In bamboos, leaves are central not only to plant physiology but also to taxonomic study, since macromorphological characteristics such as culm or branching often overlap among species. Leaf anatomy therefore provides a valuable lens for understanding how bamboo functions and for resolving its often-challenging classification. This study focused on finding out the anatomical differences among the leaves of four bamboo species, Bambusa longispiculata, Bambusa ventricosa, Bambusa multiplex, and Dendrocalamus giganteus. The plant leaves were collected from Botanical Garden of Rajshahi University, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. The surface of the leaf blade was carefully peeled, and stomatal characteristics were observed microscopically. For microscopic structural analysis, slides were prepared from the leaf blade section. The radial extent of the cell was measured utilizing image J softwere. The leaf length, width, and area significantly varied within the bamboo species studied. The stomatal index in B. ventricosa was the highest in percentage (17.39%) and lowest in the species D. giganteus (6.9%). A variation was found in the arrangement and layer of the epidermal cell between the costal and intercoastal zones. In the transverse section, the largest diameter was found in the fusoid cell (147.36±23.19 um) in the midst of other cells, i.e., the Meta xylem, proto xylem, phloem, mesotome, bundle sheath, mesophyll, and bulliform. Among the species, B. longispiculata had the largest cell diameter and B. multiplex had the smallest cell diameter. Variations were found in the number and arrangement of vascular bundles, as well as in the diameters of the mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, as well as other cells among the studied species. These findings demonstrate the importance of anatomical study in understanding bamboo species' physiology, ecological strategies, and functional adaptations. The findings also undercore the interspecific variation among the species.

Background:
Plants synthesize a wide variety of secondary metabolites that support ecological defense and communication, many of which also exert biological activity in mammals. Erica multiflora, a Mediterranean species with a rich phenolic composition, remains underexplored for its immunomodulatory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of Erica multiflora hydromethanolic extract to modulate macrophage phenotype and inflammatory responses, thereby providing insight into the role of plant-derived metabolites in immune regulation

Methods:
Murine bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDMs) were treated with increasing concentrations of extract (12.5–100 µg/mL) to assess dose-dependent effects. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Flow cytometry was performed to quantify macrophage polarization markers: CD86, CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), and major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) for pro-inflammatory (M1) macrophages, and CD206 for anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophages. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) release following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results:
The extract demonstrated low cytotoxicity (>90% viability at all tested concentrations). TNF-α secretion decreased by approximately 45–60% relative to the LPS-stimulated control. Flow cytometry showed a 25–40% reduction in M1-associated markers (CD86, CCR2, MHC-II) and a 30–50% increase in the M2 marker CD206, indicating a phenotypic shift toward an anti-inflammatory state.

Conclusion:
Erica multiflora metabolites exhibit strong immunomodulatory potential by reducing inflammatory cytokine release and promoting anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization. These findings highlight the relevance of plant secondary metabolites as natural modulators of innate immunity and support their potential therapeutic value in inflammation-associated diseases.

The study was conducted at the Plant Pathology Department, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, during the 2023–2024 crop season. A total of 27 wheat genotypes were tested for stripe rust severity, and their correlation with environmental conditions was assessed using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Results showed that six genotypes were resistant to stripe rust. District-level evaluations further identified varieties with varying resistance. Several genotypes exhibited high to moderate resistance, supported by Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC) values, confirming their potential for cultivation in stripe rust-prone regions. Resistant genotypes such as Akbar-19 and Dilkash-21 displayed strong potential for breeding programs. Moderately resistant varieties like FSD-08 and Sehar-06 provided partial resistance but may require complementary disease management. In contrast, moderately susceptible varieties, including Galaxy-13 and Sadiq, highlighted the need for strict monitoring and integrated management strategies.

Disease distribution analysis across Southern Punjab revealed distinct spatial patterns. Heatmap results showed Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanewal, and Multan to be the most severely affected districts, with multiple hotspots linked to moderately susceptible cultivars and favorable environmental conditions. The choropleth map confirmed that Dera Ghazi Khan had the highest mean severity, with several fields recording AUDPC values above 287. Multan and Khanewal also faced high pressure, with many fields showing values between 289 and 293, categorized as moderately susceptible. Conversely, Vehari and Layyah recorded the lowest severity, with AUDPC values ranging from 33 to 200, classifying them as resistant to moderately resistant.

Statistical analysis revealed strong associations between disease intensity and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and irrigation. Districts with larger proportions of susceptible cultivars like Pak-13 and Akbar-19 showed higher rust incidence, while those planting resistant cultivars such as Dilkash-21 recorded lower severity.

The study was conducted at the Plant Pathology Department, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, during the 2023–2024 crop season. A total of 27 wheat genotypes were tested for stripe rust severity and its correlation with environmental conditions using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. These 27 genotypes were collected from Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI), Bhakkar. Results showed that six genotypes were resistant to stripe rust. District-level evaluations further identified varieties with varying resistance. Several genotypes exhibited high to moderate resistance, supported by Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC) values, confirming their potential for cultivation in stripe rust-prone regions. Resistant genotypes such as Akbar-19 and Dilkash-21 displayed strong potential for breeding programs. Moderately resistant varieties like FSD-08 and Sehar-06 provided partial resistance but may require complementary disease management. In contrast, moderately susceptible varieties including Galaxy-13 and Sadiq highlighted the need for strict monitoring and integrated management strategies.

