Aims: Marine benthic shell-bearing mollusks are one of the most important components of marine benthic fauna and one of the key groups influencing marine ecosystem and sediments. The west coast of Guangdong is located in the Northern South China Sea (NSCS) and is rich in marine benthic shell fauna. However, it is also the area with a great lack of surveys of the marine benthic shell fauna, which seriously hinders the development of geographical divisions of offshore benthic fauna. Donghai Island and Naozhou Island have been well studied in terms of marine benthic mollusks. They are also the key areas to reveal the geographical pattern of benthic animals in the NSCS. Here we aim to report on the species diversity and geographical distribution of benthic mollusks found on the coast of the two islands and adjacent waters.

Methods: Based on historical records from previous studies, historical specimens preserved in the collection of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, and more than 2,600 specimens collected in 2021-2023 by the School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, an up-to-date checklist of known marine benthic shell-bearing mollusks living around Donghai Island and Naozhou Island was compiled. The geographical distribution patterns of all species were analysed based on their northern limits in the East Asian continental shelf.

Results: A total of 207 species from 144 genera and 73 families were identified in the field collections. Thirty-eight of these were new to the area. So far, a total of 602 benthic mollusks from 330 genera and 115 families have been recorded in the waters around Donghai Island and Naozhou Island, making this area the most species-rich area on the continental coast of the NSCS in terms of marine benthic shell-bearing mollusks. Of the 602 benthic mollusk species, 26.2% were tropical warm-water species, 49.3% were tropical-subtropical warm-water species and 24.4% were eurythermal species. The number of species that were also recorded in the nearshore waters of Hainan, Beibu Gulf and Eastern Guangdong accounted for 89.0%, 80.2% and 80.2% of the total species, respectively.

Conclusion: The results show that the coast of Donghai Island, Naozhou Island and the adjacent waters are rich in marine benthic shell-bearing mollusks. The shell fauna here has typical tropical characteristics and is most closely related to that of Hainan Island. It is recommended that these two areas could be placed in the same ecoregion with regard to the bioregionalization of the coastal and shelf benthic fauna. The present work enriches the benthic shell-bearing mollusks in the sea east of Leizhou Peninsula and provides up-to-date data to support the bioregionalization of benthic fauna in the NSCS.

Aim: Notwithstanding talk of a “taxonomic impediment” over the past 30 years, the exponential growth in the global number of newly described spider species during the 1975-2000 period has continued unabated. This paper focuses on the advances in taxonomic studies of spiders in 2022 worldwide, with detailed statistical analyses of new taxa, type localities, arachnologists driving such research, and journals publishing their work.

Progress: A total of 1,177 new taxa (including species in amber) were described in 2022, comprising 81 new genera and 1,096 new species. They belong to 74 families, with type localities spanning across 97 countries and jurisdictions. The new taxa were documented by 340 arachnologists in 289 papers, published separately in 60 journals. Out of these 289 papers, 23 or 8% comprised monographs, regional studies, and revisions of selected higher taxa (at family and genus levels). The proportion of papers incorporating DNA analyses made up 18.3% (totaling 53 papers). China is the country with the highest number of new species discovered, a total of 362, accounting for 33.0% of the global tally. With as many as 75 arachnologists naming new spider taxa, China becomes the country with the highest number of publishing spider taxonomists, accounting for 22.1% of the world’s total. Among them, the most prolific arachnologist is Shuqiang Li who described a total of 194 new taxa, accounting for 16.5% of the new taxa described in 2022 worldwide. Altogether, Li and his remaining 74 Chinese colleagues described a total of 436 new taxa, comprising 26 new genera and 410 new species belonging to 50 families, from China, Myanmar, and eight other countries and jurisdictions. These new taxa described by Chinese arachnologists made up 37.0% of the 2022 global aggregate, an improvement over the Chinese output 2021 (33.8%) and during the 2016-2020 period (28.1% on average).

Squamosa promoter binding protein-like (SPL) family is a class of plant-specific transcription factors, which contain a highly conserved SBP domain consisting of two zinc finger structures and a short nuclear localization sequence. The expression of most SPL genes is regulated by microRNAs at transcription level. Based on the current research progress of SPL transcription factors, this paper summarizes the biological functions of SPLs in plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation, and discusses the future research directions of SPLs.

