The demand for rice (Oryza sativa L.) is likely to increase with increase the world’s population necessitating a hike in its production to at least 1.5 times by the year 2050. However, such an increase in production is unlikely by the ongoing rice breeding programmes, as reflected from the rice production figures of the last two decades. Nonetheless, several genes determining the sink strength have been discovered, the biotechnological manipulation of which may be helpful in pushing-up the rice production figure significantly.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an important vegetable and spice crop in China, and its fresh rhizome is consumed as vegetable. However, the loss of edible quality of rhizome accelerated caused by tissue lignification at the later stage of rhizome development. In this paper, we investigate lignin accumulation patterns and identify the key genes involved in lignin biosynthesis, and verify the function of CSE genes. Our result provides molecular basis for lignin accumulation during ginger rhizome growth.

This study has performed a meta-analysis of transcriptomic responses to cold stress in plants identifying candidate genes for genetic improvement of cold stress tolerance in crops. Ethylene modulates defensive responses against cold stress. Several transcription factor families showed a key role in cold stress responses in plants: WRKY, AP2-EREBP, HSF, PHOR1. A model of gene regulatory networks underlying plant responses to cold stress was developed.

Tolerance to frost and seedling diseases is an essential trait for cereal wintering. This paper presents the first non-gel profiling of triticale genotypes with extreme tolerance/susceptibility to freezing and snow mould infection. As a result, differential cold-induced changes in leaf compounds, including candidate protein biomarkers of stress tolerance, were identified.

This is the first study on the molecular mechanisms underlying seed dormancy in dimorphic seeds of Xanthium strumarium (L.) confirmed the positive regulation of seed dormancy by DOG1. We hypothesised that differences in energy metabolism, ABA biosynthesis, and auxin signalling between two seeds affects a vast spectrum of seed dormancy and seed development mechanisms through reprogramming of gene expression patterns using epigenetic network and RNA splicing.