The photosynthetic flagellate Euglena gracilis (Euglena) exhibits a remarkable metabolic flexibility, enabling the dynamic coordination of energy production and resource partitioning during anaerobic adaptation. While the wax ester synthesis under hypoxia is well-documented, the regulatory interplay between protein abundance and post-translational modifications (PTMs) remains unexplored. A definitive understanding of this metabolic remodeling is hindered by the lack of high-depth proteomic resources and the fragmented genome annotations, which fail to capture Euglena's proteomic diversity and plasticity. Here, we provide a comprehensive Euglena proteome landscape through advanced LC-MS/MS analysis. By leveraging the recently refined proteome annotation, we identified 9,122 protein groups, 12,027 phospho-peptides, and 3,346 ubiquitinated peptides, establishing a comprehensive Euglena's proteome reference. Our results demonstrate that anaerobic adaptation is characterized by distinct phosphorylation and ubiquitination signatures that often occur independently of changes in global protein abundance, revealing a layer of PTM-mediated control over central metabolism during anaerobic adaptation in Euglena. This study provides a foundational resource that bridges the gap between genomic potential and functional metabolic in Euglena. By resolving the interplay between protein levels and PTM-driven regulation, our work offers a new resource for investigating environmental adaptation and provides a rigorous framework for future metabolic engineering in Euglena.

Salinity is a major abiotic constraint on plant growth, productivity, and global food security. It disrupts cellular protein homeostasis (proteostasis) at every step, from synthesis to degradation. Plant survival under salt stress therefore depends on the coordinated regulation of protein synthesis, folding, post-translational modification, trafficking, quality control, and turnover. The individual contributions of the nucleus, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and Golgi apparatus to salinity responses are increasingly well described, but how these compartments communicate remains far less understood. This review synthesizes current evidence on this inter-organellar signaling network, addressing four questions: how salinity-induced osmotic, ionic, and oxidative stress reprograms nuclear transcription and chromatin state; how ribosomes sustain selective translation of protective proteins while clearing stalled or damaged translational products; how the ER expands its folding capacity through the unfolded protein response and removes terminally misfolded proteins by ER-associated degradation; and how the Golgi sustains glycosylation, sorting, and secretion of the transporters needed for ion and osmotic homeostasis. Beyond these organelle-level responses, the review discusses two signaling layers that couple them into a single circuit: post-translational modifications (phosphorylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation, and redox- and nitrosative/persulfidation-based marks) and phytohormone/gasotransmitter signals, including abscisic acid, nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and melatonin. By framing proteostasis as an emergent property of nucleus-ribosome-ER-Golgi coordination rather than of any single compartment, this review identifies specific inter-organellar signaling nodes as candidate targets for breeding or engineering salinity-resilient crops.

Electrical stimulation is an emerging physical strategy for agricultural regulation that applies electric fields or currents with defined parameters to modulate plant growth, development, and rhizosphere processes. Owing to its residue-free nature, environmental compatibility, and high controllability, electrical stimulation has considerable potential to improve crop yield and quality while enhancing tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, making it increasingly relevant to sustainable agriculture. This review critically synthesizes the mechanisms and applications of electrical stimulation across cellular and molecular, physiological and metabolic, whole-plant, and field scales. Particular emphasis is placed on distinguishing continuous or quasi-continuous stimulation from high-voltage pulsed treatments, which differ in membrane-level mechanisms, reversibility, and safety profiles. Three interrelated factors are identified as central to its effectiveness: regulation of membrane potential and ion transport, root-targeted modulation of plant-soil interactions, and context-dependent matching of stimulation parameters with specific biological responses. We further highlight that translating laboratory-scale benefits into reliable field applications will require intelligent delivery systems capable of stable, scalable, energy-efficient, and feedback-controlled operation under variable environmental conditions. Future research should prioritize multiscale investigation of molecular mechanisms, standardized evaluation of stimulation parameters, development of smart and synergistic regulation platforms, and validation across diverse crops, soils, and production systems. These advances will facilitate the practical deployment of electrical stimulation technologies and support their integration into sustainable and precision agriculture.

