Lam-Son Tran

Texas Tech University | TTU · Department of Plant and Soil Science

Strigolactones (SLs) and karrikins (KARs) are two different classes of hormones that are similar in their chemical structure, and their receptors and repressor components also exhibit similarity in both amino acid sequence and structural aspects. Furthermore, an F- BOX protein, MORE AXILLARY GROWTH (MAX2), is an overlapping component in both SL-sig...

Drought represents a major environmental threat to global agricultural productivity. Employing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) offers a promising strategy to enhance plant growth and resilience under drought stress. In this study, the strain G124, isolated from the arid region of Qinghai, was characterized at the molecular level, and it...

Hormones are the key mediators of plant growth, development, and adaptive responses to diverse environmental growth conditions. However, the knowledge of how the endogenous concentration of a hormone affects those of other hormones in plants during their growth is not completely comprehended. JA (jasmonic acid) is a key hormone having multifaceted...

As sessile organisms, plants constantly face a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, and metal/metalloid toxicity, all of which possess significant threats to plant growth and yield potential. Improving plant resilience to such abiotic stresses bears paramount importance in practicing sustainable agriculture worldwide. Acetic acid...

The menace of drought has persistently loomed over global crop production, posing a serious threat to agricultural sustainability. Research on drought stress highlights the important role of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) in orchestrating plant responses to drought conditions. ABA regulates various drought/dehydration-responsive genes, initia...

This review explores the integration of wild grass‐derived alleles into modern bread wheat breeding to tackle the challenges of climate change and increasing food demand. With a focus on synthetic hexaploid wheat, this review highlights the potential of genetic variability in wheat wild relatives, particularly Aegilops tauschii , for improving resi...

This research aimed to assess the agronomic performance of the progeny (F3 and F4 generations) of 48 newly developed Aus rice lines, using a randomized-complete-block-design under rainfed conditions. We found a wide range of variations in yield and yield-contributing traits among the studied genotypes. High board sense heritability percentages were...

As a universal second messenger, cytosolic calcium (Ca²⁺) functions in multifaceted intracellular processes, including growth, development and responses to biotic/abiotic stresses in plant. The plant‐specific Ca²⁺ sensors, calmodulin and calmodulin‐like (CML) proteins, function as members of the second‐messenger system to transfer Ca²⁺ signal into...

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a class of multifunctional enzymatic antioxidants that play a significant role in several aspects of plant physiology, including growth, development, and cellular protection from biotic and abiotic stressors. A total of 59 GST genes were found in Phaseolus vulgaris genome, which were categorized into 11 distinc...

Epidermal cells are the main avenue for signal and material exchange between plants and the environment. Leaf epidermal cells primarily include pavement cells, guard cells, and trichome cells. The development and distribution of different epidermal cells are tightly regulated by a complex transcriptional regulatory network mediated by phytohormones...

In terrestrial plants, stomata in the leaf epidermis formed by guard cells are the major pathways for gas exchange. However, opened stomata also provide a major channel for pathogen entry. At the pre‐invasive stage, plants actively close stomata to prevent pathogen attack, which is termed stomatal immunity, and plant hormones are involved in this p...

In the context of climate change, the need to ensure food security and safety has taken center stage. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are traditionally used to achieve higher plant productivity and improved plant protection from biotic stresses. However, the widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides has led to significant risks to human heal...

With the growing global population, abiotic factors have emerged as a formidable threat to agricultural food production. If left unaddressed, these stress factors might reduce food yields by up to 25% by 2050. Plants utilize natural mechanisms, such as reactive oxygen species scavenging, to mitigate the adverse impacts of abiotic stressors. Diverse...

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) ribosomal protein S27-encoding gene StD26 has previously been linked to hyperosmotic stress tolerance in yeast transformants. Here, we cloned and functionally characterized the StD26 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana to determine its role in salt tolerance in planta. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants ectopically expressing the...

Waterlogging (WL) is a major hindrance to the growth and development of leguminous crops, including mung beans. Here, we explored the effect of salicylic acid (SA) pretreatment on growth and yield output of two elite mung bean genotypes (BU Mung bean-6 and BU Mung bean-4) subjected to WL stress. SA pretreatment significantly improved shoot dry weig...