Pathogen infection is a serious threat to plant growth and development, causing severe crop yield reduction. The plant immune system, which is mainly composed of PTI (pattern-triggered immunity) and ETI (effector-triggered immunity), plays an essential role in resistance against pathogen infection. A large amount of research focused on resolving the key immune receptors/co-receptors, the components and regulation mechanisms of the PTI and ETI signaling pathways, and the biosynthesis and signaling pathways of the plant immune hormones salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. The major events during plant immune responses include pathogen recognition, the outburst of reactive oxygen species, Ca²⁺ influx, MAPK cascade signaling, and the induced expression of downstream defense genes. Recent studies have revealed that the expression of plant immune-related genes is not only regulated at the transcriptional level. The stability, translation efficiency, and translation products of their mRNAs are affected by a variety of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms, including alternative splicing, m⁶A modification, small RNAs, uORFs, and R-motifs. Here, we summarized the present understanding of the plant immune system and mainly introduced the latest studies of the post-transcriptional regulation of plant immunity. This review also covered some findings that showed how pathogen interferes with the host post-transcriptional regulatory machinery. Some post-transcriptional regulatory elements have been successfully applied in crops. This application provides new molecular tools for improving diseases resistance and contribution to food security, as well as useful components for molecular breeding.

Background & Aim: Marine biogeography is a subject investigating the spatiotemporal distributions of marine organisms and the processes and drivers of changes in species distributions. Research in marine biogeography is promising for the conservation of marine biodiversity and the stability of ecosystem functioning and crucial for the sustainability of utilizing marine resources. Species distribution models (SDMs) are an important tool for assessing and predicting the biogeographical changes in marine species distributions.

Progresses: This review consists of three main parts: (1) the development process and current status of marine biogeography studies in China; (2) the commonly used approaches to answer the questions related to marine biogeography with a special focus on SDMs; (3) the research trends and hotspots of marine biogeography studies in China, mainly concerning the shifts in species distribution under global changes, phylogeography of marine species, biological invasion, population connectivity, marine conservation planning, marine ecological restoration and recovery, adaptation of marine species to extreme environments, as well as management of marine fisheries and mariculture planning.

Prospects: In this review, we further outlined the prospects for the future development of marine biogeography and emphasized the importance of optimizing SDMs. We also called for developing comprehensive databases of marine environments and organisms to strengthen the integration of marine biogeography with other disciplines. We hope this review will provide useful insights for the studies of marine biogeography in China.

Background: Botanical gardens have deep historical roots, drawing inspiration from the ancient “Shennong Herbal Garden” that has played a pivotal role in China’s herbal civilization. While the origins of modern botanical gardens can be traced back to the medicinal gardens of early European universities, their predecessors lie in medieval herb gardens, representing the rich heritage and evolutionary path of traditional botany and ancient gardens.

Review findings: Over the course of 500 years since the European Renaissance, modern botanical gardens have evolved into vital centers of science and art. They have transcended their roles as mere repositories of flora and fauna to become institutions that seamlessly blend nature, culture, art and science. These gardens have consistently embraced new challenges, adapted to changing circumstances, and taken on new missions, propelling them into an era of sustainable development, in which multiple models coexist harmoniously and at the heart of this transformation lies the core mission of ex situ conservation.

Recommendations: Looking ahead, the construction of China’s national botanical gardens should focus on creating efficient ex situ conservation networks while adhering to rigorous scientific standards. This entails implementing exemplary professional curation practices that bridge the historical legacy of botanical gardens with contemporary conservation imperatives. Prioritizing ex situ conservation efforts, China’s botanical garden community should curate national living collections and conduct high-level scientific research. This approach should be rooted in a renewed emphasis on the value of ex situ flora, ultimately contributing to the establishment of a world-class national botanical garden system. This system will advance plant conservation research, facilitate resource exploration and application, and foster sustainable economic and social development.

INTRODUCTION Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the foremost vegetable crops globally. Photosynthesis intricately influences the fruit yield of cucumber, and leaf color determines the photosynthetic efficiency to a large extent. Therefore, Leaf color mutants serve as ideal materials for scrutinizing diverse physiological processes, including photomorphogenesis, chloroplast development, chlorophyll metabolism, and photosynthetic mechanisms. Currently, the molecular mechanisms underlying the yellowing lethal phenotype remain unclear.

