The study demonstrates that short‑term low phosphate treatment delays leaf senescence in rice by increasing photosynthetic pigments, enhancing antioxidant enzyme activities, and reducing oxidative damage, whereas high phosphate accelerates senescence. CRISPR/Cas9 editing of MIR827 to lower Pi levels also postpones senescence, while overexpression of MIR827 or MIR399, which raises Pi, speeds it up. Transcriptomic profiling reveals coordinated changes in senescence‑associated and metabolic pathways underlying the low‑phosphate response.

The study identified the poplar homolog of Arabidopsis HDG11 and generated transgenic poplar hybrids overexpressing PtaHDG11. Constitutive expression conferred markedly improved drought tolerance, as evidenced by higher leaf water content, reduced oxidative damage, up‑regulation of antioxidant genes, and greater post‑stress biomass, while also causing a glabrous phenotype. These results highlight PtaHDG11 as a promising target for breeding drought‑resilient trees.

The study generated a high-quality, phased diploid reference genome for the grapevine cultivar Pinot noir and combined it with Oxford Nanopore sequencing of 23 clones to map genome-wide genetic and epigenetic variation. While somatic SNPs and structural variants are rare and depleted from coding regions, extensive CG methylation differences were found within gene bodies and accurately recapitulated clonal phylogenies, indicating stable, mitotically inherited epialleles that record propagation history.

The authors performed a genome-wide analysis of 53 CCCH zinc‑finger genes in pearl millet, identified seven stress‑responsive members and demonstrated that overexpressing PgC3H50 in Arabidopsis enhances drought and salt tolerance. They showed that the ABA‑responsive transcription factor PgAREB1 directly binds the PgC3H50 promoter, activating its expression, as confirmed by yeast one‑hybrid, dual‑luciferase and EMSA assays, defining a new PgAREB1‑PgC3H50 regulatory module.

The study generated chromosome‑scale de novo assemblies for two wild tomato relatives, Solanum pennellii and Solanum cheesmaniae, using PacBio HiFi, Oxford Nanopore ultra‑long reads, and Hi‑C scaffolding, achieving >99% completeness. Comparative analysis with nine Lycopersicon clade genomes revealed species‑specific structural variants and independent Tekay retrotransposon expansions, while recombination mapping in 709 backcross hybrids demonstrated higher female crossover rates and identified gender‑biased recombination regions and coldspots associated with large structural differences.

The study reveals that red pigmentation in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) epidermal bladder cells is due to a ~4‑kb genomic insertion that restores the full-length CYP76AD gene, which is the rate‑limiting enzyme for betacyanin synthesis. Cell‑type‑specific RNA‑sequencing showed that this restored CYP76AD is highly upregulated in red bladder cells, and subgenome analysis indicated B‑subgenome dominance for this gene in pigmented tissues.

A comprehensive multi‑environment trial of 437 maize testcross hybrids derived from 38 MLN‑tolerant lines and 29 testers identified additive genetic effects as the primary driver of grain yield, disease resistance, and drought tolerance. Strong general combining ability and specific combining ability patterns were uncovered, with top hybrids delivering up to 5.75 t ha⁻¹ under MLN pressure while maintaining high performance under optimum and drought conditions. The study provides a framework for selecting elite parents and exploiting both additive and non‑additive effects to develop resilient maize hybrids for sub‑Saharan Africa.

Chromosome-level, 100% complete genomes of the Australian mango cultivar Kensington Pride and the wild relative M. laurina were assembled using high-coverage PacBio HiFi sequencing. Comparative analyses uncovered extensive structural variation, identified key genes in carotenoid, anthocyanin, and terpenoid pathways, and pinpointed a SNP in the β-1,3-glucanase 2 gene associated with anthracnose resistance. Whole-genome duplication and collinearity analyses revealed two polyploidization events and conserved gene blocks across mango genomes.

The study performed a meta‑transcriptomic analysis of over twenty drought versus control experiments in Vitis vinifera and two hybrid rootstocks, identifying a core set of 4,617 drought‑responsive genes. Using transcription factor binding motif enrichment and random‑forest machine learning, gene regulatory networks were built, revealing key regulators such as ABF2, MYB30A, and a novel HMG‑box protein. These regulators and network hierarchies provide candidate targets for breeding and biotechnological improvement of grapevine drought tolerance.

Integrating physiological, transcriptomic, and cellular analyses, the study shows that olive fruit abscission zones undergo lignification, alkalization, and extensive cell‑wall remodeling during natural maturation and after ethephon treatment. A set of 733 FAZ‑specific genes, including β‑1,3‑glucanases, pectate lyases, and pH‑regulating transporters, were identified, and increased glucanase activity together with reduced plasmodesmata callose suggest enhanced intercellular communication facilitates organ detachment in this non‑climacteric fruit.