Cotton fiber length is an important measurement for application in the textile industry, and researchers are seeking to cultivate cotton plants with longer fibers. In this study, cotton fiber genes were systematically reviewed through meta-analysis in terms of extending and shortening fiber and the use of different research technologies for the first time. PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Baidu Xueshu databases were included as literature retrieval sources. A total of 21,467 articles were retrieved, and 45 articles were used in the final analysis. Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. To shorten cotton fiber length, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 technology was superior to virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology and RNA interference (RNAi) technology [p = 0.002, MD = −1.05, 95% CI (−1.73, −0.37), Chi² = 39.89]. To increase cotton fiber length, CRISPR-Cas9 technology had a similar effect as VIGS technology [p = 0.12, MD = −0.59, 95% CI (−1.33, −0.15), Chi² = 0.17]. When some genes (GhLAC15, GhALDH7B4, GhMDHAR1A/GhDHAR2A, STTM-miR396b, GhMYB44, GhFP2, GhMYB7, GhKNL1, GhTCP4, GhHDA5, GhGalT1, GhKNOX6, GhXB38D, and GhBZR3) were damaged, cotton fiber length increased. Furthermore, we found that after gene interference, the fiber-shortening genes occurred more frequently than the fiber-elongating genes. Synergistic research on these genes may better promote cotton fiber elongation.

Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) play crucial regulatory roles in plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses. Stipagrostis pennata is a species of grass widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions, particularly adapted to desert and steppe environments. Under extreme drought conditions, it exhibits a variety of physiological and morphological adaptation mechanisms, making it an important species for studying plant drought tolerance. Recently, LTPs have been found to exhibit upregulated expression under drought stress in plants such as wheat and tobacco, enhancing their drought tolerance. However, the functional role of LTPs in S. pennata remains unexplored. In this study, the SpLTP1 gene was isolated from S. pennata via molecular cloning, encoding a 116-amino acid protein. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this protein contains a highly conserved nsLTP1 (cd01960) domain and has high sequence similarity with LTPs of Setaria viridis, Setaria italica, Musa acuminata and Phragmites australis. qRT-PCR revealed that SpLTP1 was highly expressed and dynamically regulated under drought, suggesting its potential role in root rhizosheath formation and drought tolerance. To investigate SpLTP1 function, SpLTP1-overexpressing (SpLTP1-OE) and complementation (SpLTP1-atltp) Arabidopsis lines were generated using the floral dip method, in comparison with the existing wild-type (WT) and the LTP-deficient mutant (atltp). Drought stress phenotyping and physiological assays indicated that SpLTP1 likely enhances drought tolerance by elevating antioxidant enzyme activities and osmolyte accumulation. Comparative transcriptome analysis of SpLTP1-OE and WT plants further suggested that SpLTP1 modulates critical pathways, including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, zeatin biosynthesis, and plant hormone signal transduction, thereby influencing plant growth and stress adaptation. These findings not only provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms by which SpLTP1 regulates rhizosheath development in S. pennata but also establish a foundation for deciphering its role in extreme drought adaptation.

The plant cell wall functions as both a mechanical framework and a dynamic environmental sensor, with its remodeling tightly coordinated by phytohormone signaling and cell-wall integrity (CWI) surveillance. This review synthesizes how hormonal networks regulate wall processes including cellulose deposition, pectin modification, and lignification translating extracellular perturbations via receptor kinases and second messengers into adaptive growth responses. We argue that abiotic stress resilience does not stem from uniformly reinforced walls, but from the capacity to dynamically tune wall mechanics in a spatiotemporally precise manner. Evaluating emerging tools like spatial multi-omics and precision genome editing, we propose a translational roadmap to engineer context-dependent wall plasticity. Integrating causal genetics with field-level phenotyping will be essential for developing climate-resilient crops that maintain yield stability under fluctuating environments.