RATIONALE In this study, a stable cucumber yellowing lethal mutant, ycl(yellow cotyledon lethal), was isolated from the near-isogenic line XYYH-2-1-1. The phenotype, leaf microstructure and chloroplast ultrastructure, as well as physiological and biochemical analyses, were conducted on the mutant ycl and the wild-type XYYH-3-1 to explore the physiological mechanisms underlying the yellowing lethal phenotype. Preliminary localisation of yellowing lethal mutation genes was performed by whole genome resequencing using BSA. The integration of transcriptome sequencing allowed us to analyze the expression of genes related to yellowing death and the main pathways. This approach laid a solid foundation for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the lethal phenotype associated with yclyellowing.

RESULTS The ycl mutant exhibited yellow cotyledons, which ultimately withered and perished within approximately two weeks. Notably, its growth-inhibiting phenotype appeared to be light-independent. Compared to the wild type, ycl accumulated extremely low Chl a and Chl b contents, which was consistent with the blockade in the magnesium ion chelation process within the chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway. Microscopic and ultrastructural analyses revealed disordered ycl leaf structure and inhibited chloroplast development. Additionally, the ycl mutant displayed significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities and malondialdehyde contents, suggesting elevated oxidative stress levels and robust antioxidant capacities. The substantial decrease in net photosynthetic rate and rise in intercellular CO₂ concentration in ycl were hypothesized to stem from reduced stomatal conductance, diminished chlorophyll content, and impaired chloroplast development in the mutant. Transcriptomic analyses suggested that key pathways including photosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, chlorophyll metabolism, and reactive oxygen species metabolism were affected in ycl. The ycl mutant gene was preliminarily mapped to a region between 1.48 to 1.9 Mb on chromosome 3 through BSA-seq analysis, encompassing 41 candidate genes.

CONCLUSION The study investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying the yellowing lethal phenotype of the yclmutant, preliminarily mapped the mutant gene to chromosome 3, and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and key pathways associated with the lethal phenotype. These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of chloroplast development in cucumber.

Phenotypic changes of WT and the ycl mutant at the cotyledon stage under natural light conditions, and preliminary mapping of the mutant gene.

Maize (Zea mays) is a staple crop worldwide, serving as a major source for food, feedstock, and industrial materials. Flowering time, a key agronomic trait determining diverse environmental adaptation and yield potential of crops, is determined by two developmental transitions (namely vegetative phase change and floral transition), and complicatedly regulated by internal factors (such as genetic factors and plant hormones) and external environmental factors. Given the importance of flowering time, in this review, we summarize the research progresses on the regulation of the two-phase transitions in maize, mainly focusing on the aspects of structural basis, physiological basis, genetic basis and molecular mechanisms. We also highlight the contribution of key flowering regulators to geographical adaptation of maize, and discuss future research directions on flowering and application in breeding, aiming to deepen our understanding of the genetic regulation of maize flowering and provide a theoretical basis for genetic improvement of maize cultivars adapting to diverse environmental conditions.

INTRODUCTION Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), a significant warm-season and water-dependent vegetable crop, is extensively cultivated worldwide. Whether grown in open fields or protected environments, tomatoes frequently encounter various environmental stresses, including drought and low temperatures, which significantly impact their yield and quality. Transcription factors play a pivotal role in plant stress responses by modulating the expression of specific target genes, thereby transmitting perceived stress signals downstream. WRKY transcription factors in tomatoes are known to regulate responses to multiple abiotic stresses. However, the specific role of the tomato SlWRKY45 in abiotic stress responses remains unclear.

RATIONALE Studies have demonstrated that WRKY transcription factors play a crucial regulatory role in plant responses to abiotic stress. As an important economic vegetable crop, tomato is susceptible to various environmental stresses during its growth and development. By genetically overexpressing SlWRKY45 in tomato and investigating its function under low-temperature and drought stress conditions, the findings can provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms of WRKY transcription factors. Additionally, this research offers valuable candidate genes for breeding stress-resistant tomato varieties.

