Lianrong Hu

Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze, a critically endangered tree species, plays an irreplaceable ecological role in its native habitats. Under global climate change, identifying the drivers governing its geographic distribution and assessing climate-related threats can provide scientific guidance for the long-term conservation and habitat restoration of this species. In this study, a total of 287 valid occurrence records from 27 countries were compiled. Combined with 14 screened environmental variables, an optimized Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model was used to predict the potential suitable habitats of A. angustifolia under historical climate conditions (1970–2000), as well as under low-emission (SSP126) and high-emission (SSP585) scenarios for the future periods of 2050, 2070, and 2090. Under historical climatic conditions, the average training AUC value from 10 replicate model runs was 0.979, indicating excellent and reliable model performance. Globally, the species has 1.91 × 10⁶ km² of moderately suitable habitat and 0.95 × 10⁶ km² of highly suitable habitat, with a total suitable habitat area of 2.86 × 10⁶ km², accounting for only 1.92% of the global terrestrial area. Mean annual temperature (bio1), mean temperature of the coldest quarter (bio11), and annual temperature range (bio7) are the dominant environmental variables shaping the distribution of A. angustifolia, followed by annual precipitation (bio12). Under future climate scenarios, the overall suitable habitats of A. angustifolia exhibit a slight contracting trend, whereas their spatial distribution patterns remain relatively stable.

Star anise, an economically and medicinally important crop, is highly susceptible to infestation by Oides leucomelaena Weise, leading to significant yield losses. This study employed transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis to systematically identify detoxification genes (CYP, GST, and CarE) in O. leucomelaena and evaluated their binding potential with star anise volatiles via molecular docking. A total of 64 CYP, 21 GST, and 44 CarE genes were identified, with several genes showing high expression across multiple tissues. Molecular docking revealed strong binding affinity between seven CYP proteins and star anise volatiles, notably the antennae-specific CYP, which exhibited robust binding with multiple volatiles. Detoxification genes in O. leucomelaena may mediate host adaptation by metabolizing star anise volatiles, providing potential targets for eco-friendly pest control.

The Fusarium species is an important plant pathogen that can cause plant diseases in grassland, leading to the degradation of grassland quality. However, the morphology of Fusarium is greatly affected by environmental factors, which makes it difficult to identify its species. In addition, the pathogenic ability of different Fusarium species in plants has not been fully studied. In this study, Fusarium isolates were obtained from grassland herbaceous plants via tissue separation. Through morphological means and based on ITS, RPB2, and TEF-1 gene sequences, we compared and constructed polygenic phylogenetic trees to classify and identify the Fusarium species. In addition, the pathogenicity of different Fusarium species was also analyzed. The results showed that a total of 24 Fusarium strains were successfully isolated from grassland, from which ten species were identified: F. flagelliforme, F. longifundum, F. clavum, F. scirpi, F. ipomoeae, F. oxysporum, etc. and were included in four complexes: Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC), Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC), Fusarium tricinctum species complex (FTSC), and Fusarium sambucinum species complex (FSAMSC). Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that except for F. ipomoeae QJ5211, F. sambucinum QJ203, and F. acuminatum QJ1662, other Fusarium species had different degrees of pathogenic ability. This is the first study that discusses the effect of Fusarium on grassland disease control in this area. This study further provides clear pathogen information for the prevention and control of grassland diseases.

Mikania micrantha is one of the most threatening invasive plant species in the world. Its invasion has greatly reduced the species diversity of the invaded areas. The development of fungal herbicides using phytopathogenic fungi has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In this study, a tissue isolation method was used to isolate and screen the strain SWFU-MM002 with strong pathogenicity to M. micrantha leaves from naturally occurring M. micrantha. Through morphological observation, ITS, GAPDH, and Alta-1 gene sequence homology, we compare and construct a phylogenetic tree to determine their taxonomic status. In addition, the biological characteristics of strain SWFU-MM002 were studied. The results showed that, combined with morphological and molecular biology identification, the strain was identified as Alternaria gossypina; biological characteristic research showed that the optimal medium for the growth of mycelium of this strain is PDA medium. At the optimal temperature of 27 °C and pH between 6 and 10, the mycelium can grow well. The best carbon and nitrogen sources are maltose and peptone, respectively. Analysing the infection process under a light microscope showed that SWFU-MM002 mycelia invaded the leaf tissue through stomata and colonized, eventually causing damage to the host. This is the first report of leaf spot of M. micrantha caused by A. gossypina. This study can lay a solid foundation for the development of A. gossypina as a control agent for M. micrantha.

The identification of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) involved in host location by Oides leucomelaena (O. leucomelaena Weise, 1922, Coleoptera, Galerucinae) is significant for its biological control. Tools in the NCBI database were used to compare and analyze the transcriptome sequences of O. leucomelaena with OBP and other chemosensory-related proteins of other Coleoptera insects. Subsequently, MEGA7 was utilized for OBP sequence alignment and the construction of a phylogenetic tree, combined with expression profiling to screen for candidate antennae-specific OBPs. In addition, fumigation experiments with star anise volatiles were conducted to assess the antennae specificity of the candidate OBPs. Finally, molecular docking was employed to speculate on the binding potential of antennae-specific OBPs with star anise volatiles. The study identified 42 candidate OBPs, 8 chemosensory proteins and 27 receptors. OleuOBP3, OleuOBP5, and OleuOBP6 were identified as classic OBP family members specific to the antennae, which was confirmed by volatile fumigation experiments. Molecular docking ultimately clarified that OleuOBP3, OleuOBP5, and OleuOBP6 all exhibit a high affinity for β-caryophyllene among the star anise volatiles. We successfully obtained three antennae-specific OBPs from O. leucomelaena and determined their high-affinity volatiles, providing a theoretical basis for the development of attractants in subsequent stages.