The study demonstrates the implementation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeted mutagenesis in the orphan crop grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) by editing genes of the betalain biosynthesis pathway using the CasCADE modular cloning system. It addresses the bottleneck of lacking efficient stable transformation and regeneration protocols for non‑model crops, providing a reproducible workflow for climate‑resilient breeding.

The study investigates how miR394 influences flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana by combining transcriptomic profiling of mir394a mir394b double mutants with histological analysis of reporter lines. Bioinformatic analysis identified a novel lncRNA overlapping MIR394B (named MIRAST), and differential promoter activity of MIR394A and MIR394B suggests miR394 fine‑tunes flower development through transcription factor and chromatin remodeler regulation.