Frontiers in Plant Science

Specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) are key leaf functional traits often used to reflect plant resource utilization strategies and predict plant responses to environmental changes. In general, grassland plants at different elevations exhibit varying survival strategies. However, it remains unclear how grassland plants adapt to changes in elevation and their driving factors. To address this issue, we utilized SLA and LDMC data of grassland plants from 223 study sites at different elevations in China, along with climate and soil data, to investigate variations in resource utilization strategies of grassland plants along different elevational gradients and their dominant influencing factors employing linear mixed-effects models, variance partitioning method, piecewise Structural Equation Modeling, etc. The results show that with increasing elevation, SLA significantly decreases, and LDMC significantly increases (P

Nitrogen (N) is the primary essential nutrient for ginseng growth, and a reasonable nitrogen application strategy is vital for maintaining the stability of soil microbial functional communities. However, how microbial-mediated functional genes involved…

Pathogens need to manipulate plant functions to facilitate the invasion of their hosts. They do this by secreting a cocktail of molecules called effectors. Studies of these molecules have mostly focused on the mechanisms underlying their recognition an…

Hippophae tibetana, belonging to the Elaeagnaceae family, is an endemic plant species of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, valued for its remarkable ecological restoration capabilities, as well as medicinal and edible properties. Despite being acknowledged as…

IntroductionUnderstanding how human activities affect biodiversity is needed to inform systemic policies and targets for achieving sustainable development goals. Shallow tillage to remove Artemisia ordosica is commonly conducted in the Mu Us Desert. Ho…

IntroductionFusarium wilt (FW) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc) is a destructive soil-borne disease in cucumber (Cucumis sativus. L). However, there remains limited knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying FW resistance-med…

The TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE-LIKE (TBL) gene encodes a class of proteins related to xylan acetylation, which has been shown to play an important role in plant response to environmental stresses. This gene family has been meticulously investigated in Arab…

Plant diseases caused by microbial pathogens pose a severe threat to global food security. Although genetic modifications can improve plant resistance; however, environmentally sustainable strategies are needed to manage plant diseases. Nano-enabled im…