Osmoregulation is important for plant growth, development and response to environmental changes. SNF1-related protein kinase 2s (SnRK2s) are quickly activated by osmotic stress and are central components in osmotic stress and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways; however, the upstream components required for SnRK2 activation and early osmotic stress signaling are still unknown. Here, we report a critical role for B2, B3 and B4 subfamilies of Raf-like kinases (RAFs) in early osmotic stress as well as ABA signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana. B2, B3 and B4 RAFs are quickly activated by osmotic stress and are required for phosphorylation and activation of SnRK2s. Analyses of high-order mutants of RAFs reveal critical roles of the RAFs in osmotic stress tolerance and ABA responses as well as in growth and development. Our findings uncover a kinase cascade mediating osmoregulation in higher plants.

Sustainable goals for contemporary world seek viable solutions for interconnected challenges, particularly in the fields of food and energy security and climate change. We present bamboo, one of the versatile plant species on earth, as an ideal candidate for bioeconomy for meeting some of these challenges. With its potential realized, particularly in the industrial sector, countries such as China are going extensive with bamboo development and cultivation to support a myriad of industrial uses. These include timber, fiber, biofuel, paper, food, and medicinal industries. Bamboo is an ecologically viable choice, having better adaptation to wider environments than do other grasses, and can help to restore degraded lands and mitigate climate change. Bamboo, as a crop species, has not become amenable to genetic improvement, due to its long breeding cycle, perennial nature, and monocarpic behavior. One of the commonly used species, moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) is a potential candidate that qualifies as industrial bamboo. With its whole‐genome information released, genetic manipulations of moso bamboo offer tremendous potential to meet the industrial expectations either in quality or in quantity. Further, bamboo cultivation can expect several natural hindrances through biotic and abiotic stresses, which needs viable solutions such as genetic resistance. Taking a pragmatic view of these future requirements, we have compiled the present status of bamboo physiology, genetics, genomics, and biotechnology, particularly of moso bamboo, to drive various implications in meeting industrial and cultivation requirements. We also discuss challenges underway, caveats, and contextual opportunities concerning sustainable development.

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houzeau) is a rapidly growing grass of industrial and ecological importance. However, the molecular mechanisms of its remarkable growth are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the early-stage growth of moso bamboo shoots and defined three different growth stages based on histological and biochemical analyses, namely, starting of cell division (SD), rapid division (RD) and rapid elongation (RE). Further analyses on potentially relevant cellular pathways in these growth stages using multi-omics approaches such as transcriptomics and proteomics revealed the involvement of multiple cellular pathways, including DNA replication, repair and ribosome biogenesis. A total of 8045 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 1053 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in our analyses. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses of detected DEGs identified several key biological pathways such as phytohormone metabolism, signal transduction, cell wall development and carbohydrate metabolism. The comparative analysis of proteins displayed that a total of 213 DEPs corresponded with DEGs and 3 significant expression profiles that could be promoting the fast growth of bamboo internodes. Moreover, protein–protein interaction network prediction analysis is suggestive of the involvement of five major proteins of signal transduction, DNA synthesis and RNA transcription, and may act as key elements responsible for the rapid shoot growth. Our work exploits multi-omics and bioinformatic approaches to unfurl the complexity of molecular networks involved in the rapid growth of moso bamboo and opens up questions related to the interactions between the functions played by individual molecular pathway.