The world's low-lying rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation areas have been suffering from the threats of submergence or flash flooding due to global warming. Rice plants manifest a variety of physiological and morphological changes to cope with hypoxia and underwater adversities, including lowering carbohydrate consumption, inhibiting shoot elongation,...

Metalloid pollution, including arsenic poisoning, is a serious environmental issue, plaguing plant productivity and quality of life worldwide. Biochar, a carbon-rich material, has been known to alleviate the negative effects of environmental pollutants on plants. However, the specific role of biochar in mitigating arsenic stress in maize remains re...

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a major crop and a main food for a major part of the global population. Rice species have derived from divergent agro-climatic regions, and thus, the local germplasm has a large genetic diversity. This study investigated the relationship between phenotypic and genetic variabilities of yield and yield-associated traits in Aus...

Lonicera macranthoides (LM) and L. japonica (LJ) are medicinal plants widely used in treating viral diseases, such as COVID-19. Although the two species are morphologically similar, their secondary metabolite profiles are significantly different. Here, metabolomics analysis showed that LM contained ~86.01 mg/g hederagenin-based saponins, 2000-fold...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an essential crop. Unfortunately, it is hypersensitive to abiotic stresses, especially drought. Recently, chemical applications have proved to be a prominent approach for enhancing plant abiotic stress tolerance. Although acetic acid application has been reported to rescue plants from abiotic stresses, the functi...

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is a crucial industrial crop, particularly grown for fiber; however, its growth, development, and yield are substantially restricted by high salt stress. Salicylic acid (SA) is a crucial phytohormone, exhibiting a multifarious array of roles in the enhancement of plant growth, progression, and resilience to stress. In the cu...

Drought is recognized as a paramount threat to sustainable agricultural productivity. This threat has grown more severe in the age of global climate change. As a result, finding a long-term solution to increase plants’ tolerance to drought stress has been a key research focus. Applications of chemicals such as zinc (Zn) may provide a simpler, less...

There are feedforward and feedback loops along the microbiota-root-shoot axis to maintain plant growth or defense under environmental stresses. Here, we highlight a reciprocal interaction between the endodermis and the plant-bacterial community, which stabilizes the diffusion barriers to maintain nutrient homeostasis under nutritional stress.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a broad host-range fungus that infects an inclusive array of plant species and afflicts significant yield losses globally. Despite being a notorious pathogen, it has an uncomplicated life cycle consisting of either basal infection from myceliogenically germinated sclerotia or aerial infection from ascospor...

Microbial biostimulants (MBs) promote plant growth and stress tolerance in a sustainable manner. However, precise field trials of MBs are required in natural setting with a range of crop varieties to harness the benefits of biostimulants on crop yield improvement. This study investigated the effects of two MBs, Trichoderma album and Bacillus megate...

Drought is one of the major environmental stresses that impairs fruit productivity and quality. The proper management of minerals can, however, assist plant to maintain their growth even under drought incidents, and is considered one of the encouraging approaches to refine the drought tolerance of plants. The beneficial effects of chitosan (CH)-bas...

Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae is a serious vascular disease in cotton (Gossypium spp.). V. dahliae induces the expression of the CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE 7 (GauCCD7) gene involved in strigolactone (SL) biosynthesis in Gossypium australe, suggesting a role for SLs in Verticillium wilt resistance. We found that the SL analog...

Nitrogen (N) losses from crop-livestock production is a major threat to the environment and human health at regional, national and global scales. A comprehensive understanding of the sources, spatiotemporal distribution and drivers of N losses is of great significance for mitigating its negative impacts and promoting N sustainable management. Here,...

Genetic modification allows engineering of important traits in crops through expensive and tedious procedures to alter their genetic background. Recently, Thagun et al. developed a nanocarrier-based foliar spray method to translocate bioactive molecules of interest into plant cells to engineer important traits without introducing a transgene.

Crop varieties with a high yield are most desirable in the present context of the ever-growing human population. Mostly the yield traits are governed by a complex of numerous molecular and genetic facets modulated by various quantitative trait loci (QTLs). With the identification and molecular characterizations of yield-associated QTLs over recent...

