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Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621010, People's Republic of China.

WRKY transcription factors play a key role in the tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses across various crop species, but the function of some WRKY genes, particularly in tomato, remains unexplored. Here we characterize the roles of a previously unstudied WRKY gene, SlWRKY8, in the resistance to pathogen infection and the tolerance to drought and salt stresses. Expression of SlWRKY8 was up-regulated upon Pseudomonas syringae pv. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):472

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):4-6

Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

There seems to be no report in the literature on the effect of melatonin (MT) in relieving the detrimental effects of combined application of salt stress (SS) and iron deficiency (ID). Furthermore, the effect of MT on the accumulation/synthesis of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulphide (H S) and how far these molecules are involved in MT-improved tolerance to the combined application of ID and SS in pepper (Capsicum annuum L) were tested. Hence, two individual trials were set up. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.

Abscisic acid (ABA) may play roles in mediating cross stress tolerance in plants. The objectives of this study were to investigate the priming effects of drought and ABA on heat tolerance and to determine how ABA may be involved in enhanced heat tolerance by drought. Focusing on the transcriptional level, two independent experiments were conducted, using a perennial grass species, tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and Arabidopsis. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Environmental Solution Technology, Ryukoku University, 1-5 Yokotani, Seta-Oe, Otsu, 520-2194, Japan.

Daphne pseudomezereum A. Gray (Dpm) appears to be the only woody species in the north temperate forest that sheds its leaves in the summer while remaining green over winter (i.e. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.

Auxin/indole-3-acetic acid proteins (Aux/IAAs) play important roles in auxin signaling pathways, with extensive involvement in plant development and plant response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Manihot esculenta (Cassava) is one of the most important biomass energy crops in tropical regions, however, the information about Aux/IAA proteins remain limited in cassava. In this study, 37 MeAux/IAA gene family members were identified in cassava and a phylogenetic analysis was performed. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon CNRS, INRA, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France.

Split-root system has been developed to better understand plant response to environmental factors, by exposing two separate parts of a single root system to heterogeneous situations. Surprisingly, there is no study attempting to maximize plant survival, growth and root system structure through a statistically sound comparison of different experimental protocols. Here, we aim at optimizing split-root systems on the model plant for Poaceae and cereals Brachypodium distachyon in terms of plant survival, number of roots and their equal distribution between the two compartments. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Apr;165(4):671-672

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden.

It is difficult to overstate the role of wood in the story of humanity. In times that predate recorded history it provided shelter from the elements, light and warmth when burned, and a supple material with which early humans could craft their first tools. Today, it is still one of our chief building materials and an emerging industry is extending its applications through the development of novel biomaterials, such as cellulose fiber-derived nanocomposites. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 26. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Plant Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, 06006, Spain.

Phytosterols are lipophilic membrane components essential not only for diverse cellular functions but also are biosynthetic precursors of the plant hormone, brassinosteroid (BR). However, the interaction between phytosterol and BR during early fleshy-fruit growth remains largely uncharacterized. In olive, phytosterols are important lipids because they affect oil quality, but phytosterol composition during flowering and early fruit development has not been explored. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 21095, China.

To explore the mechanisms of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-improved plant salt tolerance, strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. 'Benihoppe') were treated with 10 mg l ALA under 100 mmol l NaCl stress. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Crop Improvement Division, ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli, India.

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a complex stress related process regulated by numerous biological factors. SE is mainly applicable to mass propagation and genetic improvement of plants through gene transfer technology and induced mutations. In banana, SE is highly genome dependent as the efficiency varies with cultivars. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 25;166(1):392-402. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.

The photosynthetic electron transport chain (PETC) provides energy and redox equivalents for carbon fixation by the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. Both of these processes have been thoroughly investigated and the underlying molecular mechanisms are well known. However, it is far from understood by which mechanisms it is ensured that energy and redox supply by photosynthesis matches the demand of the downstream processes. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):336-350

Applied Science and Technology Department-BioSolar Lab, Politecnico di Torino, 10144, Torino, Italy.

About 475 million years ago, plants originated from an ancestral green alga and evolved first as non-vascular and later as vascular plants, becoming the primary producers of biomass on lands. During that time, the light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), responsible for sunlight absorption and excitation energy transfer to the photosystem II (PSII) core, underwent extensive differentiation. Lhcb4 is an ancestral LHCII that, in flowering plants, differentiated into up to three isoforms, Lhcb4. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):120-133

Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia.

Here, we summarize diverse evidence from species that belong to the genus Tradescantia, which we propose as handy and versatile models for studies of the ecology of photosynthesis and the mechanisms of photoacclimation in higher plants. A valuable feature of this genus is the amazingly broad range of ecological niches occupied by its species: from shady understory of tropical rainforest to deserts and semideserts. The former habitats demand shade tolerance (e. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Key Laboratory of Marine Food Quality and Hazard Controlling Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.

