Plants can talk: a new era in plant acoustics

[EN]Plants release chemical signals to interact with their environment when exposed to stress. Khait and colleagues unveiled that plants ‘verbalize’ stress by emitting airborne sounds. These can train machine learning models to identify plant stressors. This unlocks a new path in plant-environment interactions research with multiple possibilities for future applications

Silicon modification improves biochar’s ability to mitigate cadmium toxicity in tomato by enhancing root colonization of plant-beneficial bacteria

Modification of biochar, such as impregnation with minerals, can improve biochar’s efficacy to mitigate heavy metal toxicity in plants. Biochar amendments can alter plant rhizosphere microbiome, which has profound effects on plant growth and fitness. Here, we tested whether rhizosphere microbiome is involved in the ability of silicon (Si)-modified biochar to mitigate cadmium toxicity in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). We demonstrated that Si modification altered biochar’s physico-chemical properties and enhanced its ability to mitigate cadmium toxicity in tomato. Particularly, the Si-modified biochar contained higher content of Si and increased plant-available Si content in the soil. The rhizosphere microbiome transplant experiment showed that changes in rhizosphere microbiome contributed to the mitigation of cadmium toxicity by biochar amendments. The raw biochar and Si-modified biochar differently altered tomato rhizosphere bacterial community composition. Both biochars, especially the Si-modified biochar, promoted specific bacterial taxa (e.g., Sphingomonas, Lysobacter and Pseudomonas spp.). Subsequent culturing found these promoted bacteria could mitigate cadmium toxicity in tomato. Moreover, both biochars stimulated tomato to recruit plant-beneficial bacteria with Si-modified biochar having stronger stimulatory effects, indicating that the positive effects of biochar on plant-beneficial bacteria was partially mediated via the host plant. Overall, Si modification enhanced biochar’s ability to mitigate cadmium toxicity, which was linked to the stimulatory effects on plant-beneficial bacteria

Repeated Application of Rice Straw Stabilizes Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Inhibits Clubroot Disease

Straw amendment can improve soil properties and is an effective strategy to control soil-borne diseases. However, gramineous straw application to vegetable fields has rarely been studied. In this study, rice straw was added to the field of Chinese cabbage for one or two years (repeated), and Chinese cabbage plant growth, disease occurrence and changes in soil chemical properties were measured. In addition, the bacterial community composition of Chinese cabbage was analyzed using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results showed that rice straw application increased the content of available nutrients, pH and electrical conductivity, but decreased the diversity and richness of the bacterial community. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi were increased after repeated rice straw application, which were associated with the available potassium and pH in the soil. Network analysis revealed that rice straw amendment differentially affected the key bacterial genera. These results suggest that repeated application of rice straw changed the soil chemical properties and altered the bacterial community composition to suppress the clubroot disease incidence in Chinese cabbage

Repeated Application of Rice Straw Stabilizes Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Inhibits Clubroot Disease

Straw amendment can improve soil properties and is an effective strategy to control soil-borne diseases. However, gramineous straw application to vegetable fields has rarely been studied. In this study, rice straw was added to the field of Chinese cabbage for one or two years (repeated), and Chinese cabbage plant growth, disease occurrence and changes in soil chemical properties were measured. In addition, the bacterial community composition of Chinese cabbage was analyzed using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results showed that rice straw application increased the content of available nutrients, pH and electrical conductivity, but decreased the diversity and richness of the bacterial community. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi were increased after repeated rice straw application, which were associated with the available potassium and pH in the soil. Network analysis revealed that rice straw amendment differentially affected the key bacterial genera. These results suggest that repeated application of rice straw changed the soil chemical properties and altered the bacterial community composition to suppress the clubroot disease incidence in Chinese cabbage

Gene Expression and K+ Uptake of Two Tomato Cultivars in Response to Sub-Optimal Temperature

Sub-optimal temperatures can adversely affect tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) growth, and K+ plays an important role in the cold tolerance of plants. However, gene expression and K+ uptake in tomato in response to sub-optimal temperatures are still not very clear. To address these questions, one cold-tolerant tomato cultivar, Dongnong 722 (T722), and one cold-sensitive cultivar, Dongnong 708 (S708), were exposed to sub-optimal (15/10 °C) and normal temperatures (25/18 °C), and the differences in growth, K+ uptake characteristics and global gene expressions were investigated. The results showed that compared to S708, T722 exhibited lower reduction in plant growth rate, the whole plant K+ amount and K+ net uptake rate, and T722 also had higher peroxidase activity and lower K+ efflux rate under sub-optimal temperature conditions. RNA-seq analysis showed that a total of 1476 and 2188 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) responding to sub-optimal temperature were identified in S708 and T722 roots, respectively. Functional classification revealed that most DEGs were involved in “plant hormone signal transduction”, “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis”, “sulfur metabolism” and “cytochrome P450”. The genes that were significantly up-regulated only in T722 were involved in the “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis” and “plant hormone signal transduction” pathways. Moreover, we also found that sub-optimal temperature inhibited the expression of gene coding for K+ transporter SIHAK5 in both cultivars, but decreased the expression of gene coding for K+ channel AKT1 only in S708. Overall, our results revealed the cold response genes in tomato roots, and provided a foundation for further investigation of mechanism involved in K+ uptake in tomato under sub-optimal temperatures

Enhancing climate change resilience in agricultural crops

Climate change threatens global food and nutritional security through negative effects on crop growth and agricultural productivity. Many countries have adopted ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation targets that will exacerbate the problem, as they require significant changes in current agri-food systems. In this review, we provide a roadmap for improved crop production that encompasses the effective transfer of current knowledge into plant breeding and crop management strategies that will underpin sustainable agriculture intensification and climate resilience. We identify the main problem areas and highlight outstanding questions and potential solutions that can be applied to mitigate the impacts of climate change on crop growth and productivity. Although translation of scientific advances into crop production lags far behind current scientific knowledge and technology, we consider that a holistic approach, combining disciplines in collaborative efforts, can drive better connections between research, policy, and the needs of society