The global increase in nanotechnology applications has been unprecedented and has now moved into the area of agriculture and food production. Applications with promising potential in sustainable agriculture include nanobiosensors, nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nano-mediated remediation strategies for contaminated soils and nanoscale strategies t...

Cotton fibers develop from epidermal cells in the outer integument of ovules. The regulatory process underlying fiber cell development has been extensively studied, little is known about the spatio-temporal profiles of transcriptomes and metabolomes during its development. Here we characterized the dynamics of transcriptome and metabolome during th...

Cotton fibers develop from epidermal cells in the outer integument of ovules. The regulatory process underlying fiber cell development has been extensively studied, little is known about the spatio-temporal profiles of transcriptomes and metabolomes during its development. Here we characterized the dynamics of transcriptome and metabolome during th...

Somatic embryogenesis is a major pathway for the regeneration of cotton in tissue culture, and a major technique used for cotton breeding and improvement. The signaling pathway regulating the process of somatic embryogenesis in cotton are extremely complex and still poorly characterized. Little is known about the mechanisms regulating the changes t...

Somatic embryogenesis is a major pathway for the regeneration of cotton in tissue culture, and a major technique used for cotton breeding and improvement. The signaling pathway regulating the process of somatic embryogenesis in cotton are extremely complex and still poorly characterized. Little is known about the mechanisms regulating the changes t...

Plants activate a myriad of signaling cascades to tailor adaptive responses under environmental stresses, such as salinity. While the roles of exogenous karrikins (KARs) in salt stress mitigation are well comprehended, genetic evidence of KAR signaling during salinity responses in plants remains unresolved. Here, we explored the functions of the po...

Strigolactones (SLs), which are biosynthesized mainly in roots, modulate various aspects of plant growth and development. Here, we review recent research on the role of SLs and their cross-regulation with auxin, cytokinin, and ethylene in the modulation of root growth and development. Under nutrient-sufficient conditions, SLs regulate the elongatio...

The karrikin (KAR) receptor and several related signaling components have been identified by forward genetic screening, but only a few studies have reported on upstream and downstream KAR signaling components and their roles in drought tolerance. Here, we characterized the functions of KAR UPREGULATED F-BOX 1 (KUF1) in drought tolerance using a rev...

Potassium (K) is an integral part of plant nutrition, playing essential roles in plant growth and development. Despite its abundance in soils, the limitedly available form of K ion (K⁺) for plant uptake is a critical factor for agricultural production. Plants have evolved complex transport systems to maintain appropriate K⁺ levels in tissues in cha...

Nitrate (NO3–) and phosphate (Pi) deficiencies are the major constraints for chickpea productivity, significantly impacting global food security. However, excessive fertilization is expensive and can also lead to environmental pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop chickpea cultivars that are able to grow on soils deficient in bot...

The Zingiberaceae family is a rich source of diverse bioactive phytochemicals. It comprises about 52 genera and 1300 species of aromatic flowering perennial herbs with characteristic creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes. Notable members of this family include ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), Javanese ginger (Cur...

Recent investigations in Arabidopsis thaliana suggest that SUPPRESSOR of MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 2 1 (SMAX1) and SMAX1-LIKE2 (SMXL2) are negative regulators of karrikin and strigolactone signaling during plant growth and development, but their functions in drought resistance and related mechanisms of action remain unclear. To understand the roles and...

The flow of ecosystem services between regions as a result of the mismatch of supply and demand has increasingly become a new research focus. Clarifying the spatial regularity of ecosystem service flow is of great significance for realizing regional sustainable development and improving human well-being. This study applied a network model to map th...

Agricultural production consumes land and water resources, and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Optimizing agricultural management to reduce environmental impacts is essential for regional ecological security. An evaluation framework was applied to assess the greenhouse gas emissions, water utilization, and land use of agricultural producti...

To examine the potential role of acetate in conferring cadmium (Cd) stress tolerance in lentil (Lens culinaris), several phenotypical and physio-biochemical properties have been examined in Cd-stressed lentil seedlings following acetate applications. Acetate treatment inhibited the translocation of Cd from roots to shoots, which resulted in a minim...

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is an important oil crop, occupying the seventh position in the edible oil industry; however, it is relatively sensitive to waterlogging (WL) stress. Reduced glutathione (GSH) is known to have mitigating effects against various abiotic stresses in plants; however, its exploration to improve WL tolerance in sesame is still e...