Light quality is a key environmental signal that integrates plant immune pathways, yet how specific wavelengths regulate the execution, timing, and efficiency of the hypersensitive response (HR) remains incompletely resolved. This study investigated how light spectral composition modulates HR dynamics and resistance outcomes during a non-host interaction. Tobacco leaves were inoculated with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (PstDC3000) and incubated under red (RL), green (GL), blue (BL), white light (WL), or darkness. Monochromatic light treatments distinctly reshaped HR progression. BL and WL induced rapid HR characterized by early accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), accelerated electrolyte leakage, and pronounced callose deposition. RL and GL delayed visible HR while effectively restricting bacterial proliferation by moderating ROS production, delaying membrane disruption, and sustaining cell wall reinforcement. In darkness, ROS accumulation was dysregulated, tissue collapse was uncontrolled, and pathogen growth was not effectively constrained. These results demonstrate that light wavelength fine-tunes HR kinetics and qualitatively distinct defense outcomes, with RL and GL favoring controlled immune responses over rapid cell death. By identifying GL as a key modulator of regulated immunity, this study provides a conceptual framework for managing light environments to optimize plant disease resistance.

Tobacco root rot is a destructive soil-borne disease that constrains sustainable tobacco production in Yunnan. Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium solani species complex are currently considered the principal pathogens associated with this disease. Therefore, effective biocontrol agents are needed, and understanding their pathogen-side modes of action is essential for improving biological management strategies. This study screened 100 bacterial strains isolated from the tobacco rhizosphere using plate confrontation assays and identified A5 as a broad-spectrum antagonistic strain. A5 consistently inhibited four tobacco root rot-associated Fusarium species, with hyphal growth inhibition rates of 63.31%, 59.42%, 69.64%, and 68.82%, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and gyrB sequences placed A5 close to Bacillus aerophilus, supporting its classification as a B. aerophilus-related biocontrol candidate. To investigate the fungal response to A5, F. solani was exposed to 10% sterile A5 fermentation supernatant and analyzed using transcriptomic sequencing. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in UDP-N-acetylglucosamine biosynthesis and associated cell wall precursor metabolic processes. Because F. oxysporum has a more established genetic manipulation system in tobacco root rot research, this species was used for downstream functional validation. RT-qPCR confirmed the significant expression responses of FOXG_19023, FOXG_10443, and FOXG_12345 after the treatment with A5 supernatant. Subsequent construction of knockout mutants demonstrated that deletion of FOXG_19023 significantly restricted colony growth, suggesting that FOXG_19023 may contribute to vegetative growth of F. oxysporum, although its specific role in UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-related cell wall metabolism remains to be explored. Overall, A5 was identified as a tobacco root rot biocontrol bacterium with activity against Fusarium pathogens. These results further suggest that A5 may affect expression of genes involved in pathogen UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-related metabolism, and this response may be associated with impaired Fusarium hyphal growth. This study provides a potential biocontrol resource for sustainable tobacco root rot management and offers candidate pathogen-side targets for future studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying Bacillus-mediated suppression of Fusarium.

Aquaporins and nitric oxide (NO) are essential regulators of lateral root (LR) development in plants. However, whether an aquaporin could modulate NO-affected LR formation remains elusive. Here, we show that the tonoplast intrinsic aquaporin protein AtTIP5;1 negatively regulates NO-promoted LR development. AtTIP5;1 is highly expressed in root pericycle cells. AtTIP5;1 overexpression causes significant suppression of LR formation induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor. Moreover, AtTIP5;1 overexpression results in a clear decrease in NO accumulation in the roots. The application of exogenous auxin influx inhibitor naphthoxyacetic acid boosts the effect of AtTIP5;1 on LR growth evoked by SNP, whereas the auxin efflux inhibitors N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid and 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid notably attenuate this effect. In addition, AtTIP5;1 overexpression leads to elevated hydrogen peroxide levels, decreased superoxide anion accumulation, enhanced superoxide dismutase activity, and reduced activities of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase in roots under SNP treatment. These results suggest that AtTIP5;1 may inhibit NO-facilitated LR development by reducing NO accumulation, affecting auxin transport, and altering ROS homeostasis in Arabidopsis.

