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The contamination characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different environmental functional areas are different. In this study, the contamination of PAHs in soils and common plants in typical mining and farmland areas in Xinjiang, China, was analyzed. The results showed that the contamination levels of PAHs in mining soils were significantly higher than those in farmland soils, and the mining soils were dominated by 4-5-ring PAHs and farmland soils by 3-4-ring PAHs. Analysis of their sources using a positive definite factor matrix model showed that PAHs in mining soils mainly originated from coal and natural gas combustion, and transportation processes; while farmland soils mainly came from biomass and coal combustion, and fossil fuel volatile spills. The cancer risk of PAHs in soils was evaluated using a combination of the Monte Carlo and the lifetime carcinogenic risk models, and the results showed that the overall level of cancer risk for mining soils was higher than that for farmland soils, and can put some people in high risk of cancer. For plant samples, except for individual crop samples, the contamination levels of mining plants and crops were similar, with 4-5-ring PAHs dominating in desert plants in mining areas and the highest proportion of 3-ring PAHs in crops in agricultural fields, and PAHs in both plants were mainly from biomass and coal combustion. The results of correlation analysis showed that 2-ring PAHs in crop roots were significantly positively correlated with it in corresponding soils, and some high-ring PAHs in crop leaves were significantly negatively correlated with it in corresponding soils. Therefore, there were significant differences in the pollution characteristics of PAHs in soils and common plants in mining and agricultural areas. Human health risks and ecological risks are mainly concentrated in mining areas, and appropriate intervention measures should be taken for pollution remediation.

Human activities led to elevation in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in atmosphere. While such increase per se may be beneficial for the growth of some crops, it comes with a caveat of affecting crop nutritional status. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of changes in concentration of essential (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mo, Ni) and non-essential (Ba, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, and Sr) heavy metals in response to elevated CO2, drawing on a meta-analysis of 1216 paired observations. The major findings are as follows: (1) Elevated CO2 leads to reduced concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in crops; (2) the extent of above reduction varies among plants species and is most pronounced in cereals and then in legumes and vegetables; (3) reduction in accumulation of non-essential (toxic) metals is less pronounced, potentially leading to an unfavorable essential/non-essential metal ratio in plants; (4) the above effects will come with significant implication to human health, exacerbating effects of the \"hidden hunger\" caused by the lack of Fe and Zn in the human diets. The paper also analyses the mechanistic basis of nutrient acquisition (both at physiological and molecular levels) and calls for the changes in the governmental policies to increase efforts of plant breeders to create genotypes with improved nutrient use efficiency for essential micronutrients while uncoupling their transport from non-essential (toxic) heavy metals.

Climate change enhances stress in food crops. Recently, abiotic stress such as metalloid toxicity, salinity, and drought have increased in food crops. Mycorrhizal fungi can accumulate several nutrients within their hyphae through a symbiotic relationship and release them to cells in the root of the food crops under stress conditions. We have studied arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-enriched biofertilizers as a climate-smart technology option to increase safe and healthy food production under abiotic stress. AMF such as Glomus sp., Rhizophagus sp., Acaulospora morrowiae, Paraglomus occultum, Funneliformis mosseae, and Claroideoglomus etunicatum enhance growth and yield in food crops grown in soils under abiotic stress. AMF also works as a bioremediation material in food crops grown in soil. More precisely, the arsenic concentrations in grains decrease by 57% with AMF application. In addition, AMF increases mineral contents, and antioxidant activities under drought and salinity stress in food crops. Catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) increased by 45% and 70% in AMF-treated plants under drought stress. AMF-enriched biofertilizers are used in crop fields like precision agriculture to reduce the demand for chemical fertilizers. Subsequently, AMF-enriched climate-smart biofertilizers increase nutritional quality by reducing abiotic stress in food crops grown in soils. Consequently, a climate resilience environment might be developed using AMF-enriched biofertilizers for sustainable livelihood.

Viral pathogens not only threaten the health and life of humans and animals but also cause enormous crop yield losses and contribute to global food insecurity. To defend against viral pathogens, plants have evolved an intricate immune system to perceive and cope with such attacks. Although most of the fundamental studies were carried out in model plants, more recent research in crops has provided new insights into the antiviral strategies employed by crop plants. We summarize recent advances in understanding the biological roles of cellular receptors, RNA silencing, RNA decay, hormone signaling, autophagy, and ubiquitination in manipulating crop host-mediated antiviral responses. The potential functions of circular RNAs, the rhizosphere microbiome, and the foliar microbiome of crops in plant-virus interactions will be fascinating research directions in the future. These findings will be beneficial for the development of modern crop improvement strategies.

