All Cover Illustrations

Volume 24, Issue 5, May 2025
Plant biomass, a pivotal agronomic trait, has undergone rigorous human selection aimed at enhancing yield. Despite gaining substantial attention, the underlying mechanisms regulating biomass formation remain largely unexplored. In this study, the authors isolated a cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mutant, minicuke, exhibiting a remarkable reduction in biomass. The causative gene was identified as CsNMT1, a homologue of the Arabidopsis thaliana N-myristoyltransferase1. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing unambiguously confirmed the pivotal role of CsNMT1 in regulating biomass accumulation. Multi-omics analyses, integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic data, revealed suppression of a very early step in lignin biosynthesis and the corresponding down-regulation of genes involved in this process in the minicikue mutant. This suggests an unexpected pathway for regulating biomass accumulation through lignin sink strength. The authors’ findings elucidate the role of NMT1 in regulating plant biomass and highlight its promising potential for biomass improvement in cucurbits. The cover photo was provided by Dr. Xin Liu from Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, CAAS, China. For more details, please see pages 1754–1768.

Volume 24, Issue 4, Apr. 2025
Climate change represents a formidable challenge, confronting humanity on a global scale. China has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to addressing this pressing issue and has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The livestock sector is one of the major sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) and plays a critical role in climate change and environmental sustainability. As demand for animal products rises due to population growth, urbanization, and increasing incomes — accompanied by changes in daily diets, the livestock industry faces growing pressure to lower its carbon footprint. In recent years, China has made significant efforts to reduce GHG emissions, particularly from livestock husbandry. The goal of this Special Issue is to explore innovative strategies that reduce GHG emissions from livestock while maintaining or increasing animal production and optimizing feeding costs. Research articles in this Special Issue highlight strategies to optimize livestock production systems, select for advantageous animal genetics, formulate balanced diets, and use additives that can reduce GHG emissions from animals. The work discussed in this Special Issue delivers an important message: Substantial reductions in GHG emissions and increases in profitability can be achieved through targeted animal nutrition strategies. This information provides practical insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, contributing to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. The cover photo, provided by Mr. Lang Tan from Qinghai University and Prof. Yanfen Cheng from Nanjing Agricultural University, China, depicts the livestock landscape from pastoral grazing. It vividly illustrates the GHG emissions from animals and highlights both the challenges and opportunities in balancing livestock production with environmental sustainability. See pages 1217–1341 for details.

Volume 24, Issue 3, Mar. 2025
Grasslands are among the largest terrestrial ecosystems, providing critical ecological, economic, and cultural services worldwide. However, they face mounting challenges from climate change, overgrazing, and land-use changes, which threaten biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and the livelihoods they support. The goal of this Special Issue focuses on understanding their dynamics, drivers of change, and adaptive management strategies to ensure long-term sustainability. Empirical evidence in this Special Focus highlights that grazing exclusion, balanced nutrient management, and mixed grazing practices can significantly enhance soil organic carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience, while addressing socio-economic demands. On ecosystem drivers, the studies reveal how grazing practices, desertification, and nutrient inputs shape microbial diversity, plant-soil interactions, and greenhouse gas emissions. On restoration, the papers demonstrate that interdisciplinary approaches, such as remote sensing and spatial modeling, are essential for optimizing conservation strategies. The cover photo, provided by Dr. Tong Li from the University of Queensland, Australia and Prof. Huakun Zhou from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, showcases grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, including natural, degraded, grazed, and restored landscapes. It vividly illustrates the challenges and opportunities in managing grasslands under changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. See pages 795–983 for details.

Volume 24, Issue 2, Feb. 2025
Modern commercial tomato fruit products have substantially less flavor than those from heirloom varieties. A better understanding of the key genes that regulate flavor in tomato would help to restore the quality of fruit for commercial production worldwide. CONSTANS (CO) and CONSTANS-LIKE (COL) transcription factors are known to regulate a series of cellular processes, including the transition from vegetative growth to flower development in plants. However, their role in regulating the fruit chlorophyll content is poorly understood. In this study, SlCOL1, the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ortholog of Arabidopsis CONSTANS, was shown to play key roles in controlling fruit chlorophyll. An analysis of protein–protein interactions indicated that SlCOL1 regulates chlorophyll accumulation in tomato fruit by interacting with SlGLK2, and SlCOL1 and SlBBX24 may control it by promoting the stability of SlGLK2. Meanwhile, we also found GLK2 is required for the function of SlCOL1 in regulating chlorophyll content. These results shed new light on the mechanisms used by COL1 and GLK2 to regulate fruit development and chlorophyll accumulation in tomato. Thus, the fine tuning of SlCOL1 expression could potentially improve the chlorophyll content of tomato fruit. The cover photo was provided by Prof. Junhong Zhang, National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Huazhong Agricultural University, China. For more details, please see pages 536–545.

