TPS transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stress. In this study, we identified 90 BnTPS genes acr

Cysteine is the first organic compound identified in plants that contains both sulfur and nitrogen. It serves as a precursor for sulfur-containing metabolites such as methionine, glutathione (GSH), and Fe-S clusters, all of which play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Cysteine synthase (CSase) catalyzes the final step in cysteine biosynthesis; therefore, studying the CSase gene family is essential for understanding its role in plant abiotic stress tolerance. Using the CSase protein sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana as seed sequences and integrating protein domain information, 69 members of the BnCSase gene family were identified from the whole genome of Brassica napus ZS11. These members were analyzed for their physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, covariance relationships, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, associated miRNAs, and SNP variations. Based on transcriptome data, the expression patterns of BnCSase genes under different abiotic stress treatments were investigated. Furthermore, the relative expression levels of several BnCSase genes were analyzed under salt, alkali, low nitrogen, and drought stress treatments at 0, 6, 12, and 24 h using qRT-PCR to explore their roles in abiotic stress tolerance in B. napus. The results revealed distinct expression patterns of BnCSase genes in response to different abiotic stress signals, indicating stress-specific responses in B. napus. This study provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the functions and molecular genetic mechanisms of the BnCSase gene family in abiotic stress tolerance in rapeseed.

Background: Artemisia selengensis, classified within the genus Artemisia of the Asteraceae family, is a perennial herb recognized for its dual utility in culinary and medicinal domains. There are few studies on the chloroplast genome of A. selengensis, and the phylogeographic classification is vague, which makes phylogenetic analysis and evolutionary studies very difficult. Results: The chloroplast genomes of 10 A. selengensis in this study were highly conserved in terms of gene content, gene order, and gene intron number. The genome lengths ranged from 151,148 to 151,257 bp and were typical of a quadripartite structure with a total GC content of approximately 37.5%. The chloroplast genomes of all species encode 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Due to the contraction and expansion of the inverted repeats (IR), the overlap of ycf1 and ndhF genes occurred at the inverted repeats B (IRB) and short single copy sequence (SSC) boundaries. According to a codon use study, the frequent base in the chloroplast genome of A. selengensis’ third codon position was A/T. The number of SSR repeats was 42–44, most of which were single nucleotide A/T repeats. Sequence alignment analysis of the chloroplast genome showed that variable regions were mainly distributed in single copy regions, nucleotide diversity values of 0 to 0.009 were calculated by sliding window analysis, 8 mutation hotspot regions were detected, and coding regions were more conserved than non-coding regions. Analysis of non-synonymous substitution (Ka) and synonymous substitution (Ks) revealed that accD, rps12, petB, and atpF genes were affected by positive selection and no genes were affected by neutral selection. Based on the findings of the phylogenetic analysis, Artemisia selengensis was sister to the genus Artemisia Chrysanthemum and formed a monophyletic group with other Artemisia genera. Conclusions: In this research, the present study systematically compared the chloroplast genomic features of A. selengensis and provided important information for the study of the chloroplast genome of A. selengensis and the evolutionary relationships among Asteraceae species.

Soil salinity severely limits rice productivity by impairing photosynthesis, disturbing ion homeostasis and accelerating oxidative injury. The study aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of biochar (BC), SiO₂ nanoparticles (Si-NPs) and their combined composite SiO₂ nano-modified biochar (SBC) in enhancing salt tolerance in rice. Material characterization (SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD) confirmed successful anchoring of SiO₂ onto the biochar matrix, forming a highly reactive nano-carbon composite. In this study rice plants under moderate salinity (EC ≈ 7 dS m^-1) conditions exhibited pronounced growth inhibition, excessive Na⁺ accumulation, elevated oxidative damage and impaired photosynthetic performance. In contrast, application of SBC substantially outperformed BC and Si-NPs and markedly alleviated stress symptoms. Relative to the CK-S, SBC reduced H₂O₂ and MDA by 55.4 % and 38.2 %, respectively, and enhanced SOD, POD and CAT activities by 39.5, 47.3 % and 31.3 %. Photosynthetic performance also improved significantly, with increase of 72.5 % in Pn, 77.2 % in Gs, 178.6 % and in ETR. SBC also improved the osmotic adjustment raising starch and sucrose content by 62.1 % and 70.9 % while reducing excessive proline accumulation by 30.6 %. Ion homeostasis improved through lower Na⁺ uptake and higher K⁺ retention resulting in a markedly higher K⁺/Na⁺ ratio through application of SBC. Furthermore, SEM imaging and transcript analysis revealed improved stomatal structure and root anatomical resilience while qRT-PCR showed upregulation of key stress-responsive genes associated with antioxidant and ion-transport pathways. These findings demonstrate that SBC provides a synergistic biochar-nanoparticle mechanism that comprehensively enhances rice tolerance to salinity, offering a promising and sustainable amendment for improving productivity in salt-affected agricultural systems.

Low nitrogen (LN) stress is a major limiting factor affecting crop growth and productivity. Understanding the genetic basis of LN tolerance is essential for improving nitrogen use efficiency in Brassica napus. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on a panel of 275 B. napus accessions using a semi-automated hydroponic system to evaluate five seedling traits–leaf number (NL), shoot length (SL), root length (RL), shoot fresh weight (SFW), and root fresh weight (RFW)—under LN conditions. The system ensured environmental uniformity and high-throughput phenotyping. Significant phenotypic variation was observed across accessions, and correlation analysis suggested that RFW and SFW are key traits associated with LN tolerance. GWAS identified 71 significant SNPs, with 20 candidate genes located near these loci. Gene Ontology analysis revealed enrichment in nitrogen compound transport functions. Several genes such as NPF2.10, ATG4a, and AATL1 were implicated in nitrogen uptake, transport, remobilization, and stress adaptation. This study highlights the polygenic nature of LN tolerance and the importance of precise phenotyping in detecting stable genetic signals. The identified candidate genes are involved in nitrogen metabolism, autophagy, RNA processing, and amino acid transport, with transcriptomic evidence supporting the LN-responsive expression of BnaA09G0386000ZS. Comparative analysis with previous studies revealed unique SNP loci, likely due to differences in germplasm, nitrogen levels, and experimental design. These findings broaden our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying LN tolerance and provide promising targets for breeding B. napus varieties with improved nitrogen use efficiency.