Abiotic stresses usually affect plant growth and development, indirectly or directly causing crop production reduction and even plant death. To survive, plants utilize different mechanisms to adapt themselves to continuously changing surrounding environmental stresses. Homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factors are unique to the plant kingdom and divided into four different subfamilies (HD-Zip I∼IV). Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China.

Aluminum (Al ) toxicity in acidic soils limits crop productivity worldwide. In this study, we found that putrescine (PUT) significantly alleviates Al toxicity in rice roots. The addition of 0. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 25;166(1):73-87. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.

Uncovering the parameters underlying the electron transfer (ET) in photosynthetic reaction centres is of importance for understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning their functionality. The reductive nature of most cofactors involved in photosynthetic ET makes the direct estimation of their properties difficult. Photosystem I (PSI) operates in a highly reducing regime, making the assessment of cofactor properties even more difficult. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 4;166(1):44-59. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 560-0043, Japan.

The optimized geometries of the CaMn O (X = 5, 6) cluster in the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) by large-scale quantum mechanics (QM) and molecular mechanics (MM) calculations are compared with recent serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) results for the S (i = 0-3) states. The valence states of four Mn ions by the QM/MM calculations are also examined in relation to the experimental results by the X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) for the S intermediates. Geometrical and valence structures of right-opened Mn-hydroxide, Mn-oxo and Mn-peroxide intermediates in the S state are investigated in detail in relation to recent SFX and XES experiments for the S state. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar 7. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Centre of Advance Study in Botany, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India.

In agriculture, heat stress (HS) has become one of the eminent abiotic threats to crop growth, productivity and nutritional security because of the continuous increase in global mean temperature. Studies have annotated that the heat stress response (HSR) in plants is highly conserved, involving complex regulatory networks of various signaling and sensor molecules. In this context, the ubiquitous-signaling molecules salicylic acid (SA) and nitric oxide (NO) have diverted the attention of the plant science community because of their putative roles in plant abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):134-147

ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, Australia.

To better understand the coordination between dark and light reactions during the transition from C to C photosynthesis, we optimized a method for separating thylakoids from mesophyll (MC) and bundle sheath cells (BSCs) across different plant species. We grew six Paniceae grasses including representatives from the C , C -C and C photosynthetic types and all three C biochemical subtypes [nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent malic enzyme (NAD-ME) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)] in addition to Zea mays under control conditions (1000 μmol quanta m  s and 400 ppm of CO ). Proteomics analysis of thylakoids under native conditions, using blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), demonstrated the presence of subunits of all light-reaction-related complexes in all species and cell types. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 27;166(1):105-119. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.

The maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (as reflected by variable to maximum chlorophyll a fluorescence, F /F ) is regarded as one of the most important photosynthetic parameters. The genetic basis underlying natural variation in F /F , which shows low level of variations in plants under non-stress conditions, is not easy to be exploited using the conventional gene cloning approaches. Thus, in order to answer this question, we have followed another strategy: we used genome-wide association study (GWAS) and transgenic analysis in a rice mini-core collection. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 26;166(1):413-427. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

A sustainable society will have to largely refrain from the use of fossil carbon deposits. In such a regime, renewable electricity can be harvested as a primary source of energy. However, as for the synthesis of carbon-based materials from bulk chemicals, an alternative is required. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):264-277

Institute of Microbiology, CAS, Centrum Algatech, Třeboň, Czech Republic.

A proper spatial distribution of photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes - PPCs (photosystems, light-harvesting antennas) is crucial for photosynthesis. In plants, photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII) are heterogeneously distributed between granal and stromal thylakoids. Here we have described similar heterogeneity in the PSI, PSII and phycobilisomes (PBSs) distribution in cyanobacteria thylakoids into microdomains by applying a new image processing method suitable for the Synechocystis sp. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 25;166(1):438-450. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 40530, Sweden.

Climate change, energy use and food security are the main challenges that our society is facing nowadays. Biofuels and feedstock from microalgae can be part of the solution if high and continuous production is to be ensured. This could be attained in year-round, low cost, outdoor cultivation systems using strains that are not only champion producers of desired compounds but also have robust growth in a dynamic climate. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):451-459

Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK.

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are important RNA regulators in chloroplasts and mitochondria, aiding in RNA editing, maturation, stabilisation or intron splicing, and in transcription and translation of organellar genes. In this review, we summarise all PPR proteins documented so far in plants and the green alga Chlamydomonas. By further analysis of the known target RNAs from Arabidopsis thaliana PPR proteins, we find that all organellar-encoded complexes are regulated by these proteins, although to differing extents. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May;166(1):33-43

Department of Physical and Chemical Science, Università dell'Aquila, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.

