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Climate change is triggering similar effects on the incidence and severity of disease for crops in agriculture and wild plants in natural communities. The complexity of natural ecosystems, however, generates a complex array of interactions between wild plants and pathogens in marked contrast to those generated in the structural and species simplicity of most agricultural crops. Understanding the different impacts of climate change on agricultural and natural ecosystems requires accounting for the specific interactions between an individual pathogen and its host(s) and their subsequent effects on the interplay between the host and other species in the community. Ultimately, progress will require looking past short-term fluctuations to multiyear trends to understand the nature and extent of plant and pathogen evolutionary adaptation and determine the fate of plants under future climate change.

Background Sustainable management of tree diseases requires harnessing the plant’s own immune system. Leaf blight caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora ( N. clavispora ) affects the ornamental value of Ginkgo biloba ( G. biloba ) and the accumulation of its medicinal components. Elicitors, as a novel biological control method, hold potential application value in the prevention and management of G. biloba leaf blight. Results We demonstrate that a cell wall elicitor extracted from the fungal pathogen N. clavispora potently induces systemic resistance against leaf blight in the ancient gymnosperm G. biloba . The elicitor exhibited no direct antifungal activity, confirming that its protective function is mediated exclusively through plant innate immunity. Pre-treatment with the elicitor resulted in over 80% disease control, outperforming commercial resistance inducers and matching the efficacy of carbendazim fungicide. This resistance was associated with a primed state, characterized by a rapid and sustained burst in key defense enzyme activities (POD, PAL, PPO), accelerated accumulation of lignin and phenolics, and mitigated oxidative damage. Metabolomic analyses revealed that the elicitor triggers a change of the defense landscape. We identified coordinated upregulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway, which was directly mirrored by the accumulation of defensive flavonoids and flavonols. Furthermore, tryptophan metabolism and glycerophospholipid pathways were significantly altered, indicating a comprehensive reconfiguration of primary and secondary metabolism. Conclusions Our findings uncover a multifaceted defense strategy in G. biloba , wherein the fungal elicitor acts as a priming agent to establish a state of alert, enabling a robust, integrated metabolic response that effectively restricts pathogen invasion. This work provides a molecular framework for elicitor-induced resistance in trees and validates a sustainable, vaccine-like strategy for forest protection.

Background Zanthoxylum bungeanum is a highly valuable economic tree species in China, widely cultivated for its aromatic peel, medicinal properties, and industrial applications. In recent years, Fusarium tricinctum , a pathogen causing gummosis in Z. bungeanum , has severely impacted production in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Early detection of this pathogen is challenging due to its prolonged incubation period and nonspecific symptoms, which often lead to significant crop losses and secondary infections by insects. Traditional methods of morphological identification are time-consuming and lack accuracy, necessitating the development of rapid molecular diagnostic tools. Results In this study, we screened potential target sequences from F. tricinctum and developed three rapid detection methods—loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), nested PCR, and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) based on the CYP51C gene. All three methods demonstrated high specificity and effectiveness for early diagnosis of gummosis in Z. bungeanum . qPCR exhibited the highest sensitivity, detecting DNA concentrations as low as 3.1 fg/µL, which was tenfold more sensitive than LAMP and nested PCR. Additionally, qPCR enabled absolute quantification of the pathogen. Nested PCR showed exceptional stability and reliability, while LAMP provided rapid, cost-effective, and visually interpretable results, making it ideal for field applications. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the potential of molecular techniques to overcome traditional diagnostic limitations, providing practical solutions for early pathogen detection and sustainable disease management in Z. bungeanum . Among the methods, LAMP is optimal for field applications due to its simplicity, speed, and visual interpretation.

Biological control is considered as a promising alternative to pesticide and plant resistance to manage plant diseases, but a better understanding of the interaction of its natural and societal functions is necessary for its endorsement. The introduction of biological control agents (BCAs) alters the interaction among plants, pathogens, and environments, leading to biological and physical cascades that influence pathogen fitness, plant health, and ecological function. These interrelationships generate a landscape of tradeoffs among natural and social functions of biological control, and a comprehensive evaluation of its benefits and costs across social and farmer perspectives is required to ensure the sustainable development and deployment of the approach. Consequently, there should be a shift of disease control philosophy from a single concept that only concerns crop productivity to a multifaceted concept concerning crop productivity, ecological function, social acceptability, and economical accessibility. To achieve these goals, attempts should make to develop “green” BCAs used dynamically and synthetically with other disease control approaches in an integrated disease management scheme, and evolutionary biologists should play an increasing role in formulating the strategies. Governments and the public should also play a role in the development and implementation of biological control strategies supporting positive externality.