Owing to the influence of human activities, the issue of heavy metal pollution in farmland soil at the urban-rural fringe has become increasingly prominent. An accurate understanding of the characteristics of soil-crop heavy metal pollution in these areas is of great significance for ensuring food safety and promoting social sustainable development. Most of the existing studies rely on small-scale field monitoring, but research at the national level has not effectively captured the unique pollution dynamics of this urban-rural interface. Based on the published literature, the present study investigated the status of heavy metal pollution in the soil-crop system within China\'s urban-rural fringe through Meta-analysis. On this basis, the study evaluated the risks to human health associated with heavy metals in major crops in a given region. The results showed that heavy metals were accumulated in farmland soil in the urban-rural fringe of China, especially in Cd （Igeo = 0.89） pollution, and its distinct spatial heterogeneity patterns emerged. When considering different types of cultivated land, paddy fields and irrigated land exhibited a higher tendency of heavy metal accumulation. From the varying urbanization levels, the accumulation of heavy metals in soils of small and medium-sized cities was more obvious. For crops in the urban-rural fringe, Cd and Pb had the highest exceedance rate in rice （28.25% and 39.64%） and wheat （27.72% and 42.72%）. The health risk assessment results of heavy metals in crops showed that Cd was the main element that posed human health risks, which had some degree of non-carcinogenic risk and unacceptable carcinogenic risk to both children and adults.

BACKGROUND: Soybean is a worldwide-cultivated crop due to its applications in the food, feed, and biodiesel industries. Genome editing in soybean began with ZFN and TALEN technologies; however, CRISPR/Cas has emerged and shortly became the preferable approach for soybean genome manipulation since it is more precise, easy to handle, and cost-effective. Recent reports have focused on the conventional Cas9 nuclease, Cas9 nickase (nCas9) derived base editors, and Cas12a (formally Cpf1) as the most commonly used genome editors in soybean. Nonetheless, several challenges in the complex plant genetic engineering pipeline need to be overcome to effectively edit the genome of an elite soybean cultivar. These challenges include (1) optimizing CRISPR cassette design (i.e., gRNA and Cas promoters, gRNA design and testing, number of gRNAs, and binary vector), (2) improving transformation frequency, (3) increasing the editing efficiency ratio of targeted plant cells, and (4) improving soybean crop production.
OBJECTIVE: This review provides an overview of soybean genome editing using CRISPR/Cas technology, discusses current challenges, and highlights theoretical (insights) and practical suggestions to overcome the existing bottlenecks.
UNASSIGNED: The CRISPR/Cas system was discovered as part of the bacterial innate immune system. It has been used as a biotechnological tool for genome editing and efficiently applied in soybean to unveil gene function, improve agronomic traits such as yield and nutritional grain quality, and enhance biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. To date, the efficiency of gRNAs has been validated using protoplasts and hairy root assays, while stable plant transformation relies on Agrobacterium-mediated and particle bombardment methods. Nevertheless, most steps of the CRISPR/Cas workflow require optimizations to achieve a more effective genome editing in soybean plants.

BACKGROUND: An issue of pressing concern is the manganese contamination in farmland soils adjacent to industrial areas. To address this, intercropping hyperaccumulator plants with crops emerges as a sustainable approach to ensuring food security. This study aims to investigate the influence of intercropping Sedum alfredii with maize or soybean on their growth and the dynamics of manganese accumulation through field experiments.
RESULTS: The results showed that compared with monoculture, the Sedum alfredii-maize intercropping system exhibited a land equivalent ratio (LER) of 1.89, signifying a 71.13% augmentation in bioaccumulation amount (BCA). Additionally, it led to a significant reduction in manganese content in various organs, ranging from 17.05% to 25.50%. However, the Sedum alfredii-soybean intercropping system demonstrated a LER of 1.94, accompanied by a 66.11% increase in BCA, but did not significantly reduce the manganese content in the roots, stems, and pods of soybeans. Furthermore, manganese accumulation in maize and soybean grains was primarily attributed to the aboveground translocation of manganese. The intercropping effect on blocking manganese absorption of maize during growth and maturity is primarily attributed to the earlier manganese accumulation in intercropped maize by 2.63 to 4.35 days, and a reduction of 21.95% in the maximum manganese accumulation rate.
CONCLUSIONS: The study found that manganese accumulation dynamics vary significantly depending on the crop family. Intercropping Sedum alfredii with maize enhances land-use efficiency and reduces manganese uptake by crops, making it a promising strategy for remediating manganese-contaminated farmland near industrial areas. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Plant diseases are caused by various microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. These diseases impact crop growth, reduce produce quality, and lead to financial losses. Plant disease can be caused by single pathogens or by interactions called \"disease complexes\", involving two or more pathogens. In these cases, the disease severity caused by the pathogens combined is greater than the sum of the disease caused by each pathogen alone. disease complexes formed among plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) with bacteria, fungi, or viruses, can occur. PPNs either enhance the other pathogen incidence and severity or are necessary for disease symptoms to be expressed. PPNs can do so by being wounding agents, vectors, modifiers of plant biochemistry and physiology, or altering the rhizosphere microbiome. This review identifies several PPNs-plant pathogens disease complexes in crop production to discuss how understanding such interactions is key for improving management practices.