The study models maize flowering time plasticity using a physiological reaction norm derived from multi-environment trial data, revealing genotype-specific differences in temperature-driven development and photoperiod perception. It introduces an envirotyping metric that shows genotypes can experience markedly different photoperiods even within the same environment, and demonstrates distinct adaptive strategies between tropical and temperate germplasm.

The study characterizes the distinct and overlapping roles of the rice PI paralogs OsMADS2 and OsMADS4 in lodicule specification, flowering time, and floral organ development by analyzing null and double mutants and overexpression lines. Genome-wide binding (ChIP‑seq) and transcriptome (RNA‑seq) analyses identified downstream targets involved in cell division, cell wall remodeling, and osmotic regulation that underpin the observed phenotypes. These findings reveal novel functions for PI paralogs in reproductive development and highlight mechanisms of transcription factor diversification in Oryza sativa.

The study generated a temporal physiological and metabolomic map of leaf senescence in diverse maize inbred lines differing in stay‑green phenotype, identifying 84 metabolites associated with senescence and distinct metabolic signatures between stay‑green and non‑stay‑green lines. Integration of metabolite data with genomic information uncovered 56 candidate genes, and reverse‑genetic validation in maize and Arabidopsis demonstrated conserved roles for phenylpropanoids such as naringenin chalcone and eriodictyol in regulating senescence.