Salinity, a major abiotic stress, significantly impairs crop productivity by inducing osmotic, ionic, and secondary stresses that disrupt metabolic processes. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a diploid annual legume of the Fabaceae family, is one of the major pulse crops cultivated by farmers with limited resources. While previous studies have explored salt tolerance in chickpeas, this study provides a comprehensive multi-omics perspective. Exploring the mechanism of chickpea adaptation to the saline environment can effectively supplement the problem of single source of plant protein. The present study analyzed the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles of two distinct chickpea varieties, DY3 and DY1, with contrasting salinity tolerance capacities. The salinity tolerance of DY3 was associated with greater biomass, higher antioxidant enzyme activity, and higher photosynthetic efficiency. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the genes induced in DY3 under salinity stress were associated with ion homeostasis, antioxidant defense system, and plant hormone signaling. Metabolomics analysis revealed significant enrichment of components of diverse secondary metabolites pathways, as well as carbohydrate metabolism. Integrated multi-omics analysis highlighted the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, functioning within the broader flavonoid metabolic network, as a key regulator of salt tolerance in the chickpea. Subsequent, RT-qPCR confirmed the upregulation of key genes associated with anthocyanin metabolism. These findings reveal the key regulatory role of the flavonoid pathway in salt tolerance of chickpeas, offering insights for breeding improved varieties.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone known to regulate environmental stress responses in various species. Endogenous ABA has been detected in only a limited number of bryophyte species.Samples of...

The ubiquitination pathway has been found to regulate plant responses to environmental stress. However, the role of E3 ubiquitin ligase in desiccation tolerant moss has not yet been elucidated. Previous research has shown that the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling factor ScABI3 can significantly increase desiccation tolerance and reduce ABA sensitivity in the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. In this study, we identified a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, ScPRT1, and showed that ScABI3 can directly interact with ScPRT1 in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we found that the high expression of ScPRT1 can interfere with the transcription of ScABI3 under ABA treatment. Therefore, we speculate that ScPRT1 may degrade ScABI3 through the ubiquitin-26S proteasome system and participate in ABA-dependent signaling in response to ABA-insensitivity or desiccation tolerance in S. caninervis. The findings from our study may enrich our knowledge of the role of E3 ubiquitin ligase in desiccation tolerance and lay a theoretical foundation for an in-depth study of the relationship between ubiquitination modification and ABA signal transduction under environmental stress.

ABI3 (ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3) is a family of B3 transcription factors essential for regulating the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway involved in various biological processes and abiotic stress. Our previous studies demonstrated that ectopic expression of ScABI3 from a desiccation-tolerant moss (Syntrichia caninervis) into Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. However, studies on plant transformation using the ABI3 gene are limited and other possible functions of ScABI3 are not known. Here, we transformed the ScABI3 into alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and analyzed the effects on phenotype, photosynthetic efficiency, and nutritional quality. The results showed that the endogenous ABA content of the transgenic plants was significantly higher than WT, and the leaf-stem ratio, leaf area, and branch number increased with ScABI3 overexpression in alfalfa. Further analysis of the gas exchange parameters showed that the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), and water-use efficiency (WUE) of the transgenic alfalfa were significantly higher than WT; meanwhile, the protein content of the transgenic lines was higher than the WT, but the crude fat content was lower. Thus, these findings suggest that ScABI3 can be used as a potential candidate gene to manipulate alfalfa’s growth and nutritional quality. This study will provide a theoretical basis for breeding alfalfa varieties and assist in forage production and animal husbandry in the future.

Backgroud/Objectives: Ferula spp. is an essential crop in Central Asia with pronounced economic benefits governed by its flowering process. However, the mechanisms of the flowering phenotype remain unclear. Methods: In this study, using F. sinkiangensis as a model plant, we integrated transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome analyses to compare the multilayer differences in leaves and roots of plants with flowering and unflowering phenotypes. Results: We found that several variations in the transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome were closely associated with flowering. The Photosynthesis and Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in plants with the flowering phenotype were more active. Additionally, three flowering genes, named FL2–FL4, were upregulated in the leaves of flowering plants. Notably, six transcription factors were potentially responsible for regulating the expression of FL2–FL4 in the leaves to mediate flowering process of F. sinkiangensis. Moreover, genes relevant to Photosynthesis and Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were also involved in regulating the expression of FL2–FL4 in flowering plants. Conclusions: The active regulation network together with Photosynthesis and Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were essential for inducing the expression of flowering-related genes in leaves to promote the flowering process of F. sinkiangensis.