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Background: Squamosa promoter-binding protein-like (SPL) is a plant-specific transcription factor that is widely involved in the regulation of plant growth and development, including flower and grain development, stress responses, and secondary metabolite synthesis. However, this gene family has not been comprehensively evaluated in barley, the most adaptable cereal crop with a high nutritional value. Results: In this study, a total of 15 HvSPL genes were identified based on the Hordeum vulgare genome. These genes were named HvSPL1 to HvSPL15 based on the chromosomal distribution of the HvSPL genes and were divided into seven groups (I, II, III, V, VI, VII, and VIII) based on the phylogenetic tree analysis. Chromosomal localization revealed one pair of tandem duplicated genes and one pair of segmental duplicated genes. The HvSPL genes exhibited the highest collinearity with the monocotyledonous plant, Zea mays (27 pairs), followed by Oryza sativa (18 pairs), Sorghum bicolor (16 pairs), and Arabidopsis thaliana (3 pairs), and the fewest homologous genes with Solanum lycopersicum (1 pair). The distribution of the HvSPL genes in the evolutionary tree was relatively scattered, and HvSPL proteins tended to cluster with SPL proteins from Z. mays and O. sativa, indicating a close relationship between HvSPL and SPL proteins from monocotyledonous plants. Finally, the spatial and temporal expression patterns of the 14 HvSPL genes from different subfamilies were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Based on the results, the HvSPL gene family exhibited tissue-specific expression and played a regulatory role in grain development and abiotic stress. HvSPL genes are highly expressed in various tissues during seed development. The expression levels of HvSPL genes under the six abiotic stress conditions indicated that many genes responded to stress, especially HvSPL8, which exhibited high expression under multiple stress conditions, thereby warranting further attention. Conclusion: In this study, 15 SPL gene family members were identified in the genome of Hordeum vulgare, and the phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, replication events, gene expression, and potential roles of these genes in millet development were studied. Our findings lay the foundation for exploring the HvSPL genes and performing molecular breeding of barley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone that plays an important role in plant resistance to drought, salinity, cold, and pathogens. It is also important for regulating plant growth and development. Pyrabactin resistance/pyr1-like/regulatory components of the ABA receptor (PYL/RCAR) are ABA receptor proteins in plants and the core of ABA signal transduction pathways in plant regulatory factors. At present, there are no reports on the PYL family of Tartary buckwheat. Results: In this study, 19 paralogous form PYL genes in buckwheat were identified at the whole-genome level and named FtPYL1-FtPYL19 according to their positions on chromosomes. We further analyzed the gene structure, conserved motifs, cis-acting elements, gene duplication, phylogenetic relationships, and expression patterns under different stress treatments and during grain development of the 19 paralogous form PYL genes in Tartary buckwheat. The FtPYL gene exhibits a single exonic gene structure for about 68.4% of the duplicated forms from the total paralogous forms. The remaining subfamilies, such as I and II, contain three exons and two exons (e.g., FtPYL19), respectively. Nineteen FtPYL genes were evenly distributed across the eight chromosomes, with at least one FtPYL gene on each chromosome. In the FtPYL gene family, there was one tandem repeat event and five gene duplication events. We investigated the gene expression levels of FtPYL gene under four abiotic stresses and different stages of grain development. Under drought stress (PEG6000), the relative expression levels of FtPYL14 and FtPYL15 increased by fourfold. Under high temperature stress (38℃), the relative expression level of FtPYL16 dropped to 0.12, and that of FtPYL17 fell to 0.22. At different stages of grain development, the gene expression level of FtPY15 is extremely high at 19 D. The relative expression level of FtPYL7 in roots and stems reaches up to approximately 450, and the relative expression level of FtPYL10 in 13 D also reaches up to 248. Summary: In this study, the PYL gene family of Tartary buckwheat was identified and analyzed based on the whole genome, and 19 paralogous form FtPYL genes of Tartary buckwheat were bioinformatically analyzed. The expression patterns of 19 paralogous form FtPYL genes in Tartary buckwheat cultivars under different stress treatments and during grain development were analyzed. It was found that the FtPYL gene played an important role in grain development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Rutin, a flavonoid rich in buckwheat, is important for human health and plant resistance to external stresses. The hydrolysis of rutin to quercetin underlies the bitter taste of Tartary buckwheat. In order to identify rutin hydrolysis genes, a 200 genotypes mini‐core Tartary buckwheat germplasm resource was re‐sequenced with 30‐fold coverage depth. By combining the content of the intermediate metabolites of rutin metabolism with genome resequencing data, metabolite genome‐wide association analyses (GWAS) eventually identified a glycosyl hydrolase gene FtGH1, which could hydrolyse rutin to quercetin. This function was validated both in Tartary buckwheat overexpression hairy roots and in vitro enzyme activity assays. Mutation of the two key active sites, which were determined by molecular