Space exploration and interstellar migration are important strategies for long-term human survival. However, extreme environmental conditions, such as space radiation and microgravity, can cause adverse effects, including DNA damage, cerebrovascular disease, osteoporosis, and muscle atrophy, which would require prophylactic and remedial treatment en route . Production of oral drugs in situ is therefore critical for interstellar travel and can be achieved through industrial production utilizing microalgae, which offers high production efficiency, edibility, resource minimization, adaptability, stress tolerance, and genetic manipulation ease. Synthetic biological techniques using microalgae as a chassis offer several advantages in producing natural products, including availability of biosynthetic precursors, potential for synthesizing natural metabolites, superior quality and efficiency, environmental protection, and sustainable development. This article explores the advantages of bioproduction from microalgal chassis using synthetic biological techniques, suitability of microalgal bioreactor-based cell factories for producing value-added natural metabolites, and prospects and applications of microalgae in interstellar travel.

Background Cross-resistance, a phenomenon that a pathogen resists to one antimicrobial compound also resists to one or several other compounds, is one of major threats to human health and sustainable food production. It usually occurs among antimicrobial compounds sharing the mode of action. In this study, we determined the sensitivity profiles of Alternaria alternata , a fungal pathogen which can cause diseases in many crops to two fungicides (mancozeb and difenoconazole) with different mode of action using a large number of isolates (234) collected from seven potato fields across China. Results We found that pathogens could also develop cross resistance to fungicides with different modes of action as indicated by a strong positive correlation between mancozeb and difenoconazole tolerances to A. alternata . We also found a positive association between mancozeb tolerance and aggressiveness of A. alternata , suggesting no fitness penalty of developing mancozeb resistance in the pathogen and hypothesize that mechanisms such as antimicrobial compound efflux and detoxification that limit intercellular accumulation of natural/synthetic chemicals in pathogens might account for the cross-resistance and the positive association between pathogen aggressiveness and mancozeb tolerance. Conclusions The detection of cross-resistance among different classes of fungicides suggests that the mode of action alone may not be an adequate sole criterion to determine what components to use in the mixture and/or rotation of fungicides in agricultural and medical sects. Similarly, the observation of a positive association between the pathogen’s aggressiveness and tolerance to mancozeb suggests that intensive application of site non-specific fungicides might simultaneously lead to reduced fungicide resistance and enhanced ability to cause diseases in pathogen populations, thereby posing a greater threat to agricultural production and human health. In this case, the use of evolutionary principles in closely monitoring populations and the use of appropriate fungicide applications are important for effective use of the fungicides and durable infectious disease management.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) family members are evolutionally conserved Ser/Thr protein kinases in mammals and plants. In plants, the GSK3s function as signaling hubs to integrate the perception and transduction of diverse signals required for plant development. Despite their role in the regulation of plant growth and development, emerging research has shed light on their multilayer function in plant stress responses. Here we review recent advances in the regulatory network of GSK3s and the involvement of GSK3s in plant adaptation to various abiotic and biotic stresses. We also discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying how plants cope with environmental stresses through GSK3s-hormones crosstalk, a pivotal biochemical pathway in plant stress responses. We believe that our overview of the versatile physiological functions of GSK3s and underlined molecular mechanism of GSK3s in plant stress response will not only opens further research on this important topic but also provide opportunities for developing stress-resilient crops through the use of genetic engineering technology.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231961.].[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231961.].

Human civilization is threatened by food insecurity and habitat loss owing to the cumulative effects of anthropogenic and natural factors. Thus, increasing food production while using fewer resources and exploring the potential of interstellar migration is essential. Particularly, microalgae can fulfil the biological, nutritional, and efficiency requirements of industrial food production on Earth and other potential planets. Herein, we discuss the industrial production of microalgae on Earth and in outer space, along with the technological advances that will help reshape the genetic and chemical properties of microalgae for better production, nutrition, and adaptation. We propose the concept of “multiplanetary farming” to address future requirements for agricultural development. This perspective review is intended to stimulate a broad debate and research on this paramount issue for the future of mankind.

Biodiversity plays multifaceted roles in societal development and ecological sustainability. In agricultural ecosystems, using biodiversity to mitigate plant diseases has received renewed attention in recent years but our knowledge of the best ways of using biodiversity to control plant diseases is still incomplete. In term of in-crop diversification, it is not clear how genetic diversity per se in host populations interacts with identifiable resistance and other functional traits of component genotypes to mitigate disease epidemics and what is the best way of structuring mixture populations. In this study, we created a series of host populations by mixing different numbers of potato varieties showing different late blight resistance levels in different proportions. The amount of naturally occurring late blight disease in the mixture populations was recorded weekly during the potato growing seasons. The percentage of disease reduction (PDR) in the mixture populations was calculated by comparing their observed late blight levels relative to that expected when they were planted in pure stands. We found that PDR in the mixtures increased as the number of varieties and the difference in host resistance (DHR) between the component varieties increased. However, the level of host resistance in the potato varieties had little impact on PDR. In mixtures involving two varieties, the optimum proportion of component varieties for the best PDR depended on their DHR, with an increasing skewness to one of the component varieties as the DHR between the component varieties increased. These results indicate that mixing crop varieties can significantly reduce disease epidemics in the field. To achieve the best disease mitigation, growers should include as many varieties as possible in mixtures or, if only two component mixtures are possible, increase DHR among the component varieties.