Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc), is a significant quarantine disease. The pathogen exhibits both high genetic diversity and strong transmission capabilities. Driven by agricultural intensification and global warming, BLS has been progressively expanding across major indica rice-producing regions in southern China. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in Xoc-rice interaction mechanisms: 1) Pathogen perspective: Elucidating pathogenic mechanisms of virulence factors (including T2SS, T3SS, and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS)) and pathovar differentiation patterns; 2) Host perspective: Clarifying advances in PTI/ETI-mediated immunity signaling pathways, R gene cloning, and S gene editing; 3) Future directions: Proposing multi-omics approaches to decode Xoc pathogenicity networks, leveraging pan-genomics for large-scale mining of durable and broad-spectrum R genes, and constructing synergistic systems integrating S gene editing with immune activation to establish systematic solutions for sustainable BLS management.

The plant cell wall, composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin, is a dynamically changing network structure, which not only plays the role of a key line of defence in the process of plant resistance to external pressure and adaptation to environmental changes, but also plays the role of an information hub in the process of signal transmission. When the cell wall is damaged, cells sense cell wall changes and make early immune responses, such as hormonal changes, alterations in wall composition and modifications, and the production of disease-resistant secondary metabolites. Although the importance of the cell wall in plant immunity is widely recognised, the specific molecular mechanisms by which cell wall damage triggers immune responses remain poorly understood. The application of in situ unlabelled imaging techniques in plant cells is gradually increasing and has become an important tool for studying cell wall structure and function. This paper describes the interaction mechanism between plant cell wall and immune response to provide a scientific basis for a deeper understanding of plant life activities and improve crop disease resistance, and describes in situ non-labelled imaging of the cell wall to provide more technological options for advancing the study of the cell wall in immune response.

Maize (Zea mays) is the main crop in China, and drought is a primary abiotic stress during its growth, resulting in direct reduction in grain yield and quality, thereby posing a threat to food security within the global climate context. At present, global climate change leads to extreme weather events, which aggravates the adverse effects on yield. Therefore, it is imperative to identify drought-resistant germplasm resources, elucidate the molecular mechanisms of drought stress response, and breed drought-resistant varieties. Here, we review recent advances in the genetic dissection of drought resistance in maize using methods such as genome-wide association study, quantitative trait locus gene cloning and multi-omics analysis. Additionally, we introduce potential strategies for genetic improvement of drought resistance by leveraging the identified genetic resources while discussing future perspectives within this research area.

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are semi-autonomous organelles harboring their own genomes. RNA editing is essential for the correct expression of organelle genes. The mostly identified RNA editing is cytidine (C)-to-uridine (U). Multiple editing factors have been reported to be involved in RNA C→U editing. The PPR-motifs array in PPR proteins specifically target editing sites, and the DYW domains in PPR-DYW proteins catalyze the deaminase in the C→U editing. This paper aims to review the recent advance of PPR proteins involved in RNA C→U editing, and to discuss the potential application value of synthetic PPR editing factors.

Maize (Zea mays) is a staple crop worldwide, serving as a major source for food, feedstock, and industrial materials. Flowering time, a key agronomic trait determining diverse environmental adaptation and yield potential of crops, is determined by two developmental transitions (namely vegetative phase change and floral transition), and complicatedly regulated by internal factors (such as genetic factors and plant hormones) and external environmental factors. Given the importance of flowering time, in this review, we summarize the research progresses on the regulation of the two-phase transitions in maize, mainly focusing on the aspects of structural basis, physiological basis, genetic basis and molecular mechanisms. We also highlight the contribution of key flowering regulators to geographical adaptation of maize, and discuss future research directions on flowering and application in breeding, aiming to deepen our understanding of the genetic regulation of maize flowering and provide a theoretical basis for genetic improvement of maize cultivars adapting to diverse environmental conditions.

Maize (Zea mays) is the major grain crop with the largest planting area and the highest total yield in China, and it is also a model of heterosis utilization. However, compared with developed countries, China is still facing several outstanding problems in maize production, such as low average yield, lack of breakthrough varieties and high cost of hybrid seed production. The main solution to these problems is the application of male-sterile lines with better heterosis utilization efficiency and thus increase the yield per unit area of maize. In this review, we summarize the latest advances of male sterility research in maize, including its classification, gene cloning and functional analysis, molecular regulatory network construction, and discuss the strategies of creating novel male-sterility systems and their potential/future application in maize breeding. This review provides guidelines for the male-sterility based/assisted hybrid breeding and seed production in maize.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely present in the genomes of eukaryotic organisms and play crucial roles in maintaining the biological activities of living organisms. In recent years, a large number of lncRNAs have been discovered in plants through high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. LncRNAs play important roles in regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. Due to the complexity of the genome and the low efficient of genetic transformation, the functional analysis of lncRNA in maize is relatively lagging behind comparing with that in Arabidopsis and rice. Maize is a major staple crop in China, playing a critical role in ensuring national food security. It’s also an important model plant in the fields of genetics and genomics. Understanding the research progress of lncRNA in maize is highly beneficial for comprehending the biological functions of lncRNA. Mining and analyzing the molecular regulatory network of lncRNAs involved in maize development and stress response can provide potential molecular targets for future genetic improvement of maize. In this review, we summarized the sources, classification, and action mechanisms of lncRNAs, and reviewed the discovery of lncRNAs in maize and their biological functions in regulating growth, development, and stress responses. We also discussed the current research status and provided an outlook on future researches of lncRNAs in maize.

