Soil salinization poses a major constraint to global agriculture. Apocynum venetum, a salt-tolerant halophyte, provides an effective model for investigating salt-adaptive strategies; however, the temporal dynamics of its tolerance-associated genes and metabolites remain unclear. In this study, integrated transcriptomics, metabolomics (UHPLC-MS), physiological assays, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were conducted to characterize early (7-day) and late (18-day) responses to 200 mM NaCl stress. NaCl stress significantly reduced chlorophyll content while increasing Na⁺ accumulation, MDA levels, antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD and CAT), and total flavonoid content. Early responses (NaCl7) were marked by accumulation of ferulic acid, rhamnetin, and 3,4-dihydrocoumarin, with activation of plant hormone (ABA, auxin, zeatin) and MAPK signaling pathways. Late responses (NaCl18) exhibited increased accumulation of scopoletin, formononetin, and caffeyl-alcohol, with enrichment of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and photosynthesis-related pathways. WGCNA identified early-response hub genes, including AOC, MAPKKK17/18, CYP98A, and CCoAOMT, coordinating stress signaling and antioxidant metabolism. Late stress responses involved genes like CPK, GST, CYCD3, and ARF, modulating calcium signaling and ROS detoxification. Genes shared across phases included CYP90C1, HD-ZIP, HSP20, and PP2C, regulating protein stabilization and stress signaling. These findings reveal a two-phase salt tolerance strategy in A. venetum, integrating early signaling and late metabolic adaptation.

In China, the substantial gap between domestic soybean supply and growing consumption necessitates large-scale soybean imports. The use of cultivated soybean (Glycine max) leaves as feed for the edible insect Clanis bilineata tsingtauica reduces crop yield, posing a threat to national soybean production security. To address this issue, this study evaluated wild soybean (Glycine soja) as a potential alternative feed source. Comparative analyses examined the nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of G. max (cv. Qihuang34) and a laboratory-preserved G. soja germplasm, together with their effects on larval growth performance, nutritional composition, and associated microbiota. G. soja leaves exhibited significantly higher crude fat (5.61% vs. 2.17%), ash (11.07% vs. 9.62%), neutral detergent fiber (23.75% vs. 21.00%), calcium (4.05 g/kg vs. 3.41 g/kg), and phosphorus (2.52 g/kg vs. 2.38 g/kg) than G. max leaves, along with lower trypsin inhibitor levels (p < 0.01) despite higher phytic acid content (p < 0.05). Fifth-instar larvae reared on G. soja leaves showed a 12.9% greater body weight (6.846 g vs. 6.066 g), higher crude protein (672.14 g/kg vs. 555.02 g/kg), total soluble sugar (21.27 mg/g vs. 8.96 mg/g), and soluble protein (26.35 mg/g vs. 24.71 mg/g), but lower crude fat (187.44 g/kg vs. 205.82 g/kg, p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing revealed distinct phyllosphere microbial communities, with G. soja enriched in diverse taxa (e.g., Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria) and G. max dominated by Firmicutes. Corresponding differences were observed in larval gut microbiota, and positive correlations suggested potential microbial transfer from G. soja leaves to larval guts. Overall, G. soja represents a promising alternative feed source for C. bilineata, reducing competition with soybean grain production and supporting sustainable insect farming.

Soil salinization threatens agricultural production, and increasing extreme rainfall may alter natural leaching processes in coastal saline–alkaline soils. However, the relationships among salt ion migration, alkalinity changes, nutrients, and bacterial communities under natural rainfall leaching remain unclear. Therefore, a phased natural rainfall leaching experiment was conducted from June to September 2025 using moderate to severe NaCl-type saline–alkaline soil from Dongying in the Yellow River Delta. The results showed that natural rainfall leaching significantly reduced soluble salt ions, especially Na⁺, Cl⁻, and SO₄²⁻, and rapidly alleviated early salt stress. However, soil pH did not decline continuously with salt reduction, but fluctuated under the buffering effect of the carbonate system, indicating that desalination was not necessarily accompanied by alkalinity alleviation. Available nutrients showed stage-dependent changes, with HN and AK increasing around the middle leaching stage. Bacterial community composition and co-occurrence networks also changed during leaching, and these changes were more closely associated with salt ions and HCO₃⁻/pH than with available nutrients. These results suggest that post-rain management of saline–alkaline soils should not rely only on total salinity, but should also consider major salt ions, pH/HCO₃⁻, and nutrient availability.