Disease distribution analysis across Southern Punjab revealed distinct spatial patterns. Heatmap results showed Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanewal, and Multan as the most severely affected districts, with multiple hotspots linked to moderately susceptible cultivars and favorable environmental conditions. The choropleth map confirmed Dera Ghazi Khan had the highest mean severity, with several fields recording AUDPC values above 287. Multan and Khanewal also faced high pressure, with many fields showing values between 289–293, categorized as moderately susceptible. Conversely, Vehari and Layyah recorded the lowest severity, with AUDPC values ranging from 33–200, classifying them as resistant to moderately resistant.

Statistical analysis revealed strong associations between disease intensity and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and irrigation. Districts with larger proportions of susceptible cultivars like Pak-13 and Akbar-19 showed higher rust incidence, while those planting resistant cultivars such as Dilkash-21 recorded lower severity.

Plant-derived phenolic metabolites structurally related to phytohormone signaling molecules have gained interest for their potential to modulate oxidative stress and inflammation associated with metabolic disorders. Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) and Olea europaea (olive) leaves contain bioactive compounds such as rosmarinic acid and oleuropein, which are involved in plant defense and signaling pathways and may influence inflammatory processes in mammals. This study aimed to investigate the in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of these metabolites. Methanolic extracts of R. officinalis and O. europaea leaves were prepared and administered orally to adult male Wistar rats (8–10 weeks, 200–250 g; n = 6 per group) at 200 mg/kg/day for 28 days. Rats were assigned to control, high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD + plant extract groups. Extracts were characterized by HPLC, confirming rosmarinic acid (12.5 mg/g extract) and oleuropein (8.3 mg/g extract). Serum lipid profiles, hepatic oxidative markers (MDA, SOD, CAT), and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) were quantified. Treatment with R. officinalis and O. europaea extracts significantly reduced serum triglycerides (−28%) and total cholesterol (−31%) compared with HFD rats. Hepatic MDA decreased by 36%, while SOD and CAT activities increased by 41% and 38%, respectively.NF-α and IL-6 levels were markedly downregulated, indicating attenuation of metabolic inflammation. These results demonstrate that phenolic metabolites structurally related to phytohormone signaling molecules exert potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in vivo, highlighting their potential as natural modulators of metabolic inflammation and contributors to metabolic homeostasis.

The family Curculionidae shows a high incidence of parthenogenesis, particularly among broad-nosed weevils (subfamilies Entiminae and Cyclominae). Many parthenogenetic species are also polyploid, which may have important implications for their evolution and adaptation. The tribe Naupactini is a Neotropical group and one of the most diverse lineages within Curculionidae, including species of both ecological and agronomic relevance. However, cytogenetic studies of this tribe are scarce, and some reports of polyploidy remain uncertain or contradictory. Thus, the determination of the modal chromosome number (i.e., characteristic of this taxon) is highly relevant for understanding both the evolutionary history and genetic diversity of these species. The main objective of this study was to establish the chromosome number of different Naupactini species by analyzing spermatogonial meiosis, and subsequently to propose hypotheses on karyotype evolution. Between 5 and 10 meiotic preparations were examined for Naupactus dissimulator, Naupactus xanthographus, and Pantomorus postfasciatus, using 5% Giemsa staining. The modal chromosome number was determined: the first two species presented 2n = 22, while the latter showed 2n = 26. At least two possible evolutionary mechanisms were proposed to explain the observed karyotype variation: chromosome fission or fusion. Overall, these cytogenetic studies provide valuable insights into genetic diversity, the evolution of polyploidy, and the chromosomal evolutionary history of these agronomically important species, contributing to a better understanding of their biology and potential management strategies.

The complexity of biological phenomena can often be attributed to dynamic interactions among individuals within and across taxa. In parasitology, such interactions are commonly expressed as coevolutionary arms races between hosts and parasites, characterized by the necessity of continuous adaptation to maintain evolutionary fitness. Myxozoans represent a remarkable group of cnidarians that have undergone extreme morphological and genomic reduction, resulting in minute body sizes and highly compact genomes. These obligate parasites alternate between vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic hosts and are responsible for a variety of diseases affecting both cultured and wild fish populations. Despite their streamlined genomes, myxozoans retain a core set of conserved genes, while extensive gene loss and rapid, lineage-specific gene gains have driven their diversification and host specialization. These genomic innovations underpin several striking biological adaptations, including the complete loss of mitochondrial respiration in one lineage and the evolution of specialized surface proteins that facilitate blood-feeding and immune evasion in others. Here, we trace a decade-long journey of discovery that began with the sequencing of the first myxozoan genome in 2014. Subsequent research has profoundly expanded our understanding of the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying parasitism in this lineage, shedding light on how myxozoans have achieved successful and stable genomic integration of new and transferred tools to adapt to their hosts—an extraordinary example of parasitic adaptation in one of the oldest groups of metazoan parasites on Earth.

