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Cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic, even at very low concentrations, to both animals and plants. Pollen is extremely sensitive to heavy metal pollutants; however, less attention has been paid to the protection of this vital part under heavy metal stress. A pot experiment was designed to investigate the effect of foliar application of Se (1 mg/L) and Mo (0.3 mg/L) either alone or in combination on their absorption, translocation, and their impact on Cd uptake and its further distribution in Brassica napus, as well as the impact of these fertilizers on the pollen grains morphology, viability, and germination rate in B. napus under Cd stress. Foliar application of either Se or Mo could counteract Cd toxicity and increase the plant biomass, while combined application of Se and Mo solutions on B. napus has no significant promotional effect on plant root and stem, but reduces the seeds’ weight by 10–11%. Se and Mo have decreased the accumulated Cd in seeds by 6.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Microscopic studies, SEM, and pollen viability tests demonstrated that pollen grains could be negatively affected by Cd, thus disturbing the plant fertility. Se and Mo foliar application could reduce the toxic symptoms in pollen grains when the one or the other was sprayed alone on plants. In an in vitro pollen germination test, 500 μM Cd stress could strongly inhibit the pollen germination rate to less than 2.5%, however, when Se (10 μM) or Mo (1.0 μM) was added to the germination medium, the rate increased, reaching 66.2% and 39.4%, respectively. At the molecular level, Se and Mo could greatly affect the expression levels of some genes related to Cd uptake by roots (IRT1), Cd transport (HMA2 and HMA4), Cd sequestration in plant vacuoles (HMA3), and the final Cd distribution in plant tissue at the physiological level (PCS1).

Water deficit is a key factor to induce flowering in many woody plants, but reports on the molecular mechanisms of floral induction and flowering by water deficit are scarce. Here, we analyzed the morphology, cytology, and different hormone levels of lemon buds during floral inductive water deficits. Higher levels of ABA were observed, and the initiation of floral bud differentiation was examined by paraffin sections analysis. A total of 1638 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by RNA sequencing. DEGs were related to flowering, hormone biosynthesis, or metabolism. The expression of some DEGs was associated with floral induction by real-time PCR analysis. However, some DEGs may not have anything to do with flowering induction/flower development; they may be involved in general stress/drought response. Four genes from the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein family were further investigated. Ectopic expression of these genes in Arabidopsis changed the flowering time of transgenic plants. Furthermore, the 5′ flanking region of these genes was also isolated and sequence analysis revealed the presence of several putative cis-regulatory elements, including basic elements and hormone regulation elements. The spatial and temporal expression patterns of these promoters were investigated under water deficit treatment. Based on these findings, we propose a model for citrus flowering under water deficit conditions, which will enable us to further understand the molecular mechanism of water deficit-regulated flowering in citrus. Highlight: Based on gene activity during floral inductive water deficits identified by RNA sequencing and genes associated with lemon floral transition, a model for citrus flowering under water deficit conditions is proposed.

The objective is to study whether the accumulation and utilization of plant N are controlled by Mo status in winter wheat cultivars. Mo-efficient cultivar 97003 (eff) and Mo-inefficient cultivar 97014 (ineff) were grown in severely Mo-deficient acidic soil (Tamm-reagent-extractable Mo 0.112 mg kg^(-1)) with (+Mo) and without (-Mo) the application of 0.13 mg kg^(-1) Mo. The accumulation and use efficiency of plant total N were significantly higher in +Mo than that in -Mo and in eff than that in ineff under Mo deficiency. N use efficiency was remarkably higher in maturity but it was forwarded to jointing stage after Mo supply, thus indicating that Mo supply promoted the N use efficiency besides N uptake and eff was efficient in N uptake and utilization. The overall activity of nitrate reductase (NR, EC 1.6.6.1) was significantly higher in +Mo than in -Mo and ratio of +Mo/-Mo was even to 14.8 at tillering stage for ineff. Activity of glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) was significantly lower in +Mo than in -Mo. Concentration of nitrate and glutamate were also significantly lower in +Mo than in -Mo, thus provided evidences for enhancing N use efficiency by Mo supply. Activities of NR and GS were significantly higher and concentrations of nitrate and glutamate were significantly lower in eff than ineff under Mo deficiency, thus indicated eff was more efficient in N reduction and utilization. It is therefore concluded that Mo could promote N accumulation and utilization in winter wheat which was directly related to NR and feedback regulated by GS. Higher Mo status also results in higher accumulation and utilization of plant N in eff.

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of arsenic (As) stress on growth, nutrition and As uptake, and speciation in shoots and roots of winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). Winter wheat has high tolerance to As. Most As is accumulated in the roots, and an As concentration of 4,421 mg/kg was observed at a solution concentration of 20 mg/L As. Arsenic concentrations in roots were approximately 40–100 times greater than those in shoots. Arsenic in winter wheat roots and shoots occurred as both As 3 + and As 5 + species, although As 3 + was the main species in winter wheat tissues. Arsenic significantly decreased the biomass of winter wheat shoots and roots and affected absorption and transport of micro- and macro-elements in winter wheat tissue. Arsenic treatment significantly increased the concentrations of total Magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) in shoots and enhanced the transport of Mg and Ca from roots to shoots but decreased potassium (K), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations in both shoots and roots, particularly the concentration of P. Concentrations of iron, copper, and zinc in winter wheat shoots were negatively related to As rates, with correlation coefficients ( R 2 ) of 0.93, 0.94, and 0.97, respectively.

The objective was to probe the site where the biosynthesis of chlorophyll was blocked under Mo deficiency at low temperature, which led to the decrease of chlorophyll in winter wheat cultivars. The intermediates of chlorophyll biosynthesis were analyzed in winter wheat cultivars in soil culture, miniblock culture, and solution culture to study the effects of Mo on chlorophyll biosynthesis without Mo addition (CK, soil available Mo 0.112 mg kg−1) and Mo addition (+ Mo, 0.13 mg kg−1 Mo was added). Laevulinic acid (LA), the competitive analog of δ-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) was also introduced in the experiment. The ratio of Chl a/Chl b was constant between CK and + Mo treatment, whereas it increased at low temperature, which indicated that Mo deficiency did not inhibit the transformation of Chl a to Chl b at low temperature. Under Mo deficiency, the contents of protochlorophyll (Pchl), Mg-protoporphyrin IX (Mg-Proto IX), protoporphyrin IX (proto IX), and uroporphyrinogen III (Uro III) decreased [Uro III decreased significantly (P