Sugarcane smut, which is caused by Sporisorium scitamineum, has been threatening global sugarcane production. Breeding smut resistant sugarcane varieties has been proven to be the most effective method of controlling this particular disease. However, a lack of genome information of sugarcane has hindered the development of genome-assisted resistance breeding programs. Furthermore, the molecular basis of sugarcane response to S. scitamineum infection at the proteome level was incomplete and combining proteomic and transcriptional analysis has not yet been conducted. We identified 273 and 341 differentially expressed proteins in sugarcane smut-resistant (Yacheng05-179) and susceptible (ROC22) genotypes at 48 h after inoculation with S. scitamineum by employing an isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ). The proteome quantitative data were then validated by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The integrative analysis showed that the correlations between the quantitative proteins and the corresponding genes that was obtained in our previous transcriptome study were poor, which were 0.1502 and 0.2466 in Yacheng05-179 and ROC22, respectively, thereby revealing a post-transcriptional event during Yacheng05-179-S. scitamineum incompatible interaction and ROC22-S. scitamineum compatible interaction. Most differentially expressed proteins were closely related to sugarcane smut resistance such as beta-1,3-glucanase, peroxidase, pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1), endo-1,4-beta-xylanase, heat shock protein, and lectin. Ethylene and gibberellic acid pathways, phenylpropanoid metabolism and PRs, such as PR1, PR2, PR5 and PR14, were more active in Yacheng05-179, which suggested of their possible roles in sugarcane smut resistance. However, calcium signaling, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and abscisic acid pathways in Yacheng05-179 were repressed by S. scitamineum and might not be crucial for defense against this particular pathogen. These results indicated complex resistance-related events in sugarcane-S. scitamineum interaction, and provided novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the response of sugarcane to S. scitamineum infection.

The formation of cell polarity is essential for many developmental processes such as polar cell growth and spatial patterning of cell division. A plant-specific ROP ( R h o -like GTPases from P lants) subfamily of conserved Rho GTPase plays a crucial role in the regulation of cell polarity. However, the functional study of ROPs in angiosperm is challenging because of their functional redundancy. The Marchantia polymorpha genome encodes a single ROP gene, Mp ROP , providing an excellent genetic system to study ROP-dependent signaling pathways. Mp rop knockout mutants exhibited rhizoid growth defects, and MpROP was localized at the tip of elongating rhizoids, establishing a role for MpROP in the control of polar cell growth and its functional conservation in plants. Furthermore, the Mp rop knockout mutant showed defects in the formation of meristem notches associated with disorganized cell division patterns. These results reveal a critical function of Mp ROP in the regulation of plant development. Interestingly, these phenotypes were complemented not only by Mp ROP but also Arabidopsis At ROP2 , supporting the conservation of ROP’s function among land plants. Our results demonstrate a great potential for M. polymorpha as a powerful genetic system for functional and mechanistic elucidation of ROP signaling pathways during plant development.

Catalases, which consist of multiple structural isoforms, catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in cells to prevent membrane lipid peroxidation. In this study, a group II catalase gene ScCAT2 (GenBank Accession No. KF528830) was isolated from sugarcane genotype Yacheng05-179. ScCAT2 encoded a predicted protein of 493 amino acid residues, including a catalase active site signature (FARERIPERVVHARGAS) and a heme-ligand signature (RVFAYADTQ). Subcellular localization experiments showed that the ScCAT2 protein was distributed in the cytoplasm, plasma membrane, and nucleus of Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that the ScCAT2 gene was ubiquitously expressed in sugarcane tissues, with expression levels from high to low in stem skin, stem pith, roots, buds, and leaves. ScCAT2 mRNA expression was upregulated after treatment with abscisic acid (ABA), sodium chloride (NaCl), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and 4 °C low temperature, but downregulated by salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and copper chloride (CuCl₂). Moreover, tolerance of Escherichia coli Rosetta cells carrying pET-32a-ScCAT2 was enhanced by NaCl stress, but not by CuCl₂ stress. Sporisorium scitamineum infection of 10 different sugarcane genotypes showed that except for YZ03-258, FN40, and FN39, ScCAT2 transcript abundance in four smut-resistant cultivars (Yacheng05-179, YZ01-1413, YT96-86, and LC05-136) significantly increased at the early stage (1 day post-inoculation), and was decreased or did not change in the two smut-medium-susceptibility cultivars (ROC22 and GT02-467), and one smut-susceptible cultivar (YZ03-103) from 0 to 3 dpi. Meanwhile, the N. benthamiana leaves that transiently overexpressed ScCAT2 exhibited less severe disease symptoms, more intense 3,3′-diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining, and higher expression levels of tobacco immune-related marker genes than the control after inoculation with tobacco pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum or Fusarium solani var. coeruleum. These results indicate that ScCAT2 plays a positive role in immune responses during plant–pathogen interactions, as well as in salt, drought, and cold stresses.

Heat stress is an increasingly significant abiotic stress factor affecting crop yield and quality. This study aims to uncover the regulatory mechanism of sweet corn response to heat stress by integrating transcriptome and metabolome analyses of seedlings exposed to normal (25 °C) or high temperature (42 °C). The transcriptome results revealed numerous pathways affected by heat stress, especially those related to phenylpropanoid processes and photosynthesis, with 102 and 107 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified, respectively, and mostly down-regulated in expression. The metabolome results showed that 12 or 24 h of heat stress significantly affected the abundance of metabolites, with 61 metabolites detected after 12 h and 111 after 24 h, of which 42 metabolites were detected at both time points, including various alkaloids and flavonoids. Scopoletin-7-o-glucoside (scopolin), 3-indolepropionic acid, acetryptine, 5,7-dihydroxy-3′,4′,5′-trimethoxyflavone, and 5,6,7,4′-tetramethoxyflavanone expression levels were mostly up-regulated. A regulatory network was built by analyzing the correlations between gene modules and metabolites, and four hub genes in sweet corn seedlings under heat stress were identified: RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 2 (RDR2), UDP-glucosyltransferase 73C5 (UGT73C5), LOC103633555, and CTC-interacting domain 7 (CID7). These results provide a foundation for improving sweet corn development through biological intervention or genome-level modulation.

Capsicum chlorosis virus (CaCV; family Tospoviridae, genus Orthotospovirus) was first reported to infect capsicum (Capsicum annuum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in Australia in 2002 (McMichael...

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), a critical crop for sugar and bioenergy production, faces challenges in genetic improvement due to limited genetic diversity from selective breeding. Expanding genetic resources through intergeneric hybridization, particularly with Narenga porphyrocoma, offers a promising avenue to introduce traits like stress resistance and high biomass productivity. However, verifying true hybrids remains challenging with traditional morphological methods. This study employed tetra-primer ARMS-PCR and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) to accurately identify intergeneric hybrids between S. officinarum and N. porphyrocoma. Species-specific primers were designed based on SNPs in the nrDNA-ITS region for ARMS-PCR, enabling effective differentiation of parental and hybrid genotypes, while GISH confirmed the chromosomal composition of hybrids, revealing an n + n inheritance pattern. The results demonstrated the potential of N. porphyrocoma to improve sugarcane’s tillering and leaf length, although sucrose content was lower in hybrids, suggesting the need for further breeding efforts. This study uniquely contributes to sugarcane breeding by providing an effective method for hybrid verification and laying a foundation for incorporating beneficial N. porphyrocoma genes into sugarcane cultivars.