Significance: Seed dormancy is an important developmental trait for plants, which ensures seed germination under more favorable spatiotemporal environments. A smoke compound, 3,4,5-trimethylfuran-2( 5H )-one, which is called TMB for short, has been identified to inhibit seed germination in a still elusive way. Here, we presented several lines of evidence that TMB inhibits seed germination through the induction of physiological dormancy. Furthermore, by isolating TMB-resistant Arabidopsis mutants, we demonstrated that TMB RESISTANT1 , encoding a Raf-like kinase, is critically required for the TMB-induced seed dormancy. These results suggest the presence of a smoke sensory pathway that takes part in the multiple layers of the dormancy regulatory network in higher plants.

Plants have evolved photoreceptors to optimize their development during primary growth, including germination, hypocotyl elongation, cotyledon opening, and root growth, allowing them to adapt to challenging light conditions. The light signaling transduction pathway during seedling establishment has been extensively studied, but little molecular evidence is available for light-regulated secondary growth, and how light regulates cambium-derived tissue production remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that CRYPTOCHROME (CRY)-dependent blue light signaling and the subsequent attenuation of ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) movement to hypocotyls are key inducers of xylem fiber differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using grafted chimeric plants and hypocotyl-specific transcriptome sequencing of light signaling mutants under controlled light conditions, we demonstrate that the perception of blue light by CRYs in shoots drives secondary cell wall (SCW) deposition at xylem fiber cells during the secondary growth of hypocotyls. We propose that HY5 is a blue light–responsive mobile protein that inhibits xylem fiber formation via direct transcriptional repression of NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING 3 ( NST3 ). CRYs retain HY5 in the nucleus, impede its long-distance transport from leaf to hypocotyl, and they initiate NST3- driven SCW gene expression, thereby triggering xylem fiber production. Our findings shed light on the long-range CRYs-HY5-NST3 signaling cascade that shapes xylem fiber development, highlighting the activity of HY5 as a transcriptional repressor during secondary growth.

The Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology (JKWST) launched in 1973 as an official publication of the Korean Society of Wood Science and Technology has been served as a core of knowledges on wood science and technology.

The skin, recognized as the largest organ in the human body, serves a vital function in safeguarding against external threats. Severe damage to the skin can pose significant risks to human health. There is an urgent requirement for safe and effective therapies for wound healing. While phytotherapy has been widely utilized for various health conditions, the potential of Quercus glauca in promoting wound healing has not been thoroughly explored. Q. glauca is a cultivated crop known for its abundance of bioactive compounds. This study examined the wound-healing properties of Quercus glauca acorn seed coat water extract (QGASE). The findings from the study suggest that QGASE promotes wound closure in HF cells by upregulating essential markers related to the wound-healing process. Additionally, QGASE demonstrates antioxidant effects, mitigating oxidative stress and aiding in recovery from injuries induced by H₂O₂. In vivo experiments provide additional substantiation supporting the efficacy of QGASE in enhancing wound healing. The collective results indicate that QGASE may be a promising candidate for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at enhancing skin wound repair.

MYB transcription factors containing an R2R3 DNA-binding domain are involved in the regulation of various physiological processes, such as responses to abiotic stresses, including salt stress. In poplar, various MYB transcription factors regulate stress responses. In this study, we aimed to identify the correlation between the transcription factor MYB148 and salt stress responses in the hybrid poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa). We induced a mutation in the MYB-binding domain of PagMYB148 using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of the PagMYB148 gene, which induced a more suppressed expression of PagMYB148 than that in the wild-type. Although salt and drought treatments enhance the expression of PagMYB148, the pagmyb148-transgenic plants exhibited more sensitive phenotypes than the wild-type plants under salt stress. After exposure to salinity stress, the chlorophyll content was lower in pagmyb148-transgenic plants than in wild-type plants, whereas the mutation increased ion leakage from cells. Additionally, the expression of genes involved in the salt stress response was higher in pagmyb148-transgenic plants than in the wild-type. After salt treatment, pagmyb148-transgenic plants exhibited an increased level of H₂O₂ and reduced activity of antioxidant enzymes. In summary, the MYB148 transcription factor is involved in the regulation of salt stress resistance in hybrid poplar trees. This report contributes to providing a basis for further investigating the molecular mechanisms of the poplar PagMYB148 transcription factor under abiotic stress.