Chloride (Cl⁻) is an essential micronutrient for plants that supports multiple physiological functions throughout plant growth and development. Its effects are strongly concentration-dependent: low Cl⁻ availability promotes beneficial physiological processes, whereas excessive accumulation can induce cytotoxicity. In plants, the movement of Cl⁻ across plasma and organellar membranes is primarily mediated by three principal channel and transporter families: chloride channels (CLC), aluminum-activated malate transporters (ALMT), and slow anion channel-associated homologs (SLAC/SLAH). These families differ in gating mechanisms, ion selectivity, transport properties, and subcellular localization. This review synthesizes current knowledge of plant chloride transport proteins, with emphasis on their phylogenetic distribution, structural organization, and functional diversification. We summarize their core physiological roles in stomatal regulation, water-use efficiency, nutrient uptake, ion homeostasis, growth modulation, and abiotic stress tolerance. We also discuss how their activities are regulated by post-translational modifications, notably phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, as well as by ion concentrations, pH shifts, and phytohormone signaling. Unlike earlier reviews that primarily focused on individual transporter families or specific stress responses, this work provides an integrated framework linking structure–function relationships with regulatory networks. It also evaluates recent advances in high-resolution structural biology, electrophysiological approaches, and in vivo imaging techniques. Furthermore, we delineate current technical bottlenecks and unresolved questions, such as the molecular determinants of substrate specificity and potential cross-talk among transporter families, and propose future directions for crop improvement. By integrating structural, physiological, and regulatory perspectives, this review aims to serve as a valuable reference and stimulate interdisciplinary research on plant chloride biology.

In China, the enormous gap between domestic soybean supply and increasing consumption necessitates large-scale soybean imports. The use of cultivated soybean (Glycine max) leaves as feed for the edible insect Clanis bilineata tsingtauica further reduces crop yields, posing a threat to national soybean production security. To address this issue, this study evaluated wild soybean (Glycine soja) as a potential alternative feed source. Comparative analyses examined the nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of G. max (cv. Qihuang34) and laboratory-preserved G. soja germplasm, together with their effects on larval growth performance, nutritional composition, and associated microbiota. G. soja leaves exhibited significantly higher crude fat (5.61% vs. 2.17%), ash (11.07% vs. 9.62%), neutral detergent fiber (23.75% vs. 21.00%), calcium (4.05 g/kg vs. 3.41 g/kg), and phosphorus (2.52 g/kg vs. 2.38 g/kg) than G. max, alongside lower trypsin inhibitor levels (P< 0.01) despite higher phytic acid content (P< 0.05). Fifth-instar larvae reared on G. soja leaves achieved a 12.9% increase in body weight (6.846 g vs. 6.066 g), higher crude protein (672.14 g/kg vs. 555.02 g/kg), total soluble sugar (21.27 mg/g vs. 8.96 mg/g), and soluble protein (26.35 mg/g vs. 24.71 mg/g), but lower crude fat (187.44 g/kg vs. 205.82 g/kg, P< 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing revealed distinct phyllosphere microbial communities, with G. soja enriched in diverse taxa (e.g., Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria) and G. max dominated by Firmicutes. Corresponding differences were observed in larval gut microbiota, with positive correlation analyses suggesting potential microbe transfer from G. soja leaves to larval guts. Overall, G. soja represents a promising alternative feed for C. bilineata, reducing competition with soybean grain production and supporting sustainable insect farming.