PONE-D-20-12291

Morphological and physiological characteristics of maize seedling adapted to low iron stress

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Jichao,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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Basharat Ali, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Dear editor,

Regarding this manuscript, the manuscript is well written and after some minor revision could be suitable for publication. The authors need to significantly improve its quality. There is significant work to be done on this manuscript before acceptance, particularly in materials and methods, discussion and conclusion for more information see the attached file.

Regards

HM Rawashdeh

General comments

This is an interesting article. It addresses important issues of iron deficiency, especially in arid and semi-arid calcareous soil regions and the authors have done a good job. However, I have a few comments and questions and I hope this can contribute to a better and clearer manuscript.

Language: The present language quality is not good enough and needs to be improved. The manuscript would benefit from a thorough proofread by a native English speaker to improve grammar.

Abstract: I would prefer a results section with fewer details and numbers. The most important findings can be addressed, but I would not include all findings. The abstract is not well balanced.

Introduction: It is a good introduction. It contextualizes and gives important background knowledge.

Materials and methods: it is good but the authors need to give more details about their experiments such as the number of replications, experimental design, and statistical analysis that they used in their experiments.

Results: Overall it is a good result and clear.

Discussion: Overall it is a good discussion; I think the discussion would be even better if the authors use more appropriate references to have a good discussion.

Conclusion: the conclusion is too long; the authors can be reduced without losing the key.

References: some of the references are old [17] and [18]. All the references should be presented according to journal guidelines.

Reviewer #2: Title: Morphological and physiological characteristics of maize seedling adapted to low iron stress

The ms by Long et al., mainly reports the morphological and physiological responses of two rice cultivars to iron deficiency in terms of root morphology, growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant enzymes. Although the investigation is interesting and comprehensive, but need a through revision prior to publications. There are numerous flaws in different sections of the ms, as indicated below in the specific comments.

Abstract: Clearly add the treatments’ description. Levels of Fe supply? If possible, add the numeric description of some key parameters. Conclude the abstract section (Key findings in a single sentence)

Better to change the title, reporting key findings of your study.

Introduction: Introduction section contains various unnecessary statements. Remain focused on the topic. Begin with the broadest scope and get progressively narrower.

Add a clear-cut research hypothesis.

Whether the Fe deficiency is a problem in southwest China. Add such information in introduction. I think, its not a problem in soils with pH<7.

Objectives should be specific and clear. Morphological and physiological parameters were only investigated for two cultivars (not for all).

Methods:

It is necessary to clearly substantiate the use of two cultivars (Exp 2), since there are no explanations in the text of the article. It would nice if authors shortly indicate some major traits of chosen maize cultivars. Why these cultivars were selected to experiment? Based of which parameters?

L113: The seeds were then germinated (How many?) Similarly, how many seedlings were transferred to pots.

Add the details of software used.

If possible, add the brief methodology for the measurement of different parameters. How about sampling method/time/amount?

Clearly specify the details on statistical analysis separately for exp 1 and 2. It can not be same.

Information regarding experimental design is missing. Be consistent regarding the use of abbreviations…

Results. Despite the large amount of results obtained by the authors, they look like a set of data that are not interconnected.

Language needs substantial improvement. There are several grammatical and typo mistakes. Many statements are confusing/unclear. e.g. L203: the decreases in plant height and stem diameter (compared with what?)

Why the authors only measured only CAT and POD, if the data regarding other oxidative stress indicators (e.g ROS) is not present.

Discussion should be merely based on the observed findings Answer the question posed in introduction, and correlate your finding with the existing knowledge. Avoid the repetition. i.e description of results. Check whether the format of all references is according to the journal format.

Conclusion: Just report the key findings, it should not be detailed summary.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Hamzeh Mohmmad Rawashdeh, National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Amman, Jordan

Reviewer #2: Yes: Saddam Hussain

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Morphological and physiological.docx

PONE-D-20-12291R1

Root morphological and physiological characteristics of maize seedlings adapted to low iron stress

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Yuan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

ACADEMIC EDITOR: Please see reviewers comments, mostly they are encouraging to enhance the English language, and brief methodology for the measurements of different morphological and physiological attributes is needed. 

==============================

Please submit your revised manuscript by 20-08-2020. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Basharat Ali, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: English must be enhanced

Even though suggestions in his respect were provided by former reviewers, they are not respected, and the manuscript was not edited as a result. The authors must take into account the above-mentioned suggestions and make the suitable corrections.

Reviewer #2: Authors have addressed all the comments raised by me, and the revised draft is much improved. However, there are still few minor issues, which need to be addressed prior to publication.

-Be consistent regarding abbreviations. All the abbreviations should be well defined at first mentioned place. Line36, CAT and POD are unexplained.

-Keywords are not sufficient, and do not cover the main theme of ms.

-In methods, add appropriate reference regarding the selection of treatments, and usage of nutrient solution.

-Add brief methodology for the measurements of different morphological and physiological attributes.

-In statistical analysis, probability level for mean comparison test?

In discussion: Discuss the activities of antioxidant enzymes in relation to Fe supply.

In Figure 6 captions: define 1 U for CAT and POD,

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Saddam Hussain

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Manuscript PONE-D-20-16795.docx

Root morphological and physiological characteristics of maize seedlings adapted to low iron stress

PONE-D-20-12291R2

Dear Dr. Jichao Yuan,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/, click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Basharat Ali, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The authors have addressed all the comments advanced and constructive suggestions, which helped to improve the quality of their manuscript. I would like to stress out that I support the potential

publication of this paper due to its scientific interest.

Reviewer #2: Authors have improved the ms as per suggestions, therefore, I am happy to recommend acceptance in PLOS ONE.

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Saddam Hussain