docking and experimentally verified via overexpression in hairy roots and transient expression in tobacco leaves, exhibited abnormal subcellular localization, suggesting functional changes. Sequence analysis revealed that mutation of the FtGH1 promoter in accessions of two haplotypes might be necessary for enzymatic activity. Co‐expression analysis and GWAS revealed that FtbHLH165 not only repressed FtGH1 expression, but also increased seed length. This work reveals a potential mechanism behind rutin metabolism, which should provide both theoretical support in the study of flavonoid metabolism and in the molecular breeding of Tartary buckwheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oats (Avena sativa L.) are a widely consumed functional cereal grain worldwide and have recently gained increasing attention due to their numerous health benefits. Oats are an excellent natural source of bioactive compounds, including β-glucan, and have broad application prospects for the development of functional foods or health products to prevent and treat of diabetes. In this review, oat bioactive compounds, including proteins, peptides, amino acids, β-glucans, resistant starch, dietary fibers, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, avenanthramides, oat saponins, and β-sitosterol are summarized, and their important biological functions are discussed, focusing on the relevant mechanisms of action. Due to their various bioactive ingredients, oats exhibit antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, immunomodulatory, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-obesity, and cardioprotective properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutritional value of Tartary buckwheat is much higher than that of common buckwheat. Tartary buckwheat is rich in nutrients, some of them unique, and has good medicinal properties. It also serves as a good feed crop. This review aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive literature on Tartary buckwheat's active substances (proteins, polyphenols, D-chiro-inositol, fat-soluble substances, resistant starch, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins), medicinal value (e.g., prevention of AIDS, and prevention and treatment of cancer, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases) and nutritional effects (as an antioxidant, in lowering blood pressure, blood fat, and blood sugar, for detoxification and weight loss), etc., and research activities connected to Tartary buckwheat and its health effects in China and abroad. This review is expected to present a reference for the further development and utilization of Tartary buckwheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino acid transporters play important roles in plant growth and stress tolerance; however, whether the abscisic acid signaling pathway regulates their transcription in rice (Oryza sativa) under salt stress remains unclear. In this study, we report that the transcription factor OsMYB2 (MYB transcription factor 2) of the abscisic acid signaling pathway mediates the expression of the gene encoding the amino acid transporter OsANT1 (aromatic and neutral amino acid transporter 1), which positively regulates growth and salt tolerance in rice. OsANT1 was mainly expressed in the leaf blade and panicle under normal conditions and transports leucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine and proline, positively regulating tillering and yield in rice. Nevertheless, salt stress induced the accumulation of abscisic acid and strongly increased the expression level of OsANT1 in the root, resulting in enhanced salt tolerance of rice seedlings, as evidenced by higher proline concentration and antioxidant-like enzyme activities and lower malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide concentrations. Moreover, we showed that OsMYB2 interacts with the promoter of OsANT1 and promotes its expression. Overexpression of OsMYB2 also improved tillering, yield, and salt tolerance in rice. In conclusion, our results suggest that the transcription factor OsMYB2 triggers OsANT1 expression and regulates growth and salt tolerance in rice, providing insights into the role of the abscisic acid signaling pathway in the regulatory mechanism of amino acid transporters in response to salt stress., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Plant Biologists.)

Kam sweet rice is a cultural treasure in Qiandongnan, Guizhou Province. However, the situation with low yield and economic value in Kam sweet rice urgently requires improved mechanistic understanding of tillering to increase its yield. In this study, we found that the rate of axillary bud elongation differed significantly among Kam sweet rice varieties, which was positively correlated with tiller number. Transcriptome analysis suggests that genes involved in nitrogen metabolism and plant hormone signaling pathways could be the main reasons for the differences in tillering among these varieties. The amino acid transporter OsAAP11 in the transcriptome was essential for bud outgrowth and rice tillering based on the phenotypic performance of its transgenic plants. Further results found that OsAAP11 was able to transport amino acids such as proline, glycine, and alanine in rice. Natural variations were found in the promoter region of this gene in different Kam sweet rice varieties, which may lead to differences in the transcription levels of OsAAP11. Overall, the results suggest that the natural variations of OsAAP11 in rice might lead to variations in its expression levels, further affecting bud outgrowth and tillering through regulating the transport and accumulation of amino acids., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)