RESULTS Expression analysis revealed that low-temperature, drought, and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments significantly induced the expression of SlWRKY45. Overexpression of SlWRKY45 enhanced the resistance of tomato plants to drought and low-temperature stresses. Under drought and low-temperature conditions, the photosynthetic indices, antioxidant enzyme activities, and proline (Pro) contents in SlWRKY45 overexpression lines were significantly higher than those in wild-type (WT) plants. Conversely, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in SlWRKY45-OE plants was significantly lower than in WT plants under the same stress conditions. Transcriptome data analysis indicated that SlWRKY45 regulates tomato's response to low-temperature stress primarily by influencing antioxidant enzyme activities and stress response pathways. Dual-luciferase assays demonstrated that SlWRKY45 could directly activate the expression of SlPOD1. Furthermore, the interaction between SlWRKY45 and SlWRKY46 was confirmed through yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays.

CONCLUSION Our findings demonstrate that SlWRKY45 positively regulates drought resistance and low-temperature tolerance in tomato. Additionally, SlWRKY45 can interact with SlWRKY46 and directly activate the expression of SlPOD1. These results offer valuable insights for further research into the regulatory mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses and provide potential gene resources for genetic improvement through molecular breeding.

Phenotypes of SlWRKY45-overexpressing and wild-type plants under drought and low-temperature treatments

Clarifying the diversity and distribution of wild vascular plants in Shanxi Province is crucial for effective plant diversity conservation efforts in the region. Flora of Shanxi, the most authoritative record of plant cataloging and distribution in Shanxi, has been available for over 20 years. During this period, the plant classification system has evolved significantly, and many new plant records have emerged in Shanxi Province. However, a comprehensive, accurate, and scientific catalog of wild vascular plants remains unavailable. Based on volumes 1-5 of the Flora of Shanxi, this study comprehensively collected relevant literature on vascular plant research in Shanxi since 1980. Using extensive field investigations and related research data collected by the authors in Shanxi Province, the wild plant list was reviewed and refined, including revisions to plant names, protection status, and distribution down to the county level. This dataset presents the latest catalog of wild vascular plants in Shanxi, divided into confirmed and doubtful species lists. As of June 26, 2024, this dataset included 2,438 species, 73 subspecies, 229 varieties, and 4 forms across 147 families and 763 genera. The dataset included lycophytes and ferns (117 species, 4 varieties in 15 families and 34 genera), gymnosperms (13 species, 4 varieties in 4 families and 8 genera), and angiosperms (2,308 species, 73 subspecies, 221 varieties, and 4 forms in 128 families and 721 genera). Additionally, 36 species, 4 varieties in 19 families and 27 genera were listed in List of Key Protected Wild Plants in China (2021), and 119 species, 1 subspecies, and 2 varieties in 47 families and 80 genera were listed in List of Key Protected Wild Plants in Shanxi Province (Jin Zheng Han [2023] No. 126). Further work should prioritize species with limited distribution data and species of concern to further enhance catalog plan in Shanxi Province. This research can provide fundamental data for updating the Flora of Shanxi and advancing plant diversity conservation strategies within Shanxi Province.

Database/Dataset Profile

Functional gene expression is a basic life process that connects the coding information of a gene to protein products. The level of gene expression is considered as a quantitative trait between genotype and phenotype and plays an important role in response to climatic and environmental changes. First, we systematically summarize regulatory elements of gene expression in plant species and empirical evidence, including the effects of transcription factors and small RNAs on gene expression regulation. Second, this review discusses the eQTL mapping for regulatory elements of gene expression through gene expression-based genome-wide association study (GWAS) and the limitations of this method. This review analyzes the intraspecific variation in gene expression in theory under the processes of mutation, drift and selection and the testing methods. This review also analyzes the interspecific evolution of gene expression under the mutation and drift processes or under the phylogeny-based drift-selection processes and the testing methods. Finally, this review discusses the regulation of gene expression by the plant mating system. Selfing reduces the effective population size, mutation rate, recombination rate and competition from exogenous pollen, and changes the efficacy of natural selection in the gametophytic and sporophytic phases. Selfing regulates intraspecific gene expression variation and interspecific gene expression evolution. This review comprehensively comments on theoretical and practical research progress and existing questions, which aids in our deep understanding of plant gene expression regulation and evolution mechanisms.

