WRINKLED 1 (WRI1) is an AP2/ERBP transcription factors, but previous work on its function has not been systematical. In this review, we systematically summarise the structure of WRI1, the molecular interactions during transcription and translation in plants. At the same time, we elucidated the genetic evolution and regulatory functions of WRI1 at the molecular level. Furthermore, we described a new pathway involving WRI1 that can be used to produce triacylglycerols (TAGs) in plants.

Exposure of plants to various stresses can negatively impact growth and eventually yield. Plants are equipped with protective mechanisms against stresses and we examined the involvement of a transmembrane cysteine-rich short protein in the protection response. We found that mutating the genes encoding such two proteins hampered growth mainly under heat stress and also under UV and concluded that proteins of only 72 amino acids protect plants from an increase in reactive oxygen species, occurring following exposure to heat.

Leaf rust causes major yield losses in wheat, which is the third most important grain crop worldwide. Using transcriptomics approach, we studied the molecular mechanism of leaf rust resistance due to adult plant resistance (APR) gene Lr48. Some important genes involved in disease resistance, identified during the present study, may prove useful in breeding for APR against leaf rust in wheat.

We studied the times of day at which cryptochromes and phototropins participate in stomatal responses to light, by subjecting Arabidopsis mutants in these two photoreceptors to 11-h exposure to blue, red or green light. Under blue light, phototropins had relatively greater importance at the start of the photoperiod, whereas cryptochromes were important for stomatal opening throughout the photoperiod. This different timing of contributions by two families of photoreceptors to stomatal opening indicates that the mechanism is more complicated than usually assumed.

Cold tolerance in some plant species provides farmers to carry out agricultural activities in wintertime. The responses of winter-type plants to low temperature may represent great variation dependent on the cultivar and developmental manner and our results showed that simultaneous increases in the activities of some antioxidant enzymes led to less oxidative stress and relatively higher photosynthetic activity in the young and mature leaves of Hansen under low temperature. As a result, cultivation of Hansen may provide higher yield.

The photo–carbon imbalance is an important hypothesis to explain the rice leaf senescence mechanism. In this paper we first verified the photo–carbon imbalance hypothesis to explain the mechanism of rice leaf senescence using transgenic rice plants, which have different endogenous ascorbic acid as materials. Our results show that shading treatment on rice plants results in increased yields significantly, which may be explained by the proposed photo–carbon imbalance hypothesis.