Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived hormones that regulate plant development and abiotic stress responses, but their role in regulating plant–microbe interactions remains unclear. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana loss-of-function mutants of two SL biosynthetic genes, MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 3 (MAX3) and MAX4, exhibit opposite responses to soil-borne pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, with max3 mutants displaying enhanced resistance, whereas max4 mutants are hypersusceptible. Exogenous SL analog rac-GR24 restores resistance in max4 mutants supporting a role for canonical SL-dependent immunity, while max3 mutants mediated resistance is SL-independent. Multi-omics analyses suggest that MAX3 deficiency is associated with enhanced abscisic acid (ABA) and flavonoid pathways under natural conditions, coinciding with the enrichment of beneficial Pseudomonas in rhizosphere. Both in vitro and in planta validations suggest that the ABA-flavonoid axis cooperatively enhances Pseudomonas-mediated niche competition and antibiotic biosynthesis, thereby potentially contributing to pathogen suppression. Our findings support a model in which MAX3 is associated with the modulation of rhizosphere-mediated defense, linking hormone signaling, secondary metabolism, and microbiome assembly in the context of soil-borne disease resistance. Here the authors show that MAX3 deficiency reshapes the Arabidopsis rhizosphere by altering ABA and flavonoid accumulation, which is associated with recruitment of beneficial Pseudomonas and enhanced resistance to bacterial wilt.
Mi-Mi Tian, Yi-Ran Zheng, Wen-Hui Cao et al.· Nature Communications· 0 citations
Background: Rice breeding requires faster development of high-yielding, climate-resilient, resource-efficient, and high-quality cultivars for production systems exposed to environmental variability and increasing input constraints. Genomic selection offers an opportunity to predict breeding value before extensive field evaluation, although its effectiveness depends on the integration of genomic, phenotypic, and environmental information. Methods: This narrative review critically examines recent advances in genomic selection for rice and its integration with high-throughput genotyping, high-throughput phenotyping, machine learning, multi-environment prediction, and speed breeding. Results: Genome-wide marker data can support early ranking of breeding materials for grain yield, grain quality, disease resistance, drought tolerance, salinity tolerance, and nutrient-use efficiency. Prediction performance is influenced by trait architecture, marker density, training-population size, genetic relatedness between training and candidate populations, phenotypic data quality, and genotype-by-environment interaction. Red-green-blue, multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, and light detection and ranging platforms can generate temporal traits associated with plant architecture, biomass, water status, nutrient status, and stress responses, which may improve prediction under suitable population and validation designs. Speed-breeding systems shorten generation intervals and facilitate rapid advancement, recurrent selection, and recycling of superior parental lines. Conclusions: Integrated breeding pipelines that combine genomic prediction, high-throughput phenotyping, environmental data, and speed breeding can improve selection efficiency and shorten rice improvement cycles. Wider adoption will require affordable technology platforms, standardized data systems, multi-environment validation, breeder capacity development, and collaborative data-sharing frameworks for smart and greener agriculture.
Ha Duc Chu, T. Q. Nguyen, Loc Van Nguyen et al.· Genes· 1 citation
This study provides a single-cell resolution framework for understanding early rice seed development, identifies the embryo-endosperm interface as an important cellular domain associated with embryogenesis, and offers a valuable resource for dissecting the molecular basis of seed formation in rice and related cereals.
Yingxiang Liu, Haoyuan Wang, Min Xu et al.· Journal of Integrative Plant...· 0 citations
