{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T06:07:31Z","timestamp":1789020451511,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Grain size represents a key agronomic trait and a major determinant of barley grain yield potential. We observed that the grain size of\n                    <jats:italic>Epichlo\u00eb bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    -inoculated barley plants were significantly larger than those of the uninoculated barley plants. However, the mechanisms and functions by which the endophyte fungus\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    modulates barley grain size have not been investigated. In this study, we compared grain size between uninoculated (KE-) and\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    -inoculated (KE+) barley plants to elucidate the association between\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    colonization and barley grain size. Quantitative grain morphometric analysis further showed that grain width and grain area increased in KE+ by 6.8% and 5.2% compared with KE-, respectively. Structural analyze revealed that\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    increased starch granule density in seeds. Phytohormone analyze showed that IAA enhanced nutrient transport by activating endosperm transfer cells, while ABA increased starch and storage protein synthesis for better grain filling. Integrated transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses revealed that\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    activated multiple hormone pathways, and enhanced the antioxidant system to regulate grain size. These findings suggest that inoculation with\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    may improve barley grain yield performance. This study provides mechanistic insights into\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola-<\/jats:italic>\n                    mediated regulation of major seed agronomic traits and proposes a promising strategy for optimizing plant architecture by\n                    <jats:italic>E. bromicola<\/jats:italic>\n                    inoculation in sustainable agriculture.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1917832","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T05:33:13Z","timestamp":1789018393000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An Epichlo\u00eb fungal endophyte regulates grain size in barley"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Zhengfeng","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plant Protection, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wanyou","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Grassland Research, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Chinese Academy of Forestry","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems; Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education Gansu Tech Innovation Centre of Western China Grassland Industry Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenjiang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems; Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education Gansu Tech Innovation Centre of Western China Grassland Industry Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Economic Crop and Malt Barley, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Science","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yonghong","family":"Qi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Plant Protection, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chunjie","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems; Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education Gansu Tech Innovation Centre of Western China Grassland Industry Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University","place":["Lanzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0272944","article-title":"Endophytic Metarhizium robertsii suppresses the phytopathogen, cochliobolus heterostrophus and modulates maize defenses","volume":"17","author":"Ahmad","year":"2022","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"935","DOI":"10.1021\/pr060549i","article-title":"Standard techniques for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue: a pathologist\u2019s perspective","volume":"35","author":"Al-Sabawy","year":"2021","journal-title":"Iraqi J. 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