3D reconstruction technology involves using computer graphics and image processing technologies to extract the geometric and topological information of the target object from the two-dimensional image data. This information is then used to create a three-dimensional mathematical model that can be processed by a computer, enabling the virtual reconstruction of the target object. In plant science research, the construction of three-dimensional models has become an effective way to study plant growth and development, morphological structure and functional mechanism. These models provide robust support for multi-scale imaging, measurement and analysis, demonstrating significant application potential in the field of agriculture and forestry. In recent years, advancements in plant 3D reconstruction technology have led to diverse applications in botanical research, covering plant morphological structure modeling, growth and development dynamic monitoring, and plant breeding. In this paper, we summarize the development process of 3D reconstruction technology and its application in plant studies across different scales (from organs and tissues to cells). We focus on the basic principles and applications of these technologies, aiming to provide theoretical and technical support for multimodal cross-scale imaging and plant phenotypic and functional research. Additionally, this work offers a novel approach to understand the principles of plant growth and development and the mechanisms underlying their responses to environmental changes.

In recent years, we have witnessed transformative breakthroughs in plant disease resistance research, particularly in deciphering the intricate interplay between hosts and pathogens. Cutting-edge discoveries span pathogen recognition mechanisms, immune signaling cascades, and multi-layered interactions integrating plants, pathogens, vectors, and environmental variables. Notably, pioneering studies from domestic research institutions have driven progress across pathogen-sensing systems, secondary metabolite-mediated defense, immune module engineering in crops, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions for pathogen-resistant peptide design. The rapid development of CRISPR/ Cas9-based gene editing and AI technologies has further empowered researchers to engineer disease-resistant crop varieties with unprecedented precision. Such progress holds profound implications for ensuring national food security and advancing strategic priorities in disease-resistant crop breeding, marking a transformative era in agricultural biotechnology and sustainable agriculture.

Background & Aims: Increasing attention is focused on global change and loss of biodiversity. Genetics is an important tool in the conservation of threatened species, which have greatly promoted our understanding of diverse areas in conservation biology. However, some key scientific issues in conservation biology, including evolutionary history, endangered mechanism, genetic basis of adaptive evolution and inbreeding depression, are remain to be understood. Spurred by technological advances in high-throughput sequencing, conservation genomics are developed by using of new genomic techniques to solve problems in conservation biology, providing new approaches to deep understanding of the key issues in conservation biology. This paper briefly summarizes the important research progress in the conservation genomics based on whole genome resequencing, aiming to promote the conservation biology of threatened plant in China.
Progress: Whole genome resequencing, being the highest genomic resolution among current methods in conservation genomics, has made many significant advancements, including classification of phylogenetic relationships between unresolved taxa, the reconstruction of population structure, genomic diversity, demographic history, adaptive evolution and inbreeding depression. Based on these advancements, conservation taxa and conservation units are identified, the evolutionary history and endangered causes of species are revealed and the genetic basis of adaptive evolution and inbreeding depression are partly revealed.
Prospect: As whole-genome resequencing provides deep insights into the key issues in conservation biology, with the improvements of even higher throughput and lower cost, whole-genome resequencing will be a routine task in conservation biology studies.

Plant-soil feedback experiment is an important way for studying plant-soil biota interactions. Plant growth can change soil physical, chemical, and biotic properties in ways that then alter subsequent plant performance, population fluctuation, and community dynamics. This process, referred to as “plant-soil feedback” (PSF), might play a key role in biodiversity maintenance, sustainable agriculture development, and ecological restoration. In this review, we first provide an overview of the concept and research methods of PSF. Second, we review the research progress of the role of PSF in the maintenance of plant species diversity, plant community succession, plant invasions and range shifts, ecological response to climate change, above- and below-ground multitrophic interactions, ecosystem restoration, and crop performance in different cropping systems. We suggest three directions for future PSF studies, including: (1) the transition from single-species to community-level interactions between plants and soil biota; (2) the test of PSF experiments in field conditions; (3) the expansion of theoretical knowledge into ecological practice.