Plant intelligence was earlier described as adaptively variable behavior during the lifetime of the individual plant (Trewavas 2003). This general definition for animals and plants (biological intelligence) is now justified from generic terms and emphasis on adaptive behavior. Plant intelligence can also be defined from dictionary definitions of intelligence. Artificial intelligence has been indicated as adaptive behavior. Prominent psychological opinion now indicates that human intelligence is adaptive: IQ does not measure human intelligence. The uniformity of intelligence definitions negates views that plant intelligence is controversial. It is suggested that the early stages of transduction through calcium are interpreted through complex protein structures attached to mobile lipid rafts. Cell signaling acting as a cognitive process is investigated and evidence supports a relationship. Plants are biologically purposeful; they express goal-directed behavior throughout their life cycle and act as biologically purposeful agents in the wilderness. The demise of the Modern Synthesis of Evolution is indicated and could be replaced by one that correctly emphasizes biological purpose. Two sensory mechanisms are described for gravitropism as an illustration of the fail-safe mechanisms needed for all forms of behavior because true wilderness is often environmentally uncertain. Definitions of learning and memory are suggested and five kinds of plant biological memories are described.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by plants and vary in quantity and composition depending on biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. Plant-emitted VOCs are altered by attacking herbivores and pathogens, and have been increasingly found to be fine-tuned by microbial associates and environmental pollutants. Here, we studied whether arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) treatment, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infection, and soil pollution with glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) residues affect the emission of volatile organic compounds by oat (Avena sativa) plants. Oat plants were grown in a common garden study in southwestern Finland, where seeds in half of the plots had received a dressing with AMF inoculant before being sown in plots with a history of regular glyphosate application and control plots without a history of glyphosate use. During the study, an average of 30% of the oat plants showed symptoms of infection by BYDV, which was then included as a treatment. We collected plant VOCs of eight plants per treatment via headspace sampling with subsequent analysis by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The percentage of BYDV-infected plants did not differ between AMF-treated and untreated plants, nor between plants growing in glyphosate-polluted and glyphosate-free soil. The emission of VOCs displayed characteristic profiles depending on the soil GBH history, BYDV infection, and AMF seed treatment. In particular, AMF treatment caused an increase in the terpenoid (E)-β-ocimene, and the fatty acid derivatives 1-octen-3-ol and octanal. Virus infection reduced the emission of octanal and induced the emission of the terpenoids (E)-caryophyllene and β-farnesene. GBH-treated soil caused an increase in the emission of green leaf volatiles (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl-acetate compared to plants in control soil. Plant-emitted VOCs displayed a distinct pattern elicited by viral infection, fungal-root association, and herbicide pollution in soil, indicating the impact of biotic and abiotic factors on the plant's biology. While the biological mechanisms behind the distinct VOC profiles remain speculative, the results indicate that VOC emission patterns may be utilized to infer plant and soil health status in crop production.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) influence chemical communication among plants, herbivores, and natural enemies and contribute to indirect plant defense. Previous work by our group characterized volatile emissions from sorghum following simulated herbivory and identified DMNT and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate among consistently induced compounds, but their behavioral activity toward the stem-borer parasitoid Cotesia flavipes was not determined. Four-week-old sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) plants were mechanically wounded and treated with Chilo partellus larvae oral secretions. Head-space volatile were analyzed by GC-MS, and female C. flavipes were tested in Y-tube olfactometer assays using volatile extracts from induced and non-damaged plants and their two-component blend. At 24 h, mean emissions of DMNT, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, and linalool were numerically higher in induced plants than controls; because replicate-level inferential statistics were unavailable, these differences are interpreted descriptively. In Y-tube assays, 28/40 (70.0%) females selected DMNT over hexane (χ[2] = 6.40, df = 1, P = 0.011), 30/40 (75.0%) selected (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (χ[2] = 10.00, df = 1, P = 0.002), and 35/42 (83.3%) selected their blend (χ[2] = 18.67, df = 1, P < 0.001). Females also preferred induced-plant extracts, with 33/45 (73.3%) selecting them over non-damaged extracts (χ[2] = 9.80, df = 1, P = 0.002). These findings demonstrate laboratory behavioral activity of candidate sorghum HIPVs toward C. flavipes. However, they do not establish field sufficiency, concentration-dependent responses, or synergistic interactions. DMNT and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate therefore represent candidate semiochemicals warranting further validation under ecologically realistic conditions.

