This review provides a comprehensive foundation for understanding the biology, phytochemistry, biotechnology, and utilization of this invaluable botanical resource, offering a strategic roadmap for its sustainable management and commercial valorization.
Abstract
Cryptomeria japonica var. sinensis Miquel (Chinese cedar) is an ecologically and economically vital evergreen conifer endemic to China. Renowned for its rapid growth and superior timber quality, the species has evolved from a traditional forestry resource into a multifaceted model species for phytochemistry and biotechnology. This review synthesizes recent advancements in its biology, chemical profiling, industrial utilization, and molecular breeding. Taxonomically and morphologically distinct from the Japanese variety, Chinese cedar exhibits robust physiological plasticity and complex transcriptomic responses to abiotic stresses. Phytochemically, the tree is a prolific reservoir of volatile essential oils, complex terpenoids, and flavonoids. These bioactive secondary metabolites demonstrate potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties, driving broad applications in modern pharmacology and sustainable agrochemicals. Industrially, the timber is increasingly utilized in the fabrication of advanced engineered structural composites and circular bioenergy production. Concurrently, breakthrough biotechnological platforms including a chromosome-level reference genome assembly, multi-omics, somatic embryogenesis, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing have advanced molecular breeding, accelerating the targeted development of climate-resilient and non-pollen-producing (hypoallergenic) elite cultivars. However, as global climate change and historical habitat fragmentation severely threaten ancient wild populations, this review advocates for integrated in situ and ex situ conservation strategies. By identifying critical research gaps in translational pharmacology, precision gene editing, and comparative genomics, this review provides a comprehensive foundation for understanding the biology, phytochemistry, biotechnology, and utilization of this invaluable botanical resource, offering a strategic roadmap for its sustainable management and commercial valorization.
Dendrocalamus strictus
(Roxb.) Nees is one of the most ecologically and economically important bamboo species in India, inhabiting approximately 53% of the bamboo-bearing area. Owing to its high biomass productivity, drought tolerance, carbon sequestration potential, versatile utility, and adaptability to degraded environments,
D. strictus
has emerged as an important species for supporting rural livelihoods, land restoration, and climate change mitigation. This review compiles and synthesizes information on the morphological, anatomical, phytochemical, physical, and mechanical properties of the species, as well as its reproductive biology, propagation techniques, agroforestry applications, carbon sequestration potential, and genomics. The available literature indicates that
D. strictus
is highly suitable for the reclamation of degraded lands and for soil and water conservation. Solid culms and favorable mechanical properties make it a promising substitute for timber in diverse applications. Among the existing propagation methods, tissue culture has emerged as the most efficient technique for large-scale plantation establishment. Plantations of
D. strictus
exhibit high carbon sequestration potential, often outperforming those of other bamboo species and teak, thereby highlighting its significance in climate change mitigation and land restoration initiatives. Agroforestry systems integrating
D. strictus
with crops such as ginger, turmeric, chickpea, and sesame have also demonstrated ample ecological and economic benefits. However, several knowledge gaps continue to hinder the effective utilization of this species. Although gregarious flowering events have been documented, the underlying mechanisms and regulation of flowering remain poorly understood, limiting improvement programs and effective plantation management. Furthermore, the polyploid nature of the species, coupled with the lack of comprehensive genomic resources, constrains investigations into the genetic basis of adaptive traits, evolutionary history, genetic diversity, epigenetic regulation, molecular drivers of flowering, advanced breeding strategies, and gene-editing applications. This review highlights the current state of knowledge, identifies critical research gaps, and provides a foundation for integrating silvicultural and genomic strategies to support the sustainable utilization and long-term conservation of
D. strictus
.
C. D. Sreedevi, D. James, V. Sreekumar et al.· Frontiers in Ecology and Evo...· 0 citations
Global agricultural productivity is increasingly threatened by climate change, soil salinization, and freshwater scarcity. In response, edible halophytes such as Crambe maritima L. (sea kale) are emerging as resilient, promising alternative crops for biosaline agriculture. This review comprehensively evaluates the agronomic, phytochemical, and commercial potential of C. maritima and related Crambe species. We examine current propagation protocols and highlight the application of controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) to leverage “saline eustress,” strategically enhancing secondary metabolite biosynthesis without penalizing harvestable biomass. Nutritionally, Crambe species exhibit a highly favorable profile, selectively accumulating essential macro- and micro-minerals alongside potent bioactive compounds, particularly characteristic glucosinolates, including sinigrin, together with diverse phenolic acids. These specific secondary metabolites confer antioxidant defense system and antimicrobial properties, positioning the genus as an unexploited resource for functional foods, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals. However, successfully transitioning C. maritima from a wild coastal halophyte into a reliable horticultural crop necessitates overcoming critical domestication bottlenecks, including mechanical seed dormancy, polygenic salinity tolerance, and a scarcity of long-term field data. By addressing these multidisciplinary challenges through targeted breeding and advanced agronomy, C. maritima represents a highly promising candidate for dietary diversification and the advancement of climate-resilient agricultural systems.
