Freeze-thaw, alkaline salt, and Solanum rostratum Dunal often have adverse effects on the stability of grassland ecosystem in north-east China. Combined stress of freeze-thaw, alkaline salt, and S. rostratum extract have obvious physiological damage to rye (Secale cereale) seedlings. During periods of frequent freeze-thaw, it is important to implement timely and targeted control measures against S. rostratum to reduce the adverse effects of combined stress on grassland ecosystems.

Functional Plant Biology
Volume 52 Number 5 2025
Agriculture productivity depends on water availability. Crop water use efficiency can be increased by deficit irrigation but the effect may be influenced by light quality and quantity. This review explores overlapping signalling pathways and important bioactive molecules in plants under these factors. Plant responses to water deficit vary with light intensity and spectrum (UV, blue, red). Optimising horticultural production through controlled light and deficit irrigation shows promise, but further research is needed to enhance resource efficiency and crop nutritional value.
Polytrichum commune, a common moss, exhibits a distinct colour difference (green in shade and yellow-green in sun) within the same community. This study addressed the key question why the moss shifts its colour depending on light conditions and clarified how the moss changes its pigment composition and enhances photoprotection, leading to the colour shift. These findings highlight the intricate mechanisms plants use to thrive in varying light conditions, which could inspire advancements in plant science and ecology.
Light both supplies plants with energy and informs them of the environmental light conditions. Light information is obtained by an elaborate receptor system, which includes phytochromes. Phytochrome A, a major photoreceptor, was investigated, confirming its structural and functional heterogeneity and showing that the adaptation of a plant to the light environment includes redistribution of phytochomes between its native populations via their inter-transformations. This optimizes physiological processes in a plant, providing higher plants with evolutionary advantages.
Balanced nutrition ensures healthy growth in crops like wheat (Triticum aestivum) and other staple foods by improving nutrient use efficiency that is related to maximising yield while safeguarding natural resources and reducing environmental pollution. Improving nutrient use efficiency by crop breeding usually requires a lot destructive plant sampling and costly chemical analysis. Here, we propose a new method to significantly reduce the destructive sampling and support the breeding of more N efficient crops.
FP24201 Abstract | FP24201 Full Text | FP24201PDF (1.7 MB) | FP24201Supplementary Material (542 KB) Open Access Article
Cytoplasmic male sterility and fertility restoration is an important component of hybrid seed industry in rapeseed (Brassica napus), while its genetic and molecular mechanism is not yet clear. In this review, we discuss male sterility resources in rapeseed and modes of sterility induction, providing updated information of various CMS in Brassica and its implications in hybrid breeding.