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This may especially be the case for mechanistic mathematical modeling, and we spend some extra time discussing this. Through a more thorough appreciation and awareness of the power of different kinds of modeling in plant biology, we hope to facilitate interdisciplinary, transformative research.Agriophyllum squarrosum (L.) Moq., a pioneer plant endemic to the temperate deserts of Asia, could be domesticated into an ideal crop with outstanding ecological and medicinal characteristics. A previous study showed differential flavonoid accumulation between two in situ altitudinal ecotypes. To verify whether this accumulation was determined by environmental or genetic factors, we conducted flavonoid-targeted metabolic profiling among 14 populations of A. squarrosum collected from regions with different altitudes based on a common garden experiment. Results showed that the most abundant flavonoid in A. squarrosum was isorhamnetin (48.40%, 557.45 μg/g), followed by quercetin (13.04%, 150.15 μg/g), tricin (11.17%, 128.70 μg/g), isoquercitrin (7.59%, 87.42 μg/g), isovitexin (7.20%, 82.94 μg/g), and rutin (7.00%, 80.62 μg/g). However, based on a common garden at middle-altitude environment, almost none of the flavonoids was enriched in the high-altitude populations, and even some flavonoids, such as quercetin, tricin, and rutin, were significantly enriched in low-altitude populations. This phenomenon indicated that the accumulation of flavonoids was not a result of local adaptation to high altitude. Furthermore, association analysis with in situ environmental variables showed that the contents of quercetin, tricin, and rutin were strongly positively correlated with latitude, longitude, and precipitation gradients and negatively correlated with temperature gradients. Thus, we could conclude that the accumulations of flavonoids in A. squarrosum were more likely as a result of local adaption to environmental heterogeneity combined with precipitation and temperature other than high altitude. This study not only provides an example to understand the molecular ecological basis of pharmacognosy, but also supplies methodologies for developing a new industrial crop with ecological and agricultural importance.A lack of complete resistance in the current germplasm complicates the management of Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in soybean. In this study, we used bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) as a vehicle to down-regulate expression of a key enzyme in the production of an important virulence factor in S. sclerotiorum, oxalic acid (OA). Specifically, we targeted a gene encoding oxaloacetate acetylhydrolase (Ssoah1), because Ssoah1 deletion mutants are OA deficient and non-pathogenic on soybean. We first established that S. sclerotiorum can uptake environmental RNAs by monitoring the translocation of Cy3-labeled double-stranded and small interfering RNA (ds/siRNAs) into fungal hyphae using fluorescent confocal microscopy. This translocation led to a significant decrease in Ssoah1 transcript levels in vitro. Inoculation of soybean plants with BPMV vectors targeting Ssoah1 (pBPMV-OA) also led to decreased expression of Ssoah1. Importantly, pBPMV-OA inoculated plants showed enhanced resistance to S. sclerotiorum compared to empty-vector control plants. Our combined results provide evidence supporting the use of HIGS and exogenous applications of ds/siRNAs targeting virulence factors such as OA as viable strategies for the control of SSR in soybean and as discovery tools that can be used to identify previously unknown virulence factors.It is well known that S interacts with some macronutrients, such as N, P, and K, as well as with some micronutrients, such as Fe, Mo, Cu, Zn, and B. From our current understanding, such interactions could be related to the fact that (i) S shares similar chemical properties with other elements (e.g., Mo and Se) determining competition for the acquisition/transport process (SULTR transporter family proteins); (ii) S-requiring metabolic processes need the presence of other nutrients or regulate plant responses to other nutritional deficiencies (S-containing metabolites are the precursor for the synthesis of ethylene and phytosiderophores); (iii) S directly interacts with other elements (e.g., Fe) by forming complexes and chemical bonds, such as Fe-S clusters; and (iv) S is a constituent of organic molecules, which play crucial roles in plants (glutathione, transporters, etc.). This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of the interplay between Fe and S in plants. It has been demonstrated that plant ca within a context of limited nutrient resources and a more sustainable agriculture.Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.) is one of the important, nutritious and healthy vegetable crops grown and consumed worldwide. But its production is constrained by several destructive fungal diseases and most importantly, downy mildew leading to severe yield and quality losses. For sustainable cauliflower production, developing resistant varieties/hybrids with durable resistance against broad-spectrum of pathogens is the best strategy for a long term and reliable solution. Identification of novel resistant resources, knowledge of the genetics of resistance, mapping and cloning of resistance QTLs and identification of candidate genes would facilitate molecular breeding for disease resistance in cauliflower. Advent of next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS) and publishing of draft genome sequence of cauliflower has opened the flood gate for new possibilities to develop enormous amount of genomic resources leading to mapping and cloning of