Plants encounter various abiotic stresses throughout their lifecycle, including heat, drought, and salt stress, all of which have diverse impacts on their growth and development. Global warming has exacerbated the impact of heat stress on crops such as maize, potentially leading to growth retardation and reduced reproductive capacity. As an important staple crop, the yield and quality of maize are severely compromised by heat stress. Plants respond to heat stress through complex molecular mechanisms involving multiple signal transduction pathways and the regulation of gene expression. It is crucial to use advanced techniques such as genetics, genomics, multi-omics analysis, and high-throughput phenotyping to extensively explore and analyze the genes and loci associated to abiotic stress tolerance, including heat stress, in the maize genome. These studies not only deepen our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying maize stress tolerance but also provide valuable molecular markers and candidate gene resources for breeders to accelerate the development of new maize varieties.

Gene editing technology has become an important tool in crop breeding. Maize, one of the globally most important food crops, has been shown with great potential in the use of gene editing technology in genome research and breeding. In this paper, we reviewed the recent progress and applications of gene editing technology in maize research, with a focus on the latest achievements in maize genome editing by CRISPR/Cas. Firstly, we introduced the basic principles and types of gene editing technology, particularly the working mechanism of the CRISPR/Cas systems, and its application advantages in maize. Secondly, we summarized the research progress of gene editing technology in maize breeding, from basic genome editing to the editing of complex multi-gene regulation, aiming at the improvement of key traits such as yield, grain quality, and stress resistance. Finally, the outstanding research work in maize gene editing in China is presented and the existing issues of gene editing technology in maize breeding are discussed, along with an outlook on future development trends.

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternal genetic trait widely found in higher plants. CMS is not only a favorable material for studying the interaction between cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes, but also a crucial foundation for plant heterosis utilization. Maize is one of the most successful example for the utilization of heterosis in crops, and CMS has become a powerful tool for hybrid production to utilize heterosis in maize. Therefore, the molecular mechanism of CMS in maize has always been a research hotspot. In this paper, CMS related genes and fertility restorer genes discovered in the three major types of CMS in maize were summarized, and the problems that needed to be solved in CMS-related research and development prospects in the application of CMS in maize were discussed. This review provided theoretical reference for better understanding of the molecular mechanism of CMS in plant and the application of CMS system for hybrid seed production in the utilization of heterosis in maize.

Climate change-induced global average temperature rise poses a severe threat to food production, in which maize, one of the three major global staple crops, is particularly susceptible to high temperatures. High temperatures significantly impact maize at various stages of its growth and development, especially during the reproductive growth stage, which can drastically reduce maize yields. Here we summarize the effects of high temperatures on maize at different growth stages, including germination, seedling, late vegetative growth, flowering, and grain-filling stages. We also review the main molecular mechanisms by which maize responds to heat stress, including heat shock and unfolded protein responses. Furthermore, we summarize the latest advances in heat-tolerant maize breeding in China. A batch of heat-tolerant hybrids and inbred lines have been identified through artificial high-temperature treatments and open field trials under natural high-temperature. In addition, we proposed important future research strategies in developing heat-tolerance maize, including new technological methods such as phenomics, genome-wide association studies, and genomic selection-based breeding, combined with intelligent agricultural management measures. We aim to cultivate maize varieties with high heat tolerance to cope with the high-temperature challenges brought about by climate change, thereby ensuring global food security.

Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a class of RNA molecules that do not have the ability of protein coding but have a variety of biological functions, and widely exist in various organisms. With the continuous improvement of high-throughput sequencing technology, a large number of ncRNAs have been identified, and their functions and mechanisms of action are gradually being elucidated. A large number of studies have shown that ncRNAs play an important role in plant growth, development and response to stress. Although there are many reviews on the regulation of plant growth, development and stress response by a certain class of ncRNAs, it still lacks systematic and comprehensive summaries for all ncRNAs. This review first briefly introduced the classification and characterization of non-coding RNAs, followed by a focus on their roles in various stages of plant growth and development, such as seed dormancy and germination, root and leaf growth and development, flower and fruit development, fruit ripening. Furthermore, we summarized the functions and mechanisms of ncRNAs in response to stress. This review provides some theoretical references for improving varieties and improving the yield and quality of agricultural and forestry production.