Although extensive research has been conducted on molecular breeding for drought stress tolerance in wheat, the study of drought stress at the seedling stage has not received much attention from researchers compared to other growth stages. As a result, the genetic basis of drought tolerance at the seedling stage is poorly understood, and very few genes associated with drought tolerance at this stage were identified. Therefore, there is an urgent need to concerted research efforts to explore genetic resources for drought tolerance at the seedling stage. In this study, 172 spring wheat genotypes from 20 different countries was screened under drought stress at the seedling stage. Drought stress was naturally applied by withholding irrigation for 13 days. Many morphological (leaf wilting (LW), days to wilting (DTW), days to regrowth (DTR), drought survivalrate(DSR)), and physiological traits (protein (P), amino acids (AM), proline (Pro), glucose (G) and fructose (F) were scored. The ANOVA analysis showed highly genetic differences among genotypes in all traits. The heritability (H²) estimates were very high in all traits. The H² ranged from 0.84 to 0.92 for morphological traits, and from 0.97 to 0.99 for physiological traits. Moreover, significant correlations were found among traits under drought stress. Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was conducted for all traits using 407 Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) markers. The GWAS analysis at significant level of p-value ≤ 0. 001 revealed 15 and one significant DArT markers associated with morphological and physiological traits, respectively. Out of all significant markers, only one marker (WPT-7063) found to be common in four morphological traits. Interestingly, four markers (TPT-3689, WPT-664309, WPT-7677, and RPT-7068) found in this study were previously reported for their association with drought tolerance in wheat. The preliminary findings of this study provided novel significant markers which, after validation, may be used in marker-assisted selection to accelerate genetic improvement of drought tolerance in wheat seedlings.

Rice blast disease, caused by the pathogenic fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, poses a significant threat to global rice production, particularly impacting the high-value Mahsuri variety cultivated in Malaysia. Despite the extensive genetic diversity within Oryza sativa germplasm that offers a potential source of resistance, genome-level variations in distinguished resistant and susceptible Mahsuri genotypes remain unexplored. Addressing this gap, the present study employed whole-genome resequencing to elucidate the molecular basis of blast resistance in Mahsuri rice. Whole-genome sequences of a blast-resistant Mahsuri Mutant and its susceptible parent genotype were generated, a total of 116 million reads, with sequencing coverage of 23.91X and 21.76X, respectively. Bioinformatic analyses using SAMtools identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions and deletions (InDels) between the two rice lines, with comparative genomic analysis against the Japonica reference genome revealing a higher variant count in the Mahsuri mutant (4,096,071) than in the parent (4,024,223). Notably, 178,622 SNPs were detected within exonic regions, underscoring their potential impact on protein function and their association with enhanced blast resistance observed in the mutant line. Further genomic analysis identified unique SNPs in several key candidate genes associated with blast resistance, including Pit, Pi64, Pish, Pi21, Piz, Pikm and Pi-ta, providing valuable molecular markers for marker-assisted selection. This comprehensive genomic analysis deepens our understanding of the genetic architecture underlying blast resistance in Mahsuri rice, facilitating more precise and efficient identification of candidate genes to accelerate breeding programs aimed at developing resilient rice varieties for sustainable cultivation in Malaysia and beyond.

MR297 is a high-yielding commercial rice variety extensively cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia to this day, yet it lacks resistance against bacterial leaf blight disease. To mitigate this, ML-1 was derived from MR297 through acute gamma irradiation and has become a promising mutant line developed by Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia. During multiple field trials, ML-1 has shown improved yield potential and resistance during bacterial leaf blight outbreaks. However, comprehensive information on these genetic improvements remains limited. Here, to investigate the comparative genome-wide variations between the wild-type and the mutant line, we performed whole-genome resequencing on MR297 and ML-1 with Illumina NovaSeq™ 6000. Through bioinformatics pipelines, 97.6 and 98.4 million paired-end reads of MR297 and ML-1 were generated with sequence coverages of 39.0x and 38.8x, respectively, and were mapped to the Nipponbare reference genome (GCA_034140825.1). A total of 6,632,119 high-confidence SNPs and InDels in MR297 and ML-1 were identified and among these, 428,552 SNPs and 50,565 InDels were unique to the mutant. Variant functional annotation and effect prediction in both genotypes revealed 42,275 high-impact variants which were mapped onto 22,163 genes. Gene ontology analysis further screened for economically important genes and found 188 genes associated with disease resistance mechanisms and 333 genes associated with yield potential traits in the mutant. These data provide a basis for further analyses to validate putative variants influencing BLB disease mechanisms and may explain ML-1’s improved disease tolerance. These findings serve as valuable resources for the development of allele-specific molecular markers to facilitate marker-assisted selection (MAS) and enhance the precision of future rice improvement programs.