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By the end of this century, a 50% increase in agricultural productivity is required to feed the world. Recent studies have demonstrated de novo domestication of wild plants as a new crop breeding strategy to meet future food challenges.

Wound healing is a long‐term, multistage biological process that includes hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodeling and requires intelligent designs to provide comprehensive and convenient treatment. The complexity of wounds has led to a lack of adequate wound treatment materials, which must systematically regulate unique wound microenvironments. Hydrogels have significant advantages in wound treatment due to their ability to provide spatiotemporal control over the wound healing process. Self‐assembling peptide‐based hydrogels are particularly attractive due to their innate biocompatibility and biodegradability along with additional advantages including ligand‐receptor recognition, stimulus‐responsive self‐assembly, and the ability to mimic the extracellular matrix. The ability of peptide‐based materials to self‐assemble in response to the physiological environment, resulting in functionalized microscopic structures, makes them conducive to wound treatment. This review introduces several self‐assembling peptide‐based systems with various advantages and emphasizes recent advances in self‐assembling peptide‐based hydrogels that allow for precise control during different stages of wound healing. Moreover, the development of multifunctional self‐assembling peptide‐based hydrogels that can regulate and remodel the wound immune microenvironment in wound therapy with spatiotemporal control has also been summarized. Overall, this review sheds light on the future clinical and practical applications of self‐assembling peptide‐based hydrogels. The main self‐assembling peptide‐based systems, the advantages of self‐assembling peptide‐based hydrogels, and the rational design of peptide‐based materials for different stages of wound healing are reviewed. Advanced self‐assembling peptide‐based materials that can be applied in spatiotemporally controllable, multifunctional wound healing and regulate/remodel the wound microenvironment are discussed. Prospects and challenges related to peptide‐based hydrogels for wound healing are also highlighted.

Strigolactones （SLs）, a group of carotenoid derived terpenoid lactones, are root-to-shoot phytohormones sup- pressing shoot branching by inhibiting the outgrowth of axillary buds. DWARF 53 （D53）, the key repressor of the SL signaling pathway, is speculated to regulate the downstream transcriptional network of the SL response. However, no downstream transcription factor targeted by D53 has yet been reported. Here we report that Ideal Plant Architecture 1 （IPA1）, a key regulator of the plant architecture in rice, functions as a direct downstream component of D53 in reg- ulating tiller number and SL-induced gene expression. We showed that D53 interacts with IPA1 in vivo and in vitro and suppresses the transcriptional activation activity of IPA1. We further showed that IPA1 could directly bind to the D53 promoter and plays a critical role in the feedback regulation of SL-induced D53 expression. These findings re- veal that IPA1 is likely one of the long-speculated transcription factors that act with D53 to mediate the SL-regulated tiller development in rice.

Jiayang Li, Xudong Zhu, Qian Qian and colleagues report cloning of the Grain Length on Chromosome 7 ( GL7 ) locus in rice and identify a copy number variant that increases grain length and improves grain quality. They demonstrate how interactions with other grain length–related genes may be used to improve breeding. Copy number variants (CNVs) are associated with changes in gene expression levels and contribute to various adaptive traits 1 , 2 . Here we show that a CNV at the Grain Length on Chromosome 7 ( GL7 ) locus contributes to grain size diversity in rice ( Oryza sativa L.). GL7 encodes a protein homologous to Arabidopsis thaliana LONGIFOLIA proteins, which regulate longitudinal cell elongation. Tandem duplication of a 17.1-kb segment at the GL7 locus leads to upregulation of GL7 and downregulation of its nearby negative regulator, resulting in an increase in grain length and improvement of grain appearance quality. Sequence analysis indicates that allelic variants of GL7 and its negative regulator are associated with grain size diversity and that the CNV at the GL7 locus was selected for and used in breeding. Our work suggests that pyramiding beneficial alleles of GL7 and other yield- and quality-related genes may improve the breeding of elite rice varieties.

Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted extensive attention to be applied in large‐scale energy storage due to their low cost and abundant storage resources. Among cathode materials for SIBs, layered oxide cathodes are considered one of the most promising candidates for practical application owing to their high theoretical capacities, simple synthesis routes, and environmental friendliness. However, poor air stability, complicated interfacial reaction, and irreversible phase translation of layered oxide cathodes pose problems for the long‐term cycle as well as rate performance. In this review, the recent achievements and progress in surface engineering chemistry strategies to improve the electrochemical performance of SIBs have been summarized including mechanical mixing, in‐situ coating methods, and designing unique interfacial structures. Moreover, inspired by previous studies, we propose an innovative concept of interface conversion reaction with bulk penetration doping integration, which is expected to deal with both interfacial and intrinsic issues synchronously through heat treatment. It could not only eliminate residual sodium compounds on the surface and improve air stability but also suppress the dissolution and the migration of transition metal and the phase transformation. The insights that came up in this review can be considered as a guide for surface engineering on layered oxide cathode for SIBs. The practical application of layered oxide cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries has been blocked by the dissatisfied long‐term cycling performance caused by the surface failure including dissolution of transition metal ions, gas release, side reaction, and crack generations. In this review, we propose an innovative concept of interface conversion reaction with bulk penetration doping integration, which is expected to deal with both interfacial and intrinsic issues synchronously.