Volume 24, Issue 1, Jan. 2025
Lysobacter enzymogenes is a potent and unique biocontrol bacterium recognized for its production of numerous antimicrobial weapons that inhibit plant pathogens across diverse kingdoms. It synthesizes various distinct antimicrobial metabolites, including Ningnonmycin and WAP-8294A, which eliminate pathogens through a common mechanism termed contact-independent killing, which does not necessitate intercellular contact between L. enzymogenes and the pathogens. Recent studies have uncovered a novel biocontrol mechanism, demonstrating that L. enzymogenes also engages in contact-dependent killing of pathogenic bacteria mediated by a type IV secretion system (T4SS). In this review, the authors summarize the distinct characteristics of L. enzymogenes, including its functional adaptability to flagellum loss, specific signaling transduction pathways that regulate Ningnonmycin biosynthesis, and T4SS-mediated bacterial-bacterial interactions. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the research and application of L. enzymogenes as an underappreciated biocontrol agent. The cover photo is attributed to Prof. Guoliang Qian from Nanjing Agricultural University, China. For further details, please refer to pages 23–35.

Volume 23, Issue 12, Dec. 2024
Silage is an essential feed for ruminants, and its production process involves an anaerobic environment dominated by lactic acid bacteria. The micro-ecosystem in silage affects its quality. In the cover article, the authors discovered that pathogenic Klebsiella has the ability to produce α-tocopherol. Additionally, Klebsiella can coexist with the lactic acid-producing Lactobacillus plantarum. Further research revealed the mechanism of coexistence. Klebsiella supplies α-tocopherol to promote the proliferation of Lactobacillus plantarum, while its high residual capsular polysaccharides protect Klebsiella from being eliminated by the acid-producing Lactobacillus plantarum. This study provides a scientific basis for using Lactobacillus plantarum to enhance the hygienic quality and α-tocopherol content of rice straw silage. The cover photo provided by Dr. Qinhua Liu from Yunnan Agricultural University/Nanjing Agricultural University, China. For more details, please see pages 4186–4202.

Volume 23, Issue 11, Nov. 2024
Insect antennal lobe is the primary olfactory center, and the identification of antennal lobe glomeruli is the foundation of further olfactory mechanism study. Here, we systematically constructed a highresolution three-dimensional antennal lobe glomerular atlas of Mythimna separata based on the successful usage of oil objective lens to a relatively large antennal lobe. We found that there were 69 antennal lobe glomeruli in females and 65 antennal lobe glomeruli in males. Females had 10 sex-specific glomeruli and males had 6 sex-specific glomeruli. We also made a systematic nomenclature for the antennal lobe glomeruli, which would bring convenience to related scientific research exchanges. The cover photo, provided by Dr. Baiwei Ma from Northeast Normal University, shows the three-dimensional antennal lobe glomeruli of M. separata and its relative location in the head. For more details, please see pages 3812–3829.

Volume 23, Issue 10, Oct. 2024
Cotton, a crucial textile fiber in China’s economy, faced challenges in the 1990s due to cotton bollworm infestations and excessive pesticide use causing environmental and health issues. To address this, a genetically modified insect-resistant cotton program was launched in China, leading to successful development in 1994. Over the past 30 years, more than 200 new insect-resistant cotton varieties have been cultivated, reducing pesticide use by over 650,000 tons and increasing output value by 65 billion CNY. This success has driven innovation in genetically modified cotton and advanced research in cotton genomics, biotechnology, and molecular breeding. This special issue commemorates the 30th anniversary of China’s insect-resistant cotton development. The cover photo showcases three important members of China’s insect-resistant cotton: monogenic insect-resistant cotton, digenic insect-resistant cotton, and tri-line insect-resistant cotton, highlighting the achievements in China’s insect-resistant cotton research and the growth of China’s cotton industry. Dr. Chengzhen Liang from the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences provided the cover image. See pages 3243–3505 for more details.