Background & Aims: With the development and advancement of artificial intelligence technology, large language models (LLMs), such as Kimi Chat, have begun to play a significant role in biodiversity research. LLMs’s deep learning and natural language processing technologies, augmented by human feedback reinforced learning (RLHF) and proximal policy optimization (PPO), offer new avenues for handling and analyzing large biodiversity data sets.
Progresses: We explore the application of LLMs, taking Kimi Chat as an example, in investigating biodiversity research questions, reviewing literature, designing hypotheses, organizing and analyzing data, and writing research papers, as well as its potential to enhance research efficiency and quality. (1) LLMs can quickly process vast amounts of scientific literature, helping researchers distill key information and swiftly catch up with the latest research trends in specific fields. (2) LLMs can also assist researchers in formulating research hypotheses and designing experimental protocols, thereby providing abundant scientific inspiration, broadening research perspectives, and enhancing the efficiency of the initial stages of research. (3) In terms of research design, LLMs can offer advice on data collection methods, design of experiment, and statistical analyses to ensure the scientific validity and the logic of the research design. (4) LLMs can assist in scientific writing and peer review processes by helping draft scientific papers and providing suggestions for revision and polishing to enhance the quality and readability of the papers, and it also supports researchers in understanding and responding to peer review comments and optimizing the presentation of research findings. We also discuss the challenges and limitations encountered during using LLMs, such as the need for professional judgment, the homogenization of research methods, the accuracy of data and results, and ethical issues. Additionally, we propose strategies for integrating this technology with traditional biodiversity research methods in the future.
Prospects: We demonstrates how LLMs can aid in biodiversity research, thus advancing scientific discovery and ecological conservation strategies.

Aim: The composition of fish in large rivers exhibits longitudinal variation along the river influenced by environmental gradients. The River Continuum Concept revolutionized the understanding of river ecosystems by linking changes in river macro-invertebrate trophic functional groups to the differentiation of nutrient sources between upstream and downstream areas. The concept offers a novel framework for studying the distribution patterns of river biomes at large scale, from upstream to downstream. In this study, a dataset encompassing 168 species of fish were used, covering the entire range from Zhimenda, the starting point of the Jinsha River, to the estuary. Functional groups were first classified based on criteria such as body sizes, shapes, feeding habits, and life-history strategies. Subsequently, their distribution patterns as well as their adaptability to environmental factors were investigated across different scales.

Methods: A total of 14 functional groups and 59 combined function groups were classified, and 5 environmental factors were selected: elevation, mean temperature, mean annual temperature range, river width and river slope gradient. The distribution pattern of fish functional groups was analyzed using hierarchical clustering, while ordination analysis was applied to analyze the relationship between environmental factors and fish functional groups at different scales.

Results: The results revealed a primary and secondary differentiation in the distribution of fish functional groups within the Yangtze River: the primary differentiation occurs at Longkaikou, acting as the dividing point, while the secondary differentiation is observed at Shigu, Longkaikou and Downstream of Baihetan Dam. Moving from the upstream to the downstream, fish body sizes transition from small to medium and large, body shapes shift from predominantly fusiform and cylindrical to include compressform appearances. Feeding habits evolve from primarily omnivorous to encompass a more diverse range of feeding functional groups, and life-history strategies transform from opportunistic to periodic and equilibrium strategies. The distribution pattern of fish functional groups is a result of adaptation to spatial differentiation of environmental factors at different scales. Across the larger scale of the entire Yangze River, elevation and temperature, which are associated with climatic features, serve as dominant factors; whereas, as the spatial scale of the study shrinks, the influence of river slope drop associated with topographic features, becomes more prominent and plays the most important role in the I-1 river section at medium scale.

Conclusion: The distribution pattern of fish functional groups is direct outcome of the fish adaptation to environmental differentiation. Furthermore, the specific environment factors that determine the distribution of fish functional groups vary at different scales, consequently affecting the corresponding functional traits of the fish. This study contributes to our understanding of the river continuum theory, the spatial distribution pattern of fish in the Yangtze River, and the environmental adaptation characteristics of fishes.

