New cryptogamic records. 8

First records of silica-scaled chrysophyte alga for the Leningrad Region and North-West of European Russia, fungi for the Pskov and Novosibirsk regions, and the Republic of Tuva, myxomycetes for the Republic of Belarus, lichens for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area and West Siberia, liverworts for the Kurgan Region, mosses for the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, the Taimyr Peninsula, the Chukotka Autonomous Area, and the Kamchatka Territory from the North Koryakia are presented. The data on their localities, habitats, distribution, and specimens are provided. The specimens are kept in the Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (LE), the Herbarium of M. G. Popov at the Central Siberian Botanical Garden RAS (NSK), or the Herbarium of the Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany NAS of Belarus (MSK-F).

Bibliometric analysis of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) research from Plant Sciences category based on Web of Science

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is one of the most significant horticultural cash crops in the world. The study aimed to identify and analyse the 2,930 articles and review type papers of strawberry research from the Plant Sciences category based on the Web of Science. Papers mainly written in English (2,894, 98.771%), were from a total of 8,838 authors, 96 countries/territories, 1,845 organisations and published in 197 journals and book series. The top seven core journals are ranked as Plant Disease (252, 8.601%), Phytopathology (229, 7.816%), Plant Pathology (93, 3.174%), Frontiers in Plant Science (89, 3.308%), Canadian Journal of Plant Science (86, 2.935%), European Journal of Plant Pathology (86, 2.935%) and Journal of Experimental Botany (86, 2.935%), and these journals each published >86 papers. The top five countries and regions were the USA, People's Republic of China, Spain, Canada and England. The top five organisations were the University of Florida, USDA ARS, University of Malaga, University of California Davis, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The top five authors are Peres, Natalia A. (Peres, Natalia; Peres, N.A.); Madden, LV; Munoz-Blanco, Juan (Munoz-Blanco, J); Schwab, Wilfried (Schwab, W) and Ellis, MA, each published >25 papers. All keywords of the strawberry research from the Plant Sciences category were separated into 11 clusters for different research topics. Visualisations offer exploratory information on the current state in a scientific field or discipline as well as indicate possible developments in the future. The review could provide a valuable guide for designing future studies.

Heterosis goes underground

This article comments on: Dafna A, Halperin I, Oren E, Isaacson T, Tzuri G, Meir A, Schaffer AA, Burger J, Tadmor Y, Buckler ES, Gur A. 2021. Underground heterosis for yield improvement in melon. Journal of Experimental Botany 72, 6205–6218.

Digital insights: bridging the phenotype-to-genotype divide

This article comments on: Han R, Wong AJY, Tang Z, Truco MJ, Lavelle DO, Kozik A, Jin Y, Michelmore R. 2021. Drone phenotyping and machine learning enable discovery of loci regulating daily floral opening in lettuce. Journal of Experimental Botany 72,2979–2994.

Synergistic adaptations: freezing tolerance is associated with desiccation tolerance and activation of violaxanthin de-epoxidase in wintergreen ferns

This article comments on: Fernández-Marín B, Arzac MI, López-Pozo M, Laza JM, Roach T, Stegner M, Neuner G, García-Plazaola JI. 2021. Frozen in the dark: interplay of night-time activity of xanthophyll cycle, xylem attributes, and desiccation tolerance in fern resistance to winter. Journal of Experimental Botany 72, 3168–3184.

Carrot hairy roots: factories for secondary metabolite production

This article comments on: Barba-Espín G, Chen S-T, Agnolet S, Hegelund JN, Stanstrup J, Christensen JH, Müller R, Lütken H. 2020. Ethephon-induced changes in antioxidants and phenolic compounds in anthocyanin-producing black carrot hairy root cultures. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 7030–7045.

A new branch of understanding for barley inflorescence development

This article comments on: Shang Y, Yuan L, Di Y, Jia Y, Zhang Z, Li S, Xing L, Qi Z, Wang X, Zhu J, Hua W, Wu X, Zhu M, Li G, Li C. 2020. A CYC/TB1 type TCP transcription factor controls spikelet meristem identity in barley. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 7118–7131.

Will cytokinins underpin the second ‘Green Revolution’?

This article comments on: Schwarz I, Scheirlinck MT, Otto E, Bartrina I, Schmidt RC, Schmülling T. 2020. Cytokinin regulates the activity of the inflorescence meristem and components of seed yield in oilseed rape. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 7146–7159.

Improving soybean seed oil without poor agronomics

This article comments on: Lakhssassi N, Zhou Z, Liu S, Piya S, Cullen MA, El Baze A, Knizia D, Patil GB, Badad O, Embaby MG, Meksem J, Lakhssassi A, Ghazaleh A, Hewezi T, Meksem K. 2020. Soybean TILLING-by-sequencing+ reveals the role of novel GmSACPD members in unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis while maintaining healthy nodules. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 6969–6987.