Volume 23, Issue 9, Sept. 2024
Fire blight disease of pears, caused by Erwinia amylovora, is a devastating bacterial disease, which leads to severe economic losses to the tree fruit industry around the world. In this cover article, the authors studied the interactions between fire blight pathogen and pear valsa canker fungi (Cytospora pyri), another important pathogen on fragrant pear in Xinjiang, China. This is the first report demonstrating that both pathogens co-existed on pear trees and physically interacted with each other, leading to more severe diseases. The findings provide new knowledge in understanding bacterial–fungal–plant interactions for disease management of tree fruits. The cover photos were provided by Prof. Baishi Hu, Nanjing Agricultural University, China. For more details, please see the full article on pages 3045–3054.

Volume 23, Issue 8, Aug. 2024
For sesame varieties, seed shattering trait can cause the loss of more than 50% seed yield before harvesting. In the cover article, authors determined the histological mutation characteristics of a seed shattering resistant (SR) sesame mutant 12M07, as the parenchyma cells arrange loosely with unmormal abscission zone junction for the first time. The target gene SiHEC3 regulating the seed shattering trait was identified, based on genome association mapping of F2 population. Luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that a 1,049 bp deletion of the 5′ UTR and promoter region in Sihec3 causes the loss of gene function in the SR mutant. The findings provide the important genetic resources and theoretical basis for harvest mechanization related trait improvement for sesame and other crops. The cover photo was provided by Prof. Hongmei Miao, Henan Sesame Research Center, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. For more details, please see pages 2589–2604.

Volume 23, Issue 7, Jul. 2024
The optimized management of crop fertilization is very important for improving crop yield and reducing the input of chemical fertilizers. In this study, we proposed a recommended fertilization method based on topsoil available nutrient criteria for determining the rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in drylands of China with wheat production. A 2-year validated experiment confirmed that the new method reduced N fertilizer input by 17.5% and P fertilizer input by 43.5% in northern China and did not reduce the wheat yield. This outcome increased returns of 7.58% for farmers. In addition, the method is a good measure to balance crop yields with soil nutrients. The cover photo illustrates that the new fertilization method can maintain green production of winter wheat and achieve a balanced fertilization in drylands of China with winter wheat production provided by Dr. Qiu Weihong from Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, China. See pages 2421–2433 for more details.

Volume 23, Issue 6, Jun. 2024
Virus neutralization (VN) antibody is deffned as a critical immune correlate for avian inffuenza vaccines. However, particular types of vaccines induce low levels of VN antibodies but can protect against avian inffuenza viruses, indicating novel mechanisms of protection. In our study, we reported that H7N9 avian inffuenza vaccine based on Newcastle disease virus vector (NDV_vecH7N9) elicited low VN antibody titers but high levels of non-neutralizing antibodies against H7N9 virus in chickens. Passive transfer of these antibodies to chickens conferred complete protection from H7N9 virus challenge. The NDV_vecH7N9 immune serum can induce strong lysis of H7N9 virus-infected cells and signiffcantly inhibit H7N9 virus infectivity. These activities of the serum were dependent on the engagement of the complement system as well as recognition of the epitope 150-SGS-152 in the hemagglutinin by the antibodies. Our ffndings suggest that activation of the complement system by antibodies elicited by NDV_vecH7N9 contributes to protection in chickens. Our study unveils a previously-unidentiffed role of the complement system in protection conferred by NDV_vecH7N9 in chickens, providing novel insights into the immune mechanism of H7N9 vaccines. The cover illustration depicts the mechanism of antibody-dependent complement-mediated protection of NDV_vecH7N9, which is provided by Prof. Xiufan Liu and Dr. Zenglei Hu from Yangzhou University, China. See pages 2052–2064 for more details.

