Impacts of controlled-release fertilizer application on maize yield stability, soil quality and carbon footprint in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain
Available online 2 March 2026
Although controlled-release urea (CRU) has demonstrated higher nitrogen use efficiency compared to conventional urea, comprehensive evaluations of its multi-year continuous application on yield stability...
Genetic dissection of an extremely early heading mutant in Aegilops tauschii
Available online 28 February 2026
The heading date is an important trait that affects crop adaptability and significantly affects crop yield. The discovery and functional understanding of genes related to heading are crucial for wheat...
Identification of two major QTL associated with Fusarium crown rot resistance in wheat
Available online 28 February 2026
Fusarium crown rot (FCR), caused by the fungal genus Fusarium, is a severe soil-borne disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) worldwide. In this study, we identified five quantitative trait loci (QTL)...
A missense mutation in TaBGLU1-5D confers early heading in wheat
Available online 28 February 2026
Heading date (HD) in wheat determines geographic adaptation, seasonal performance, and ultimately affects yield and quality. However, the genetic regulation of HD remains unclear. Here, we identified...
Untargeted LC-MS/MS metabolomics reveals farming practice- and cultivar-driven modulations of pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed metabolome across multiple biosynthetic pathways
Available online 27 February 2026
This work presents a comprehensive biochemical landscape of pea seeds captured by untargeted LC-MS-based metabolomics of ten pea cultivars grown at three Danish field sites following different agricultural...
A haplotype-resolved genome assembly for Centella asiatica provides insights into its genome evolution and ursane-type triterpene accumulation
Available online 27 February 2026
Centella asiatica is a medicinal plant containing various ursane-type saponins that serve as a model system for studying triterpenoid accumulation. We assembled a haplotype-resolved genome for C. asiatica,...
LesionDiff: Synthetic data via lesion information transfer diffusion model facilitates plant disease diagnosis
Available online 27 February 2026
Training software models for crop disease diagnosis requires large image datasets to achieve high accuracy. We describe a lesion information transfer diffusion model, LesionDiff, for generating image...
HvMATE-mediated aluminium exclusion sustains stomatal function and photosynthesis in barley under acidic soils
Available online 26 February 2026
Aluminium (Al) toxicity in acidic soils limits cereal productivity, yet the stomatal activities linking Al exposure to reduced growth performance remain poorly defined. Here, we investigated stomatal...
Root cortical senescence: An adaptive mechanism for drought tolerance in crops
Available online 18 February 2026
Senescence allows plants to remove unnecessary tissues and recycle nutrients. Substantial work has focused on the senescence of aboveground tissues such as leaves; by contrast, the senescence of underground...
GhMYB2-activated GhADC2 interacts with GhBCCP1 to regulate cotton fiber development
Available online 18 February 2026
Arginine decarboxylase (ADC), a rate-limiting enzyme in the polyamine biosynthesis pathway, plays a critical role in plant growth and development. Our previous study revealed that cotton GhADC2 has...
ZmWRKY122 enhances waterlogging tolerance in maize via direct activation of ZmPRX101
Available online 18 February 2026
Waterlogging stress severely hampers plant growth and represents a major challenge to agricultural productivity. Therefore, identifying key genes involved in plant waterlogging responses and elucidating...
CRISPR/Cas9 multiplex editing of four TaSK41 genes increases grain size and weight and reveals a TaSK41–TaSnRK1β1 module associated with carbohydrate metabolism in wheat
Available online 18 February 2026
Grain size and weight contribute to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, yet how Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3)/SHAGGY-like kinase signaling interfaces with carbohydrate metabolism during grain development...
Novel genetic loci regulate flowering time in the northeast soybean germplasm of China
Available online 18 February 2026
Flowering time is a crucial agronomic trait that affects the adaptability and yield of soybeans. Despite extensive research aimed at uncovering the genetic basis of flowering time in soybean germplasm,...
OsARF9 integrates auxin-BR-ABA signaling to regulate plant architecture and seed germination in rice
Available online 18 February 2026
Optimizing rice (Oryza sativa L.) plant architecture and seed germination is critical for improving agronomic performance. Here, we investigated the role of OsARF9, a class B auxin response factor,...
Mapping and characterization of stable major QTL for heading date and spikelet number in wheat
Available online 17 February 2026
Optimization of heading date (HD) and spike formation, two sequential development phases, is essential for improving wheat acclimation and yield. Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for...
Cotton fiber length was shortened under high temperature by inhibition of cell wall loosening and acceleration of secondary wall synthesis
Available online 16 February 2026
To determine how high temperature (HT) impairs cotton fiber elongation, greenhouse experiments compared two temperature regimes (CT, 28 °C; HT, 38 °C) for 12 d. The findings indicated that compared...
Synthetic biology and metabolomics-driven precision crop design
Available online 7 February 2026
Crop metabolic engineering towards enhanced resistance to pests and pathogens
Available online 3 February 2026
Plants produce a vast array of specialized metabolites that serve as essential defenses against herbivores and pathogens. However, the capacity to produce these compounds differs substantially among...
Biological nitrogen and carbon fixation: Bridging the gap between synthetic symbioses and synthetic biology
Available online 3 February 2026
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and photosynthetic carbon fixation underpin food production and climate mitigation, yet natural systems are constrained by oxygen sensitivity, high energy demand,...
Metabolic engineering for increased nutritional quality in rice
Available online 3 February 2026
Nutritional imbalance has led to many chronic diseases and severely affected people’s quality of life. Developing nutrient-dense crops has emerged as a strategy for improving the current state of human...
Message from the Editor-in-Chief: From metabolic pathway design to synthetic biology breeding
Available online 2 February 2026
Jasmonic acid negatively regulates wheat grain filling by affecting assimilate transport and starch biosynthesis
Available online 20 January 2026
Grain filling is a pivotal determinant of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, relying on the efficient coordination of source–sink dynamics and assimilate partitioning. Jasmonic acid (JA) is widely...
Mechanism of floret abortion induced by light signal blocking in juvenile spikes of wheat
Available online 16 January 2026
In our previous research, we firstly demonstrated blocking the light to the juvenile spike directly and qualitatively affected floret fertility by affecting anther greening and inducing pollen sterility...
Differing functions of two CYP716 genes for saikosaponin biosynthesis in Bupleurum chinense
Available online 13 January 2026
Saikosaponins are the major pharmacologically active components in Bupleurum genus and exhibit significant application potential in multiple fields such as immune regulation and anti-tumor activity....
SMG9 stabilizes grain yield and quality in rice under heat stress
Available online 13 January 2026
Intensifying heat stress resulting from global warming threatens both the yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Identifying pleiotropic genes that coordinately regulate yield, quality, and thermotolerance...