Understanding the structural modification experienced by the Mn CaO oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II along the Kok-Joliot's cycle has been a challenge for both theory and experiments since many decades. In particular, differential infrared spectroscopy was extensively used to probe the surroundings of the reaction center, to catch spectral changes between different S-states along the catalytic cycle. Because of the complexity of the signals, only a limited quantity of identified peaks have been assigned so far, also because of the difficulty of a direct comparison with theoretical calculations. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 18;166(1):288-299. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, Umeå, SE-907 36, Sweden.

The PsbO protein is an essential extrinsic subunit of photosystem II, the pigment-protein complex responsible for light-driven water splitting. Water oxidation in photosystem II supplies electrons to the photosynthetic electron transfer chain and is accompanied by proton release and oxygen evolution. While the electron transfer steps in this process are well defined and characterized, the driving forces acting on the liberated protons, their dynamics and their destiny are all largely unknown. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 15;166(1):60-72. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

In nature, an oxo-bridged Mn CaO cluster embedded in photosystem II (PSII), a membrane-bound multi-subunit pigment protein complex, catalyzes the water oxidation reaction that is driven by light-induced charge separations in the reaction center of PSII. The Mn CaO cluster accumulates four oxidizing equivalents to enable the four-electron four-proton catalysis of two water molecules to one dioxygen molecule and cycles through five intermediate S-states, S  - S in the Kok cycle. One important question related to the catalytic mechanism of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) that remains is, whether structural isomers are present in some of the intermediate S-states and if such equilibria are essential for the mechanism of the O-O bond formation. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 18;166(1):22-32. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Institute of Plant Biology, Laboratory of Photosynthetic Membranes, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary.

Recent chlorophyll-a fluorescence yield measurements, using single-turnover saturating flashes (STSFs), have revealed the involvement of a rate-limiting step in the reactions following the charge separation induced by the first flash. As also shown here, in diuron-inhibited PSII core complexes isolated from Thermosynechococcus vulcanus the fluorescence maximum could only be reached by a train of STSFs. In order to elucidate the origin of the fluorescence yield increments in STSF series, we performed transient absorption measurements at 819 nm, reflecting the photooxidation and re-reduction kinetics of the primary electron donor P680. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar;165(3):445-447

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University 907 36, Umeå, Sweden.

Soils represent the largest and most stable carbon pools on Earth, exceeding even the carbon aggregate found in the atmosphere and global phytomass. However, our understanding of how CO travels from the soil to the atmosphere, and the role of plants in this journey, is not fully understood. An article in this issue of Physiologia Plantarum (Shimono et al. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Mar;165(3):448-450

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.

Circumnutation, the helical movement of organs, has been observed in diverse species of land plants. Whether circumnutation arises purely from internal growth oscillations or as a response to exogenous forces such as gravity is a subject of active debate. By observing rice seedlings grown under microgravity at the International Space Station (ISS) and analyzing the agravitropic lazy1 mutant, Kobayashi et al. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

College of Agronomy, Synergetic Innovation Centre of Henan Grain Crops and National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.

Seed germination, as an integral stage of crop production, directly affects Zea mays (maize) yield and grain quality. However, the molecular mechanisms of seed germination remain unclear in maize. We performed comparative transcriptome analysis of two maize inbred lines, Yu82 and Yu537A, at two stages of seed germination. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Metabolic and Structural Biology, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow, 226015, India.

Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is considered as Rasayana in Indian systems of medicine. This study reports a novel transcriptome of W. somnifera berries, with high depth, quality and coverage. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Key Laboratory of Forest Biotechnology in Yunnan, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan 650224, P.R. China.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, but their shoot buds develop very slowly. Information about the sugar storage and metabolism during the shoot growth is lacking. In the present study, we determined the activity of sucrose and starch metabolizing enzymes during the developmental period of Fargesia yunnanensis from shoot buds to the young culms that have achieved their full height. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 10. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.

Organic acids are important components of overall fruit quality through flavor, taste, nutritional and medicinal values. Pollinated fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit quality is enhanced by increased acidity. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 27;166(1):320-335. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Biology Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia.

Mechanisms of the complex formation between plastocyanin and cytochrome f in higher plants (Spinacia oleracea and Brassica rapa), green microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and two species of cyanobacteria (Phormidium laminosum and Nostoc sp.) were investigated using combined Brownian and molecular dynamics simulations and hierarchical cluster analysis. In higher plants and green algae, electrostatic interactions force plastocyanin molecule close to the heme of cytochrome f. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Molecular Physiology and Proteomics Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India.