resistance QTLs. In cauliflower, several molecular rating marker technology with conventional breeding in the post-genomics era. All this information will undoubtedly provide new insights to the researchers in formulating future breeding strategies in cauliflower to develop durable resistant cultivars against the major pathogens in general and downy mildew in particular.Chia (Salvia hispanica L.), now a popular superfood and a pseudocereal, is one of the richest sources of dietary nutrients such as protein, fiber, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). At present, the genomic and genetic information available in the public domain for this crop are scanty, which hinders an understanding of its growth and development and genetic improvement. We report an RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq)-based comprehensive transcriptome atlas of Chia sampled from 13 tissue types covering vegetative and reproductive growth stages. We used ~355 million high-quality reads of total ~394 million raw reads from transcriptome sequencing to generate de novo reference transcriptome assembly and the tissue-specific transcript assemblies. After the quality assessment of the merged assemblies and implementing redundancy reduction methods, 82,663 reference transcripts were identified. About 65,587 of 82,663 transcripts were translated into 99,307 peptides, and we were successful in assigning InterPro annotations to 45,209 peptides and gene ontology (GO) terms to 32,638 peptides. The assembled transcriptome is estimated to have the complete sequence information for ~86% of the genes found in the Chia genome. Furthermore, the analysis of 53,200 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) revealed their distinct expression patterns in Chia's vegetative and reproductive tissues; tissue-specific networks and developmental stage-specific networks of transcription factors (TFs); and the regulation of the expression of enzyme-coding genes associated with important metabolic pathways. In addition, we identified 2,411 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) as potential genetic markers from the transcripts. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive transcriptome atlas, and SSRs, contributing to building essential genomic resources to support basic research, genome annotation, functional genomics, and molecular breeding of Chia.A 3-year phytotron study was conducted in Suwon (37.27°N, 126.99°E), Korea, to evaluate and model the effects of elevated temperature on rice-weed competition. The dry weight and the number of panicles in rice were the most susceptible components to weed interference during the early growth of rice, regardless of weed species, while other yield components, including the number of grains, % ripened grain, and 1000-grain weight, were more susceptible to elevated temperature. A rectangular hyperbolic model well demonstrated that rice grain yield was affected by weed interference under elevated temperature, showing that the competitiveness of late watergrass (Echinochloa oryzicola) and water chestnut (Eleocharis kuroguwai) increased under elevated temperature conditions. Quadratic and linear models well described the effects of elevated temperature on the weed-free rice grain yield and weed competitiveness values of the rectangular hyperbolic model for the two weed species, respectively. Thus, a combined rectangular hyperbolic model incorporated with the quadratic and linear models well demonstrated the effects of elevated temperature and weed interference on rice grain yield across years. Using the combined model and estimated parameters, the rice grain yields were estimated to be 58.9, 48.5, 41.3, and 35.9% of the yields under weed-free conditions for 80 plants m-2 of late watergrass and 86.8, 64.3, 51.1, and 42.3% of the yields under weed-free conditions for 80 plants m-2 of water chestnut at 1,300, 1,500, 1,700, and 1,900°C·days of accumulated growing degree days (GDD; from transplanting to flowering, 89 days), respectively. The combined model developed in this study can provide an empirical description of both the elevated temperature and weed interference effects on rice yield and can be used for predicting rice grain yields due to weed interference under future elevated temperature conditions.Commercial cultivation of the medicinal plant Atractylodes lancea is significantly restricted by low survival rates and reduced yields. Intercropping can reasonably coordinate interspecific interactions, effectively utilize environmental resources, and increase survival and yield. We conducted a field experiment from 2014 to 2016 to analyze the advantages and effects of intercropping on A. lancea survival, growth traits, individual volatile oil content, and total volatile oil content. In addition to A. lancea monoculture (AL), five intercropping combinations were planted Zea mays L. (ZM) + A. lancea, Tagetes erecta L. find more (TE) + A. lancea, Calendula officinalis L. (CO) + A. lancea, Glycine max (Linn.) Merr. (GM) + A. lancea, and Polygonum hydropiper L. (PH) + A. lancea. The survival and average rhizome weight of A. lancea was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture treatment, and the average plant height was higher in all intercropping treatments than in the monoculture. The volatile oil content of A. lancea from the ZM and CO treatments was significantly improved relative to that of monoculture plants. The volatile oil harvest was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture. We conclude that intercropping is an effective way to increase the survival and yield of A. lancea. Furthermore, intercropping with ZM, CO, and TE increases the harvest of four volatile oils from A. lancea.