Trade-offs among plant functional traits reflect the trade-off relationships between resource acquisition and conservation of different plants, which are of pivotal importance for understanding the mechanisms by which plants adapt to the environment. However, due to the heterogeneity of the soil environment and the limitations of technical means, the study of below-ground root functional traits and their interrelationships is currently lagging behind that of above-ground functional traits. Traditionally, fine roots have been defined as all roots ≤2 mm in diameter. The acquisition and utilization of soil resources by plants depends on architectural traits, morphological traits, chemical traits and biotic traits of fine roots and so on, including fine roots associations with mycorrhizal fungi. Recently, the root economics space has been proposed, which demonstrates the existence of trade-offs between the do-it-yourself strategy of plants increasing their own root surface area and the outsourcing strategy of investments into fungal symbionts for enhanced nutrient mobilization from hyphal expansion, in addition to the traditional trade-offs between fast (high nitrogen content and metabolic rate) and slow (high tissue density) investment return. It was found that thin-root species obtained soil resources mainly by increasing specific root length, whereas thick-root species relied more on mycorrhizal fungi. However, the carbon economy of resource acquisition through the root and mycorrhizal hyphal pathways remains unclear. In future research, the key issues of root functional traits were suggested as follows: 1) for research methods, it is urgent to establish a unified set of definitions and research methods for root classification, sampling, storage, functional traits and their research methods; 2) for research traits, the research of “hard” traits of fine roots should be strengthened; 3) for the trade-offs between functional traits of fine roots, it is of great significance to strengthen the study of the trade-offs between construction costs and resource benefits between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi.

Riboflavin is the precursor of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) that serve as an indispensable cofactor to maintain normal metabolism, which plays pivotal roles in mitochondrial electron transport chain, citric acid cycle, β-oxidation of fatty acids, branched-chain amino acid catabolism, redox homeostasis, chromatin remodeling, DNA repair, apoptosis and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Riboflavin deficiency will cause metabolic disorders and a series of defective phenotypes, and death in the most severe cases. Among the living organisms, microorganisms and plants can de novo synthesize riboflavin, but humans and animals can only obtain it from food. At present, the regulation of riboflavin biosynthesis in microorganisms has been clearly studied, but the mechanism of riboflavin transport and metabolism in plants is still not clear. Isolating riboflavin deficient mutants is crucial for analyzing the molecular mechanisms of riboflavin biosynthesis, transport, and metabolism in plants and the effect of riboflavin on plant growth and development. Here we review first the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway and its key enzymes, and then the processes of riboflavin involved in plant growth and development in detail, and finally give prospects for plant riboflavin research.

Aims: To comprehensively understand the current status of vascular plants and provide background materials for the conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province, the list of vascular plants in the region needs to be updated. This study revises and updates the species list of vascular plants in Fujian Province in the post-flora era.

Methods: Based on Flora of Fujian, we refered to related literature, examined herbarium specimens, consulted relevant lists and databases, and incorporated the results of field investigations conducted by the authors and other front-line peers. The checklist of vascular plants in Fujian Province was sorted according to the latest classification systems of vascular plants (APG IV system, Yang system, and PPG I system). The list included the family and genus information, Chinese name and Latin name, and the county and city distribution information data sources for each species.

Results: In total, there were 5,587 species belonging to 256 families and 1,807 genera of wild, naturalized, and cultivated vascular plants in Fujian Province (wild: 231 families, 1,402 genera, and 4,550 species). This included 414 species of lycophytes and ferns belonging to 102 genera and 32 families, 76 species of gymnosperms belonging to 38 genera and 10 families, and 5,097 species of angiosperms belonging to 1,667 genera and 214 families, respectively. Compared with Flora of Fujian, 8 families, 216 genera, and 1,107 species were newly added. The five largest families of lycophytes and ferns species were Dryopteridaceae (67), Polypodiaceae (51), Pteridaceae (51), Thelypteridaceae (42), and Athyriaceae (38). Among the gymnosperms, the families and the genera with the largest number of species were Cupressaceae (15 genera, 25 species) and Pinus (14 species), respectively. The top 10 largest families of angiosperms are Poaceae (452), Leguminosae (305), Compositae (279), Orchidaceae (244), Cyperaceae (225), Rosaceae (198), Labiata (188), Rubiaceae (126), Malvaceae (85), and Lauraceae (80), with a total of 2,180 species, accounting for 39.0% of the total number of vascular plant species in Fujian Province. The top five largest genera were Carex (94), Rubus (58), Ilex (54), Phyllostachys (38) and Persicaria (36).

Conclusions: This work improves the species distribution profile and specimen information, thus providing basic information for the survey, assessment, and conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province. Additionally, this study can be used to further develop botany-related disciplines, and the revision of Flora of Fujian.