Feature selection (FS) is a critical step in hyperspectral image (HSI) classification, essential for reducing data dimensionality while preserving classification accuracy. However, FS for HSIs remains an NP-hard challenge, as existing swarm intelligence and evolutionary algorithms (SIEAs) often suffer from limited exploration capabilities or susceptibility to local optima, particularly in high-dimensional scenarios. To address these challenges, we propose GWOGA, a novel hybrid algorithm that combines Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA), aiming to achieve an effective balance between exploration and exploitation. The innovation of GWOGA lies in three core strategies: (1) chaotic map and Opposition-Based Learning (OBL) for uniformly distributed population initialization, enhancing diversity and mitigating premature convergence; (2) elite learning strategy to prioritize high-ranking solutions, strengthening the search hierarchy and efficiency; and (3) a hybrid optimization mechanism where GWO ensures rapid early-stage convergence, while GA refines global search in later stages to escape local optima. Experiments on three benchmark HSIs (i.e., Indian Pines, KSC, and Botswana) demonstrate that GWOGA outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms, achieving higher classification accuracy with fewer selected bands. The results highlight GWOGA’s robustness, generalizability, and potential for real-world applications in HSI FS.

Strigolactones (SLs) are carotenoid-derived phytohormones that control many aspects of plant development, including shoot branching, leaf shape, stem secondary thickening, and lateral root growth. In rice (Oryza sativa), SL signaling requires the degradation of DWARF53 (D53), mediated by a complex including D14 and D3, but in Arabidopsis thaliana, the components and mechanism of SL signaling involving the D3 ortholog MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2 (MAX2) are unknown. Here, we show that SL-dependent regulation of shoot branching in Arabidopsis requires three D53-like proteins, SUPPRESSOR OF MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2-LIKE6 (SMXL6), SMXL7, and SMXL8. The smxl6 smxl7 smxl8 triple mutant suppresses the highly branched phenotypes of max2 and the SL-deficient mutant max3. Overexpression of a mutant form of SMXL6 that is resistant to SL-induced ubiquitination and degradation enhances shoot branching. Exogenous application of the SL analog rac-GR24 causes ubiquitination and degradation of SMXL6, 7, and 8; this requires D14 and MAX2. D53-like SMXLs form complexes with MAX2 and TOPLESS-RELATED PROTEIN2 (TPR2) and interact with D14 in a GR24-responsive manner. Furthermore, D53-like SMXLs exhibit TPR2-dependent transcriptional repression activity and repress the expression of BRANCHED1. Our findings reveal that in Arabidopsis, D53-like SMXLs act with TPR2 to repress transcription and so allow lateral bud outgrowth but that SL-induced degradation of D53-like proteins activates transcription to inhibit outgrowth.

Jiayang Li and colleagues report the positional cloning of the Ideal Plant Architecture (IPA1) QTL in rice. The gene OsSPL14 underlies the IPA1 locus and regulates plant architecture and enhances rice grain yield. Increasing crop yield is a major challenge for modern agriculture. The development of new plant types, which is known as ideal plant architecture (IPA), has been proposed as a means to enhance rice yield potential over that of existing high-yield varieties 1 , 2 . Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a semidominant quantitative trait locus, IPA1 ( Ideal Plant Architecture 1 ), which profoundly changes rice plant architecture and substantially enhances rice grain yield. The IPA1 quantitative trait locus encodes OsSPL14 (SOUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 14) and is regulated by microRNA (miRNA) OsmiR156 in vivo . We demonstrate that a point mutation in OsSPL14 perturbs OsmiR156-directed regulation of OsSPL14 , generating an 'ideal' rice plant with a reduced tiller number, increased lodging resistance and enhanced grain yield. Our study suggests that OsSPL14 may help improve rice grain yield by facilitating the breeding of new elite rice varieties.

As one of the most important growth-promoting hormones, auxin regulates many aspects of plant growth and development. Understanding auxin action has long been a challenging task because of the complexity of the hormone transport involved in auxin response. Despite tremendous progress made in Arabidopsis , auxin response and transport are poorly understood in crop plants, which impedes the application of hormone knowledge in agricultural improvement. This study not only identifies a novel positive regulator of plant growth in rice and demonstrates its significant role in improving seed size and grain yield, it also illustrates the specific involvement of the plasma membrane-associated protein in regulating auxin response and transport, thus illuminating a new strategy for enhancing crop productivity. Grain size is one of the key factors determining grain yield. However, it remains largely unknown how grain size is regulated by developmental signals. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a dominant mutant big grain1 ( Bg1-D ) that shows an extra-large grain phenotype from our rice T-DNA insertion population. Overexpression of BG1 leads to significantly increased grain size, and the severe lines exhibit obviously perturbed gravitropism. In addition, the mutant has increased sensitivities to both auxin and N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid, an auxin transport inhibitor, whereas knockdown of BG1 results in decreased sensitivities and smaller grains. Moreover, BG1 is specifically induced by auxin treatment, preferentially expresses in the vascular tissue of culms and young panicles, and encodes a novel membrane-localized protein, strongly suggesting its role in regulating auxin transport. Consistent with this finding, the mutant has increased auxin basipetal transport and altered auxin distribution, whereas the knockdown plants have decreased auxin transport. Manipulation of BG1 in both rice and Arabidopsis can enhance plant biomass, seed weight, and yield. Taking these data together, we identify a novel positive regulator of auxin response and transport in a crop plant and demonstrate its role in regulating grain size, thus illuminating a new strategy to improve plant productivity.