Rose (Rosa hybrida) plants are major ornamental species worldwide, and their commercial value greatly depends on their open flowers, as both the quality of fully open petals and long vase life are important. Petal senescence can be started and accelerated by various hormone signals, and ethylene is considered an accelerator of petal senescence in rose. To date, however, the underlying mechanism of signaling crosstalk between ethylene and other hormones such as JA in petal senescence remains largely unknown. Here, we isolated RhMYB108, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, which is highly expressed in senescing petals as well as in petals treated with exogenous ethylene and JA. Applications of exogenous ethylene and JA markedly accelerated petal senescence, while the process was delayed in response to applications of 1-MCP, an ethylene action inhibitor. In addition, silencing of RhMYB108 alter the expression of SAGs such as RhNAC029, RhNAC053, RhNAC092, RhSAG12, and RhSAG113, and finally block ethylene- and JA-induced petal senescence. Furthermore, RhMYB108 was identified to target the promoters of RhNAC053, RhNAC092, and RhSAG113. Our results reveal a model in which RhMYB108 functions as a receptor of ethylene and JA signals to modulate the onset of petal senescence by targeting and enhancing senescence-associated gene expression.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of rice resistance to the brown planthopper (BPH), a major pest that poses significant threats to rice production through direct feeding damage and by transmitting viruses such as Rice grassy stunt virus (RGSV) and Rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV). We highlight the emergence of various BPH biotypes that have overcome specific resistance genes in rice. Advances in genetic mapping and cloning have identified 17 BPH resistance genes, classified into typical R genes encoding nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins and atypical R genes such as lectin receptor kinases and proteins affecting cell wall composition. The molecular mechanisms of these genes involve the activation of plant defense pathways mediated by phytohormones like jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene, as well as the production of defensive metabolites. We also examine the complex interactions between BPH salivary proteins and rice defense responses, noting how salivary effectors can both suppress and trigger plant immunity. The development and improvement of BPH-resistant rice varieties through conventional breeding and molecular marker-assisted selection are discussed, including strategies like gene pyramiding to enhance resistance durability. Finally, we outline the challenges and future directions in breeding for durable BPH resistance, emphasizing the need for continued research on resistance mechanisms and the development of rice varieties with broad-spectrum and long-lasting resistance.

Soybean is an important crop that is grown worldwide. Flowering time is a critical agricultural trait determining successful reproduction and yields. For plants, light and temperature are important environmental factors that regulate flowering time. Soybean is a typical short-day (SD) plant, and many studies have elucidated the fine-scale mechanisms of how soybean responds to photoperiod. Low temperature can delay the flowering time of soybean, but little is known about the detailed mechanism of how temperature affects soybean flowering. In this study, we isolated GmFLC-like from soybean, which belongs to the FLOWERING LOCUS C clade of the MADS-box family and is intensely expressed in soybean leaves. Heterologous expression of GmFLC-like results in a delayed-flowering phenotype in Arabidopsis. Additional experiments revealed that GmFLC-like is involved in long-term low temperature-triggered late flowering by inhibiting FT gene expression. In addition, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed that the GmFLC-like protein could directly repress the expression of FT2a by physically interacting with its promoter region. Taken together, our results revealed that GmFLC-like functions as a floral repressor involved in flowering time during treatments with various low temperature durations. As the only the FLC gene in soybean, GmFLC-like was meaningfully retained in the soybean genome over the course of evolution, and this gene may play an important role in delaying flowering time and providing protective mechanisms against sporadic and extremely low temperatures.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) regulates diverse biological functions by mediating the assembly of biomolecular condensates. However, it remains unclear how host LLPS is targeted by viruses during infection. Here we show that a plant bunyaviral protein, the disease-specific protein (SP) encoded by rice stripe virus (RSV), possesses phase separation potential through its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region 1 (IDR1). In vivo, however, SP does not form phase-separated biomolecular condensates independently but utilizes its phase separation properties to interfere with the phase separation of the SERRATE protein (SE), a key component of Dicing bodies essential for microRNA processing. By disrupting SE phase separation, SP inhibits D-body assembly and miRNA biogenesis. Our study demonstrates that a viral protein can modulate host microRNA processing by targeting LLPS, revealing a previously uncharacterized mechanism involved in viral infection strategies and miRNA biogenesis regulation in plants.