Climatic fluctuations are a major global concern, affecting the agronomic productivity of plants. Hippophae rhamnoides a naturally growing stress tolerant Himalayan shrub was chosen to understand its stress hardiness mechanism. Comparative proteomic and biochemical analysis were done for pooled berry populations (HrB13 and HrB14) growing in two different environmental conditions. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Bioscience Institute, São Paulo State University (UNESP), São Vicente, 11330-900, Brazil.

Salinity commonly affects photosynthesis and crop production worldwide. Salt stress disrupts the fine balance between photosynthetic electron transport and the Calvin cycle reactions, leading to over-reduction and excess energy within the thylakoids. The excess energy triggers reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction that causes photoinhibition in both photosystems (PS) I and II. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.

In plants, CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASES (CDPKs/CPKs) are involved in calcium signaling in response to endogenous and environmental stimuli. Here, we report that ZmCPK11, one of maize CDPKs, participates in salt stress response and tolerance. Salt stress induced expression and upregulated the activity of ZmCPK11 in maize roots and leaves. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 4;166(1):460-471. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK.

Mimicking photosynthesis in generating chemical fuels from sunlight is a promising strategy to alleviate society's demand for fossil fuels. However, this approach involves a number of challenges that must be overcome before this concept can emerge as a viable solution to society's energy demand. Particularly in artificial photosynthesis, the catalytic chemistry that converts energy in the form of electricity into carbon-based fuels and chemicals has yet to be developed. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 18;166(1):428-437. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

SynthSys and Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3BF, UK.

The rapid and widespread adoption of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas technologies has allowed genetic editing in plants to enter a revolutionary new era. In this mini review, we highlight the current CRISPR/Cas tools available in plants and the use of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model to guide future improvements in crop yields, such as enhancing photosynthetic potential. We also outline the current socio-political landscape for CRISPR/Cas research and highlight the growing need for governments to better facilitate research into plant genetic-editing technologies. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 6;166(1):181-198. Epub 2019 Mar 6.

Institute of Basic Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia.

The review covers data representing the plastoquinone pool as the component integrated in plant antioxidant defense and plant signaling. The main goal of the review is to discuss the evidence describing the plastoquinone-involved biochemical reactions, which are incorporated in maintaining the sustainability of higher plants to stress conditions. In this context, the analysis of the reactions of various redox forms of plastoquinone with oxygen species is presented. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

Tryptophan is one of the amino acids that cannot be produced in humans and has to be acquired primarily from plants. In Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), the tryptophan synthase beta subunit (TSB) genes have been found to catalyze the biosynthesis of tryptophan. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of two TSB genes from Brassica oleracea (broccoli), designated BoTSB1 and BoTSB2. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 27;166(1):351-364. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 20133, Milan, Italy.

The emission spectra collected under conditions of open (F ) and closed (F ) photosystem II (PSII) reaction centres are close-to-independent from the excitation wavelength in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella sorokiniana, whereas a pronounced dependence is observed in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Synechococcus PCC7942, instead. The differences in band-shape between the F and F emission are limited in green algae, giving rise only to a minor trough in the F /F spectrum in the 705-720 nm range, irrespectively of the excitation. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 May 27;166(1):165-180. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Department of Chemistry, Chemical Biological Centre, Umeå University, S-90187, Umeå, Sweden.

High solar flux is known to diminish photosynthetic growth rates, reducing biomass productivity and lowering disease tolerance. Photosystem II (PSII) of plants is susceptible to photodamage (also known as photoinactivation) in strong light, resulting in severe loss of water oxidation capacity and destruction of the water-oxidizing complex (WOC). The repair of damaged PSIIs comes at a high energy cost and requires de novo biosynthesis of damaged PSII subunits, reassembly of the WOC inorganic cofactors and membrane remodeling. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

Combined application of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilizer could significantly enhance crop yield. Crop yield and photosynthesis are inseparable. However, the influence of N and K interaction on photosynthesis is still not fully understood. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb;165(2):128-130

Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden.

With the changing climate, crops are facing mounting threats from multiple abiotic stresses, and studies that assess the response of plants to combinations, rather than to individual, abiotic stresses are becoming increasingly relevant. Bananas are one of the most globally important and popular food crops and their production is threatened by increasing heat and diminishing rainfall in tropical and subtropical regions. In pursuit of effective stress management strategies, Jangale et al. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 Feb;165(2):131-133

Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, 907 36 Umeå, Sweden.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare), a vital crop to the food and beverage industry, is highly vulnerable to unstable conditions on the climatic horizon. An article in this special issue of Physiologia Plantarum by Mahalingam and Bregitzer (2019) describes the impact that individual and combined stresses linked to climate change could have on the agronomic source of one of our favourite libations, as well as offering achievable solutions that will be needed if crop yield and quality are to be maintained. Read More

Physiol Plant 2019 02;165(2):125-127

Division of Plant Sciences, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and The Department of Surgery, University of Missouri School of Medicine. Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.