium wilt and incorporating them into breeding programs are essential for sustainable cotton production. In this study, promoter cis-element analysis, V. dahliae inoculation, hormone treatments, and qRT-PCR were used to identify R2R3-MYB transcription factors responsive to V. dahliae infection in Gossypium hirsutum. Among these candidates, GhMYB102 was strongly induced by V. dahliae. Silencing of GhMYB102 by virus-induced gene silencing in G. hirsutum resulted in significantly increased disease symptoms and wilting rate following V. dahliae infection compared with control plants. In contrast, overexpression of GhMYB102 in both Arabidopsis and G. hirsutum enhanced resistance to Verticillium wilt. These results indicate that GhMYB102 acts as a positive regulator of resistance to Verticillium wilt. Further analyses, including lignin histochemical staining and expression profiling of lignin biosynthesis-related genes, revealed that GhMYB102 increases lignin accumulation in stems of G. hirsutum. Collectively, these findings suggest that GhMYB102 enhances Verticillium wilt resistance in G. hirsutum likely through modulating lignin biosynthesis. This study provides valuable gene resources for breeding Verticillium wilt-resistant cotton cultivars.