Volume 23, Issue 5, May 2024
We identiffed one lipophorin receptor-related gene (LmLRP2) and investigated its function in the migratory locust Locusta migratoria. The mRNA of LmLRP2 is widely distributed in different tissues, including integument, wing pads, foregut, midgut, hindgut, Malpighian tubules and fat body, and the amounts of LmLRP2 transcripts are decreased gradually in early stages and then increased in late stages before ecdysis during developmental stage of nymphs. The protein of LmLRP2 is located in cellular membranes of midgut and hindgut. RNAi to silence LmLRP2 caused molting defects in nymphs. Importantly, a signiffcant increase in the content of neutral lipids (diglyceride and triglyceride) in midgut and a decrease in hemolymph and fat body were observed in dsLmLRP2-injected nymphs by lipidomics analysis. In addition, we found a slight increase of cuticle surface hydrocarbons in dsLmLRP2-treated nymphs, which is probably due to stimulation of de novo lipid synthesis in the fat body or oenocytes. Taken together, our results indicate that LmLRP2 located in cellular membranes of midgut cells is required for lipid export from the midgut to the hemolymph and fat body in locusts. This study not only enriches the research content of lipid metabolism in insects, but also helps to ffnd new targets for pest control and insecticide resistance. The cover photo was provided by Dr. Yiyan Zhao, Research Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, China. For more details, please see pages 1618–1633. 

Volume 23, Issue 4, Apr. 2024
Xinong 979 is a widely cultivated wheat elite with high yield and Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance. However, its resistance mechanism remains unclear. Our study showed that its FHB resistance consists of two lines of defense. The first line of defense, which is constitutive, is knitted via the enhanced basal expression of lignin and jasmonic acid biosynthesis genes. The second line of defense, which is induced upon Fusarium graminearum infection, is contributed by the limited suppression of photosynthesis and the struggle of biotic stress-responding genes. This cover image illustrates insight into breeding FHB-resistant wheat, which is possible by selecting wheat lines with stronger basal defense characterized by lignin content (stained lemmas), and higher induced defense from photosynthesis (depicted by sunlight). The photo is provided by Dr. Qinhu Wang from College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, China. See pages 1238–1258 for more details.



Volume 23, Issue 3, Mar. 2024
We initially identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by comparing the transcriptomes of folic acid (FA)-treated and water-treated (CK) berries at different time points, and then analyzed the sequences to detect alternatively spliced (AS) genes associated with postharvest softening. During the postharvest storage of FA-treated berries, the VvPE2 gene, which encodes a cell wall-degrading enzyme, undergoes alternative splicing giving rise to two transcripts: the full-length isoform VvPE2.1 and the alternatively spliced form VvPE2.2. VvPE2.1 possesses the complete structure of the PECTINESTERASE gene, and the encoded protein maintains full enzyme functionality, whereas VvPE2.2 encodes an incomplete protein. The up-regulation of VvPE2.2 in FA-treated berries is expected to reduce the accumulation of VvPE2.1, subsequently leading to reduced enzymatic degradation of pectin by PE, thus delaying berry softening. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of AS events in postharvest grape berries using transcriptome sequencing and underscores the pivotal role of VvPE2 during the postharvest storage of grape berries. The cover photo was provided by Dr. Maosong Pei, College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Henan University of Science and Technology. See pages 863–875 for details.

Volume 23, Issue 2, Feb. 2024
Agriculture and food sector has focused on food supply until very recently.  But the sector has broader impact on peoples’ diets, nutrition and health, and the environment including climate change.   The goal of this special section includes both reviews and empirical studies on agri-food systems transformation, focusing on multiple win strategies in the transformation.  Empirical evidence in the section shows that non-farm employment, internet use and household resilience are instrumental in improving diets and nutritional health of the population, while the use of solid fuels poses a significant risk to the health of children.  On sustainability, the included papers demonstrate that policy decisions and demographic changes have important impact on food security and future greenhouse gas emissions.  On the inclusion side, the studies show that targeted programs and empowerment of marginalized groups can improve their health status and food consumption quality.  In terms of efficiency, the included paper illustrates that technology in genetic improvement can significantly improve the efficiency of agricultural food systems, which is still critical in future food systems transformation.  The cover photo is provided by Ph.D. candidate Zongyi Wu and Ph.D. candidate Jiayu Xia from China Agricultural University, Beijing, demonstrating the multiple goals of transforming agri-food systems.  See pages 355–483 for details.





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