Salinity is a major constraint to wheat productivity, imposing osmotic stress, ionic imbalance, and oxidative pressure that compromise growth and yield. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can improve wheat performance under salinity through effects extending beyond nutrient acquisition. This review examines the context-dependent symbiosis between wheat and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, in which reciprocal signaling and resource exchange influence stress adaptation. Direct studies, particularly in durum and bread wheat, indicate that AM colonization can improve K[+]/Na[+] balance, nutrient acquisition, water relations, membrane stability, antioxidant regulation, osmoprotectant metabolism, and stress-responsive gene expression. By contrast, detailed mechanisms of presymbiotic communication, fungal-signal perception, nuclear Ca[2+] decoding, transcriptional accommodation, arbuscule development, and plant-to-fungus lipid transfer have been characterized mainly in AM model plants and other cereals. These conserved pathways provide a mechanistic framework for interpreting, rather than presuming, their operation in salt-stressed wheat. Integrating these evidence levels indicates that AM-associated benefits arise from coordination among ion and water transport, reactive oxygen species and redox regulation, hormonal crosstalk, carbon allocation, and arbuscule-mediated nutrient exchange rather than from enhancement of a single protective trait. The magnitude and nature of these benefits are context-dependent, influenced by wheat genotype, fungal identity, salinity intensity, nutrient status, and carbon cost-benefit trade-offs. We identify priorities for wheat-specific functional validation, spatial and temporal analysis of Ca[2+], reactive oxygen species, hormones, and transport processes, genotype-fungus matching, and multi-environment field assessment. This evidence-aware framework can support microbiome-informed breeding, targeted inoculant development, and integrated management of wheat in salt-affected agroecosystems.

Plants, as sessile organisms, continuously encounter diverse environmental challenges, often experiencing multiple abiotic stresses during their development and growth. Among these stress events, heat has emerged as an increasingly severe factor because of global warming and currently poses a major threat to plant development, crop productivity, and agricultural sustainability. As a heat stress response, plants have evolved multilayered sensing and signaling systems that perceive heat cues and activate downstream protective and adaptive programs. This review summarizes recent knowledge regarding heat stress responses of Arabidopsis thaliana and major crops, including maize, rice, and wheat. We first outline the morphological, physiological, and molecular consequences of heat stress and then examine current models of heat perception and downstream regulatory networks. Particular emphasis is placed on second messenger signaling, transcriptional control, epigenetic regulation, post-transcriptional regulation, and heat memory. We also highlight stem cell homeostasis as an emerging component of heat adaptation that links stress signaling with developmental stability. Finally, we evaluate current strategies for improving crop heat tolerance, particularly during the reproductive stage, and discuss priorities for future research and breeding in a warming climate.