RATIONALE: By constructing cDNA libraries for shoot apexes and axillary buds, we can gain an in-depth understanding of the core mechanisms underlying plant architecture in soybean at the molecular level, thereby providing theoretical foundations and genetic resources for the design of high-yielding and well-adapted soybean varieties.

RESULTS: This study constructed a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) nuclear system cDNA library using shoot apexes and axillary buds from the cultivar "Williams 82" grown under long-day and short-day conditions at different developmental stages. Equal amounts of RNA extracted from these tissues were pooled and subjected to cDNA library construction using the Gateway method, followed by transcript diversity analysis. The resultant library had a capacity of 1.2×10⁷ CFU, with 100% recombination rate and an average length exceeding 1000 bp of the inserted fragments, covering 29,170 genes. This cDNA library meets the library construction standards and is suitable for subsequent Y2H screening. Using the key floral transition and shoot architecture regulator SOC1a as a bait, we first tested the toxicity and self-activation of the recombinant pGBKT7-SOC1a and then performed library screening. A total of 50 positive clones were obtained, and after DNA sequencing, BLAST alignment, and functional annotation, 14 candidate interacted proteins were identified. Among them, five candidate proteins were cloned into pGADT7 vector and subjected to pairwise retransformation assays with pGBKT7-SOC1a, confirming physical interactions between two of these proteins and SOC1a. Furthermore, the interaction between SOC1a and one of the candidate proteins, SEP2, was demonstrated through co-immunoprecipitation and luciferase complementation imaging assays.

Plant functional traits are generally defined as relatively stable and measurable morphological, physiological, and phenological characteristics of plants that can indirectly affect plant growth, reproduction, and survival. Years of development have enabled the standardization of the definition, connotation, and measurement methods of plant functional traits. Now, the intraspecific and interspecific variation, biogeographic patterns, coordination, and the evolution of plant functional traits have been well explored. The gradual development of global plant functional trait databases since the 1990s has led to the expansion of plant functional traits beyond individual and local scales. Regional and global biogeographical studies on plant functional traits are gradually exploring community species coexistence mechanisms and maintenance of ecosystem functions. Researchers have found that traditional plant trait databases, which were created from published studies, have insufficient data to provide answers to questions about natural ecosystems. Therefore, constructing a plant trait database that considers compatibility and orderliness is crucial. As new databases and scientific concepts have emerged, the following areas have become the focus of studies on plant functional traits: 1) coordination between functional traits of different plant organs, and holistic examination of plant response to environmental changes; 2) multi-dimensional response and adaptation of various plant functional traits, and proposal of the concept of a plant trait network; 3) consideration of the complexity of plant community structure, and exploration of community assembly using plant functional diversity and trait moments; and 4) refinement of the scaling method for different levels of ecological organization, and recognition of plant community and ecosystem traits as critical bridges between plant traits and macroecology. These directions have pushed for the application of traditional functional trait research to natural, social, and economic systems, thus promoting the rapid development of trait-based studies to further solve regional eco-environmental problems.

As of January 2023, China has a total of 312 snake species, establishing itself as one of the most diverse countries in terms of snake biodiversity worldwide. The characteristics exhibited by snakes hold significant sway over their survival within their respective environments, making them an important role in the study of their evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation biology. However, a comprehensive dataset encompassing the morphological, life-history, and ecological traits of Chinese snakes has yet to be established. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive dataset comprising the various traits exhibited by Chinese snakes. To accomplish this goal, we conducted a systematic collection of data from a range of sources, including published snake books, the peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed literatures, as well as the Reptile Database (https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/). Our data compilation encompasses 41 distinctive traits, which were classified into three main types: morphological traits (25 traits such as scales and teeth), life-history traits (11 traits such as body length, diet, foraging mode, reproductive modes, clutch size, egg size, activity time, and venomousness), and ecological traits (5 traits such as Chinese/island endemism, adult habitat, geographical and elevational distributions). Among all these 41 traits, apart from geographical distribution, mental and rostral scales, which are 100% complete, the data on other traits were incomplete to varying degrees, ranging from 7.72% to 99.70%. This dataset is the most up-to-date and comprehensive collection of Chinese snake traits available to date. It provides a unique and invaluable resource for exploring the evolution, biogeography, ecology, and conservation biology of Chinese snakes.