Regulatory Mechanisms of Calcineurin B-Like Proteins (CBLs) in Plant Stress Tolerance: A Review

Smart Scaffolds: How WD40 Proteins Integrate Plant Development, Metabolism, and Stress Adaptation.

A review of WD40 repeat proteins strengthens current findings relating their structural properties, molecular mechanisms, and functional diversity, underscoring their potential as targets for developing stress-resilient, high-yield crops in a changing climate.

Cold stress tolerance in pepper: role of transcription factors in molecular signaling and adaptive responses

By elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying cold stress responses, it offers key perspectives for the breeding of climate-tolerant pepper varieties to ensure sustainable agricultural production.

Functional identification of the bHLH transcription factor MdSAT1 in response to Zn stress in apple

Genome-Wide Analysis of the PYL Gene Family and Its Expression Dynamics in Response to Abscisic Acid in Tomato

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role throughout the plant life cycle and in adaptive responses to environmental stresses. The pyrabactin resistance 1-like (PYR/PYL/RCAR) proteins act as key regulators in the ABA signal transduction pathway by functioning as direct receptors for ABA. Although PYL genes have been identified in a variety of plant species, their evolutionary and structural characteristics in tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) remain elusive. To address this gap, we identified nine SlPYL genes, which were classified into three subfamilies: I (two genes), II (three genes), and III (four genes), and their encoded proteins were predicted to be primarily localized in the cytosol and chloroplast. Structural analysis revealed diverse exon–intron organizations along with five conserved motifs. All identified SlPYLs contained the START domain (PF10604), validating their identity as actual PYL proteins. Prediction of cis-acting regulatory elements in SlPYL’s promoter regions was found to be associated with light responsiveness, hormone signaling, stress responses, and plant growth and development. Prediction of post-translational modification sites indicated that SlPYLs are predominantly phosphorylated and acetylated at serine and lysine residues, respectively. Tertiary structure modeling demonstrated conserved three-dimensional architectures among SlPYL proteins, supporting their functional conservation. Expression profiling revealed that specific SlPYL genes exhibit distinct expression patterns across different tissues (root, leaf, and bud) following ABA treatment, indicating functional diversification. Considering the well-established negative correlation between ABA accumulation and bud outgrowth, the ABA-induced differential expression (3~5-fold) of some SlPYL genes (SlPYL3, SlPYL4, SlPYL7, and SlPYL8), particularly in bud tissues after 24 hpt, suggests a potential role in ABA-mediated suppression of bud outgrowth. However, these functional inferences are primarily based on genome-wide computational analyses and expression profiling and therefore require further experimental validation.

Functional Divergence of DREB Transcription Factors in Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance: A Mini-Review

Heavy Metal-Associated Isoprenylated Plant Proteins (HIPPs): Multifunctional Regulators of Metal Homeostasis, Abiotic/Biotic Stress Responses, and Plant Development

: Heavy metal-associated isoprenylated plant proteins (HIPPs) are a class of vascular plant specific metallochaperones, characterized by the presence of one or two N-terminal heavy metal-associated (HMA) domains and a C-terminal isoprenylation motif (CaaX). The HMA domain contains a conserved CysXXCys motif that is responsible for binding transition metals such as Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ . The CaaX motif modulates post-translational prenylation that anchors HIPPs to membranes and facilitates protein-protein interactions. This review systematically summarizes the structural features and multifaceted functions of HIPPs in plants. Beyond their well known function in heavy metal detoxification, HIPPs are more recently recognized as key regulators of abiotic stress responses, including drought, cold, and salinity, and biotic stress resistance via interactions with pathogen effectors. Moreover, HIPPs also participate in plant growth and development and in hormone signaling, including the cytokinin and abscisic acid (ABA) pathways. Translating this knowledge holds great promise for developing stress-tolerant crop varieties, breeding low-cadmium crops, and advancing phytoremediation technologies.