Aug 2026· New Phytologist· Vol 252, pp. 192 - 208· 0 citations· 56 references
Medicine
TL;DR
Sulfur availability is a major modulator of iron-responsive phenotypic, transcriptional, and metabolic traits in durum wheat and provides a systems-level framework for future functional studies of Fe/S crosstalk.
Abstract
Reciprocal iron–sulfur regulation in durum wheat converges on a few metabolic hubs that integrate nutrient status with plant growth and performance. Iron and sulfur availabilities were factorially modulated in hydroponically grown wheat to establish how each nutrient and their interaction shape growth, ionome, amino acid and organic acid metabolism, and the expression of key S‐ and Fe‐homeostasis genes. Sulfur availability strongly shaped plant responses to iron availability, determining biomass allocation, ionomic patterns, and the expression of sulfate transporters, sulfur‐assimilatory enzymes, and iron homeostasis genes. Metabolomics highlighted citrate, O‐acetylserine, and methionine as root metabolites most consistently associated with combined Fe × S treatments. Correlation analysis linked these variables with markers of sulfate transport and assimilation, defining a reproducible interaction signature across biological layers. Sulfur deficiency, especially when combined with low iron, also increased free asparagine accumulation in vegetative tissues, indicating a strong reallocation in nitrogen metabolism under dual stress. Sulfur availability is a major modulator of iron‐responsive phenotypic, transcriptional, and metabolic traits in durum wheat and provides a systems‐level framework for future functional studies of Fe/S crosstalk.
It is proposed that sulfur metabolism should be viewed as a dynamic resource allocation network rather than a linear assimilation pathway, to help identify regulatory variants that improve sulfur-use efficiency, stress resilience, immunity, and grain quality without compromising yield stability.
F. Rauf, Hakim Zamir, Hussam Ahmad et al.· Molecular Biotechnology· 0 citations
Combined stress more strongly inhibited plant height, stem diameter, fresh weight, net photosynthetic rate, and transpiration rate than single stresses, and insights into alfalfa adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses are provided.
Lihe Su, Yong-Cheng Chen, Xudong Zhang et al.· Journal of Agricultural and...· 0 citations
The novel synthesis offered here repositions epigenetic regulation, specifically H3K27ac and H3K27me3 dynamics at NRT2 , GS, and storage protein loci, as a principal determinant of cultivar‐specific nitrogen use efficiency operating independently of DNA sequence variation.
Baber Ali, Zeeshan Khan, N. Imin· Journal of Sustainable Agric...· 0 citations
This research provides systematic experimental evidence for elucidating tea plants' adaptive mechanisms to pH, laying a theoretical foundation for precision management of tea plantation soils and targeted regulation of tea leaf quality.
C. Pengyuan, L. Shaoxiong, G. Junbin et al.· Plant Science Today· 0 citations
Onion bulb quality is largely defined by non-structural carbohydrates, phenolic antioxidants, and sulfur-containing flavor precursors, yet integrative evidence on how these domains respond to nitrogen imbalance under controlled conditions remains limited. A pot experiment applied four ammonium nitrate levels (N1–N4; 0.5–4.0 g NH4NO3 per pot) to two contrasting onion varieties (hybrid Hytech F1 and landrace Birnenförmige). Bulb morphology and quality traits were quantified alongside tissue elemental C:N ratios and a targeted trait–metabolite matrix covering carbohydrates, amino acids (including Allium-specific alk(en)yl cysteine sulfoxides, ACSOs), organic acids and other primary metabolites, as well as flavonoids, driven by higher dry matter and fructan-rich reserve pools in Birnenförmige versus higher soluble sugars and nitrogen-status metabolites in Hytech. Along the nitrogen gradient, bulb growth followed a non-linear response, peaking at intermediate supply and declining under oversupply, with a stronger high-N penalty in Hytech. Nitrogen oversupply increased nitrate and free amino acid pools and lowered elemental bulb C:N ratios, while total phenolic content and quercetin glycoside levels declined. In contrast, relative levels of putatively annotated ACSO-like compounds increased as pyruvate-based pungency decreased, consistent with a compositional decoupling between sulfur-containing compound profiles and the pyruvate-based pungency signal under high N. Together, the results identify variety-specific thresholds and coordinated trade-offs linking nitrogen status to growth and the major quality-related metabolic domains in onion bulbs.
M. L. Romo-Pérez, C. H. Weinert, B. Egert et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
These findings demonstrate that GmHMGR6 enhances soybean salt tolerance through coordinated regulation of nitrogen metabolism, nodulation, and photosynthetic performance.