Woody plants are threatened by fungal and oomycete pathogens that cause root and wood rots, cankers, vascular wilts, dieback, fruit decay, and other diseases. Meanwhile, intensive production systems and repeated fungicide use have raised concerns about resistance, environmental persistence, and non-target effects. Essential oils (EOs) have emerged as promising natural antimicrobial resources, yet their effectiveness depends strongly on chemical composition, pathogen susceptibility, concentration, formulation, and application strategy. This review synthesizes current evidence on EO-based management of pathogens affecting forest trees, fruit trees, woody crops, and wood materials, emphasizing the chemical and biological determinants of antifungal efficacy. Across diverse pathosystems, EO activity is associated with phenolic monoterpenes, aldehydes, monoterpene hydrocarbons, and oxygenated terpenoids, while chemotypic and geographical variation can substantially influence performance. EOs act through multiple complementary mechanisms, including disruption of fungal cell membranes and walls, ergosterol depletion, interference with sterol and cell-wall biosynthesis, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, morphological damage, inhibition of spore germination, and suppression of pathogen development. Some EOs may additionally stimulate host defense responses, indicating that disease suppression can involve both direct antifungal activity and plant-mediated resistance. Advances in vapor delivery, coatings, nanoemulsions, and wood-preservative applications further enhance their potential. However, practical deployment remains limited by compositional variability, volatility, phytotoxicity, formulation instability, limited persistence, inconsistent dose responses, and insufficient field validation. Future research should prioritize standardization, mechanism-guided formulation, synergistic combinations, ecotoxicological assessment, techno-economic evaluation, and field- and commercial-scale validation to enable reliable integration of EOs into sustainable woody plant disease management.

Nuclear migration toward the tip is an essential intracellular structural reorganization that drives tip growth in root hairs. Previous studies have demonstrated that the nucleus is delivered to the root hair tip via three sequential steps. However, it remains poorly understood what triggers each step. Here, we show that the 1st step-the shift from the cell center toward the inner lateral membrane of root hair precursor cells-normally occurs in root hair precursor cells lacking ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE 6 (RHD6)-induced root hair initiation, which is characterized by hair bulge formation. In contrast, the 2nd step-migration from the inner lateral membrane toward the root hair initiation site-is abolished in RHD6-deficient cells, indicating that the 1st and 2nd steps represent root hair initiation-independent and -dependent nuclear movements, respectively. Unlike the subsequent steps, the 1st step occurs normally even in the absence of the major actin genes, namely ACTIN2 and ACTIN7, raising the possibility that an actin-independent force steers the 1st step of nuclear migration in root hair cells. Furthermore, undergoing the inward movement of the first step is unexpectedly not mandatory to proceed to the next stage. Altogether, our findings highlight the existence of elaborate yet flexible mechanisms that ensure precise nuclear delivery to its destination in root hairs.

Drought stress is one of the main abiotic factors that modulates the morphology and physiology of crops. This study investigated the effect of foliar application of β-carotene on the growth, physiological, and biochemical responses of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) under drought stress conditions. A pot experiment was conducted using two varieties, Kasuri and Local, under two drought stress levels (control and 50% field capacity), and three β-carotene concentrations (0, 100, and 200 ppm) were applied. Drought stress significantly declined shoot fresh weight up to 35.02% and 58.04%, and shoot length to 17.12% and 17.14%, while increasing the root fresh weight by 133% and 26.2% and the root length to 109.1% and 13.4%, respectively, in the Kasuri methi and Local. Drought stress decreases the total Chl. by 55.4% and 59.3% and carotenoids 42.1% and 59.3% and increased the MDA by 6.35% and 24.2%, respectively, and the content of hydrogen peroxides increased by 12.05% and 44.2% in Kasuri and Local as compared to control. By the application of 200 ppm β-carotene, the shoot fresh weight increased by 95.06% and 66.7%, the shoot length increased by 49.6% and 44.5%, and the total Chl. increased by 194.3% and 144.3%, and carotenoids 71.6% and 63%, and MDA decreased by 14.7% and 15.8%, hydrogen peroxides 26.6% and 27.8%, in Kasuri methi and Local under drought stress conditions. Additionally, with the application of β-carotene, antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, and CAT) and osmoprotectants (total soluble proteins and sugars) improved significantly, indicating enhanced oxidative defense. Overall, foliar β-carotene application, especially at 200 ppm, proved highly effective in improving fenugreek's drought tolerance by enhancing antioxidant capacity, maintaining pigment stability, and supporting metabolic homeostasis, thereby highlighting its potential role in sustainable crop management under water-limited conditions.