Promoter is an indispensable regulatory sequence for driving gene expression in higher plants. Different promoter elements cause diverse driving efficiency and space-time specificity. Identifying the structures and functions of promoter elements contributes to a better understanding of the growth and development, multi-stress tolerance, and evolution of plants. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, the techniques for identifying cis-acting elements and constructing artificial biological components that meet the design requirements has gradually emerged, providing a foundation for efficient, precise, and diverse gene regulation in molecular breeding. This article targets on the application of promoter reconstruction in molecular design, introducing the detailed structure and function of higher plant promoters and the methods of cis-acting element identification. We summarized a total of 174 inducible, tissue-specific promoter elements in 27 categories and their applications on artificial modification and synthesis. At the end, we proposed the future directions and methods of the promoter designs. This review will be helpful for the further functional analyses of promoters in higher plants and their applications on molecular design breeding.

Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) are a large family of transmembrane protein kinases, which play an important role in the regulation of cell communication and signal transduction under different environmental conditions. The extracellular region of RLKs can sense and transmit extracellular and environmental signals that mediate by the specific binding of ligands, which in turn initiates a series of downstream signaling pathways through the interaction with its co-receptors, thus regulating plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation. The rice (Oryza sativa) genome contains at least 1 131 RLKs, nearly twice the number found in Arabidopsis thaliana. RLKs are further divided into more than 20 subfamilies based on the characteristic motifs and structural domains of their extracellular regions. Although ligands and interacting proteins of some RLKs have been identified, the biological functions of most RLKs remain unclear in rice. In this review, we summarize current advances in understanding the mechanisms of RLKs-mediated signaling pathways and their contributions to plant growth and environmental adaptations in rice. The progress in understanding of RLKs and function roles in regulating plant growth, development and their adaptations to environments will facilitate breeding strategies for future sustainable agriculture and a new Green Revolution.

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity is a key factor for functional differentiation in different tissues and plays an important role in regulating cell fate. Spatiotemporal transcriptomic sequencing (stRNA-seq) is an emerging omics technology that combines quantitative transcriptome with high-resolution tissue imaging. It anchors expression data to the physical map of a target organ or tissue and molecularly characterizes tissue sections and cell layers via unbiased bioinformatic analysis, which reflects the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of gene expression abundances within specific cells. Benefiting from the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of gene expression in various cells can be explored by new experimental approaches. In this review, we first briefly introduce the principle and development process of stRNA-seq, providing readers an overview on the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of different stRNA-seq techniques. Then, we summarize the applications of stRNA-seq in animals, plants and microorganisms, which provide theoretical references for the systematic research of stRNA-seq in future.

Gene editing technology can manipulate the genome of organisms precisely and directionally. It is one of the most eye-catching subversive technologies in the field of life sciences, and has become the key technology in breeding of agriculture and animal husbandry. Recently, the demand for high-yield and high-quality forage grass are increasing in China, therefore, it is urgent to cultivate high-quality forage grass varieties with independent intellectual property rights. Here, we briefly reviewed the development of gene editing technology and its application in agricultural breeding, summarized the research progress in genome editing of gramineous and leguminous forage, and prospected the future direction of molecular module-based technology in forage grass breeding using genome editing.

Abstract Forage germplasm resources are national strategic and basic resources, which concern the overall revitalization of the forage seed industry, the basic support for the development of modern agriculture and animal husbandry, and ecological protection and restoration. This paper gives a review on the types, distribution, characteristics, and preservation of global forage germplasm resources. It also analyzes the existing problems, and makes suggestions in order to better protect and utilize forage germplasm resources in China.

In this paper, we reviewed the research status of minor cereals in China—the germplasm conservation, identification and innovative utilization, etc. Furthermore, we analyzed the problems and challenges existing in the basic research of minor cereals in China, and proposed the priorities and development directions.

Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) has a short growth period, high water use efficiency, resistance to salt, alkali, and insect pests. It is an important crop in the adjustment of planting structure. Broomcorn millet is rich in starch, protein, essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins (niacin, B vitamins, folic acid, etc.), minerals (phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iron), dietary fiber, phenolics, etc. It is also gluten-free, an ideal food for people who are allergy to gluten. In addition, broomcorn millet has the functions of lowering blood sugar, anti-inflammatory, and preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, broomcorm millet is an environmental friendly crop and beneficial to human health. It can be used as a future smart food for our country to deal with hidden hunger. This paper summarizes the research progress on the quality of broomcorn millet from the perspectives of appearance quality, nutritional quality and processing quality, and provides a reference for the quality research, processing and utilization of broomcorn millet.