Tatiana Pagan Loeiro Cunha-Chiamolera, Ignacio Rodríguez-García, M. Urrestarazu et al.· Horticulturae· 0 citations
Bioprospecting of plant growth-promoting bacteria enables the identification of beneficial microbial resources with significant potential for sustainable agricultural applications. In this context, strain TRQ48 was isolated from a commercial field of wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) located in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico, with the aim of exploring its plant growth-promoting potential. The draft genome sequence presented a genomic size of 2,777,016 bp, 32.5% G + C content, 665,763 bp N50, 2 L50, and 19 contigs. Taxonomic affiliation demonstrated that strain TRQ48 belonged to Mammaliicoccus sciuri. Genome annotation identified 2756 coding DNA sequences (CDS) distributed into 259 subsystems, highlighting CDS associated with iron acquisition and metabolism, stress response, and virulence, disease, and defense, among others. Metabolic assays reflect the strain’s capacity to produce siderophores and auxins, relating these positive traits to significantly (p ≤ 0.05) promote growth of wheat shoot length (7.09%) and root and shoot dry weight (75% and 18.43%) compared to uninoculated wheat plants. Biosafety testing indicated that the strain is susceptible to commonly used antibiotics and lacks clinically relevant resistance profiles, matching genomic analysis, which did not reveal any critical virulence factors. Thus, although the presented results show that M. sciuri TRQ48 is a promising beneficial biosafe strain, further studies are still needed to evaluate its performance under agro-ecosystems at commercial levels.
América Lizeth Sánchez-Zúñiga, Luis Alberto González-Vázquez, Alina Escalante-Beltrán et al.· Agronomy· 0 citations
Tea gray blight, caused by the Pestalotiopsis-like species, poses a major threat to global tea production. The pathogen’s complexity, characterized by cryptic diversity (Pestalotiopsis, Pseudopestalotiopsis, and Neopestalotiopsis) and a dynamic ‘endophyte-pathogen’ lifestyle switch modulated by ecological factors, complicates effective control. Synthesizing recent breakthroughs in multi-omics and functional genomics, this review delineates a tripartite defense architecture in tea plants: (1) Signal-Epigenetic Coordination, featuring a unique spatiotemporal synergy between Salicylic Acid (SA) and Jasmonic Acid (JA), and a CsPRMT5-mediated histone methylation module that functions as a ‘molecular brake’ to fine-tune immune onset; (2) Metabolic Flux Redirection, wherein alternative splicing (e.g., CsDFR isoforms) acts as a rapid switch to prioritize the biosynthesis of high-potency esterified catechins and volatiles; and (3) Physical Reinforcement, driven by miRNA-regulated lignification (e.g., the miR397a-CsLAC17 module). To bridge the critical ‘translation gap’ between mechanistic discovery and field stability, we propose a closed-loop research framework. This roadmap integrates pan-genome taxonomy to resolve classification ambiguities, RNP-CRISPR gene editing to validate effector-receptor interactions, synthetic microbial communities for ecological engineering, and AI-driven precision management. This review not only decodes the molecular dialogue in the tea-Pestalotiopsis pathosystem but also provides a blueprint for leveraging systems biology to achieve resilient, quality-preserving disease control.
Qingtao Jiang, Chengcheng Yang, Xujie Wang et al.· Horticulture Research· 0 citations
Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.), a medicine-food homologous crop with high botanical diversity, is rich in polyphenols, pectin, ascorbic acid, and phytosterols. These bioactive compounds confer diverse pharmacological activities, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, metabolic regulation, cardiovascular protection, and antitumor effects. This review summarizes the botanical traits, resource distribution, and phytochemical profiles of
Actinidia
spp., and outlines key advances in propagation, breeding, and postharvest preservation. Recent genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data are integrated to dissect gene families and regulatory networks underlying fruit quality, stress tolerance, and bioactive compound biosynthesis in
A. chinensis
. Applications in functional foods and ecological agriculture are discussed, and future directions for sustainable utilization are proposed. This work provides a foundation for germplasm innovation, molecular breeding, and high-value kiwifruit utilization.
Xiao-xue Tian, Xin Liu, Tianzhen Wang et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A.Juss.) Müll.Arg., the world’s primary source of natural rubber, faces increasing threats from emerging diseases in tropical cultivation regions. During recent field surveys in Yunnan and Hainan provinces of China, previously uncharacterized brown, water-soaked necrotic lesions were observed on tender stems and leaves of rubber trees. This study aimed to identify the causal pathogen, characterize its biological traits, and evaluate candidate fungicides for disease management. The pathogen was isolated via tissue explant methods and identified through morphological observation combined with multigene phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA, and cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II (coxI and coxII) sequences. Pathogenicity was rigorously confirmed by fulfilling Koch’s postulates on rubber tree seedlings. The isolates produced spherical to ovoid, papillate sporangia, and phylogenetic reconstruction strongly supported clustering them with Phytopythium vexans. The pathogen grew optimally at 16–31 °C, with growth ceasing at 35 °C. Fungicide sensitivity assays revealed that metalaxyl exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity against mycelial growth, with half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) values as low as 0.04 μg/mL. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. vexans causing foliar and stem necrosis on H. brasiliensis. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for accurate disease diagnosis, epidemiological surveillance, and the development of effective chemical control strategies for rubber plantations.
Zhiying Cai, Lili He, Liming Dai et al.· Plants· 0 citations
A new method for surgically removing training examples from a model reveals that as datasets grow, the link between what a model learns and what it produces dissolves.
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduAug 17, 2026