Sinapate esters, which are induced in plants under ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation, have important roles not only in the protection against UV-B irradiation but also in the regulation of stomatal closure. Here, we speculated that sinapate esters would function in the stomatal closure of Arabidopsis thaliana in response to UV-B. We measured the sto...

Drought is a major environmental threat to agricultural productivity and food security across the world. Therefore, addressing the detrimental effects of drought on vital crops like soybean has a significant impact on sustainable food production. Priming plants with organic compounds is now being considered as a promising technique for alleviating...

Arsenite regulates the uptake and detoxification of arsenate in plants under low-phosphate conditions by governing the stability of PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE 1, as reported in a recent study by Navarro and colleagues. This finding opens new opportunities for research into developing mitigation strategies to deal with arsenic toxicity in plants.

The necessity to gain deep insights regarding the overall metabolic efficiency of soybean functional acclimation to tackle phosphate (Pi) starvation has led us to discuss the current knowledge on the carbon (C) metabolic changes in soybean nodules under such Pi stress conditions in this review. Soybean possesses numerous coping strategies to conser...

‘Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters’ (SWEETs) are a group of sugar transporters that play crucial roles in various biological processes, particularly plant stress responses. However, no information is available yet for the CaSWEET family in chickpea. Here, we identified all putative CaSWEET members in chickpea, and obtained their major...

Soil salinity, a major environmental concern, significantly reduces plant growth and production all around the world. Finding solutions to reduce the salinity impacts on plants is critical for global food security. In recent years, the priming of plants with organic chemicals has shown to be a viable approach for the alleviation of salinity effects...

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is one of the major important oil crops worldwide and is largely cultivated in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP), where long and strong solar-radiation is well-known. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying rapeseed’s response to light stress are largely unknown. In the present study, the color of rapeseed seedlings c...

Energy, carbon, water and their interactions determine agricultural production efficiency and sustainability. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), agricultural activities threaten the ecological security of the region, and agriculture itself is susceptible to climate change. In this study, we applied an energy-carbon-water nexus framework to assess...

Significance The regulatory roles of cytokinin (CK) signaling on metabolic plasticity of plant response to salt stress remain widely unknown. A comprehensive metabolome and transcriptome analysis of CK-signaling–defective Arabidopsis thaliana histidine-containing phosphotransfer protein ahp2,3,5 and type-B Arabidopsis response regulator arr1,10,12...

Metalloid contamination, such as arsenic poisoning, poses a significant environmental problem, reducing plant productivity and putting human health at risk. Phytohormones are known to regulate arsenic stress; however, the function of strigolactones (SLs) in arsenic stress tolerance in rice is rarely investigated. Here, we investigated shoot respons...

Plants modulate the metabolism of phytohormones and their signaling pathways under drought to regulate physiological and adaptive responses. Jasmonic acid (JA) is one of the major classes of phytohormones and has been found to potentially enhance plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses, including drought. The JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) proteins...

Soil salinization, which is aggravated by climate change and inappropriate anthropogenic activities, has emerged as a serious environmental problem, threatening sustainable agriculture and future food security. Although there has been considerable progress in developing crop varieties by introducing salt tolerance-associated traits, most crop culti...

Crosstalk among ABA, auxin and ROS plays critical roles in modulating seed germination, root growth and suberization. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely elusive. Here, MYB70, a R2R3-MYB transcription factor was shown to be a key component of these processes in Arabidopsis thaliana. myb70 seeds displayed decreased sensitivit...

Melatonin (MEL) is a ubiquitous molecule with pleiotropic roles in plant adaption to stress. In this study, we investigated the effects of foliar spray of 100 and 200 μM MEL on the biochemical and physiological traits linked with the growth performance of olive seedlings exposed to moderate (45 mM NaCl) and severe (90 mM NaCl) salinity. Both salt s...

AimsSpecific soil bacteria can sense and respond to the selective rhizosphere recruitment of root exudates using unique systems of chemotaxis that mediate plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. This study investigates how the bacterial chemotaxis systems have been impacted by selection during the domestication of rice (Oryza species).Metho...