An international team of researchers has developed a protein language model that unites information from protein sequences and structures within a single representation. The new model, CLSS, produces detailed maps of relationships across the protein universe and can accurately represent both full-length protein domains and their pieces. The approach could help researchers uncover distant evolutionary relationships between proteins and better understand how today's enormous diversity of proteins emerged.

A novel OsSBEIIb allele was identified in an indica rice mutant. The OsSBEIIb mutation increases the resistant starch (RS) content in raw rice flour, as well as in retrograded and heated rice. The chalk2 mutant serves as a valuable indica rice germplasm for breeding high-RS rice varieties.

Building upon their earlier platform Crop-GPA 1.0, a team of researchers in China developed Crop-GPA 2.0 to enable transferable SNP-level genotype–phenotype association prediction across crop species. Across multiple crop species, Crop-GPA 2.0 improved cross-species prediction performance, remained robust under limited training data, and identified biologically meaningful SNPs supported by previously reported quantitative trait locus (QTL) evidence.

Stem diameter is an important agronomic trait that affects lodging resistance and stem yield in flax. To clarify the genetic basis of stem diameter, a team of researchers from Xinjiang University, Xinjiang Normal University, and Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science conducted a multi-model genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 200 diverse flax accessions representing oil flax, fiber flax, and oil–fiber dual-purpose flax evaluated in three environments. The study provides genetic insights into the natural variation of flax stem diameter, identifying loci and genes as direct targets for molecular breeding to improve lodging resistance and stem yield.

Researchers in China employed CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to disrupt Dysfunctional Tapetum 1 (DYT1), encoding a conserved regulator of pollen development in plants, and successfully induced complete male sterility in soybean. Phylogenetic analysis identified three DYT1 genes in soybean, among which two bHLH genes, GmDYT1a and GmDYT1c, exhibited distinct expression patterns, and their encoded proteins displayed different subcellular localizations. The study establishes CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of DYT1 as an effective strategy for generating male-sterile lines and provides a genetic resource for hybrid breeding in soybean.

Gastric cancer induces opposing virome changes in blood and gut. The blood virome shifts from phage-dominated to predominantly Anelloviridae (>80%) with a sharp diversity decline, whereas the gut shows increased diversity. We identified 67 novel anelloviruses, one novel gemykibivirus, and Betatorquevirus as a potential blood biomarker for non-invasive diagnosis.

A Food-System Carbon Shift

Tropical islands support important terrestrial and coastal carbon stores while facing strong pressures from development, land conversion, tourism, and climate change. In Hainan Island, food production, aquaculture, processing, and associated supply-chain activities have become increasingly important sources of greenhouse gas emissions within a rapidly developing regional economy.

Authors Zichen Li, Zhaohai Bai, and colleagues from Hainan University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Nanjing University reconstructed the carbon budget of Hainan's food system from 1952 to 2020. Their life cycle assessment framework incorporated offshore ecosystems, land-use and land-use change, crop cultivation, livestock, aquaculture, food processing and consumption, wastewater treatment, and on-farm and off-farm energy use.

Seven Decades of Rising Emissions

Gross food-system emissions increased from 3.29 Mt CO₂ eq in 1952 to 15.13 Mt CO₂ eq in 2020. The analysis attributes this rise principally to fertilizer-related emissions, expansion of tropical crop cultivation, aquaculture growth, and increased energy demand along the food value chain. Nitrogen fertilizer application increased from 223 kg ha⁻¹ to 627 kg ha⁻¹ over the historical period.