Rebuilding Crop "Immune Systems" in the Tide of Climate Change - Latest Research by Professor Duan's Team from Nanjing Agricultural University Wins Bioland SCI Paper Award!

As global climate change intensifies and atmospheric CO₂ concentrations continue to rise, agricultural production is facing unprecedented challenges. The growth environment of crops, the occurrence patterns of pests, and the crop-insect interaction are all undergoing profound changes. Against this backdrop, how to enhance the defense capabilities of crops themselves and build a green and sustainable pest and disease control system has become an important research direction in the field of plant protection.

Recently, Professor Duan's team from the College of Plant Protection at Nanjing Agricultural University published their latest research results in the international authoritative journalPlant, Cell & Environment: Exogenous inhibitors enhance plant resistance to rice planthoppers through boosting phenylpropanoid pathway under elevated CO₂. This study systematically reveals the molecular mechanism of enhancing rice resistance to brown planthoppers by regulating the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway under elevated CO₂ conditions, providing important scientific basis for addressing future climate change.

🏆 This research result has won the Bioland SCI Paper Award, fully demonstrating its academic value and application prospects.

01 Research Highlights

Research Background | Pest and Disease Problems Are Being "Amplified" in the High CO₂ Era

In recent years, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations have risen from 280 ppm before the Industrial Revolution to over 420 ppm, and are expected to exceed 700 ppm by the end of this century. A large number of studies have shown that:
🌿 High CO₂ can promote crop photosynthesis
⚖ At the same time, it leads to an imbalance in the carbon-nitrogen ratio
🐜 The feeding amount of piercing-sucking pests (such as brown planthoppers) increases
❗ The insect resistance of crops decreases instead

Especially in the rice-brown planthopper system, the damage has significantly increased under high CO₂ conditions, seriously threatening food security.

👉 This means that the traditional prevention and control logic can no longer adapt to the future agricultural environment, and we must start from the crop's own defense mechanism.

Research Idea | Starting from "Inhibiting Enzymes" to Rebuild the Crop Defense System

Professor Duan's team focused their research on a key metabolic pathway in plants—thePhenylpropanoid Pathway. This pathway is an important source for plants to synthesize a variety of defense substances, including:
• Phenolic acids
• Lignin
• Flavonoids
• Antioxidants

The research team innovatively introduced two small molecule inhibitors:

👉 By "inhibiting key enzymes → changing metabolic direction", the team induced plants to synthesize more substances with insect-resistant activity.

Core Finding 1 | Defense Response Is Significantly Amplified Under High CO₂

The study set up two conditions in a simulated environment:
🌿 Normal CO₂ (400 ppm)
🌿 Elevated CO₂ (800 ppm)

The results showed that:
✅ Under high CO₂ conditions
✅ After treatment with PA and MDCA
✅ The defense response in rice was significantly enhanced

Manifested as:
• Accumulation of a large amount of ROS (reactive oxygen species)
• Rapid activation of defense signals
• "Amplified activation" of insect-resistant metabolic pathways

This indicates that high CO₂ does not simply "weaken resistance"; instead, it can be transformed into a defense advantage through reasonable regulation.

Core Finding 2 | Key Insect-Resistant Substances Significantly Increase

The study further detected a variety of phenolic acids with insect-resistant activity and found that their levels increased significantly after treatment:
• Vanillic acid
• Gallic acid
• Protocatechuic acid
• Pyrocatechuic acid

📈 Under high CO₂ conditions, the increase in the content of the above substances was particularly obvious.

These substances have been proven to:
• Have a strong antifeedant effect
• Inhibit the feeding behavior of brown planthoppers
• Significantly reduce their survival rate

👉 They are key members of the rice "natural defense system".

Core Finding 3 | Building a Complete Evidence Chain from Behavior to Molecules

This study not only stays at the "phenomenon level" but also constructs a complete multi-layer verification system:
🔬Behavioral level: Electropenetrography (EPG) showed that the feeding time of brown planthoppers was significantly shortened
🧬Physiological level: ROS and PAL activities were significantly increased, and the expression of defense genes was enhanced
🧪Biochemical level: The activity of pest detoxification enzymes was up-regulated, indicating obvious physiological stress
🧠Molecular level: Molecular docking confirmed that phenolic acids can directly act on key detoxification enzymes of pests

👉 Multi-dimensional evidence jointly proves that this defense mechanism is real, stable, and reproducible.

Behind the Scientific Achievements: Two-Win Success for the Team and the Brand
• Nanjing Agricultural University Professor Duan
• Product Used: 96-well plate (Cat. No.: PCR001-96)
• Journal Submitted to: Plant, Cell & Environment
• Impact Factor: IF = 6.3
• Award Received: 1000 JD.com Gift Card