Multidimensional molecular strategies for crop photoperiod adaptation and latitudinal expansion

The traditional regional distribution of agriculture was historically constrained by crops' inherent dependence on local environmental cues, particularly photoperiod and temperature. Natural domestication and artificial selection have progressively reduced this dependence on native ecosystems, resulting in a profound restructuring of global agricultural patterns. From the perspective of this global restructuring, this study systematically examines the multidimensional molecular mechanisms underlying photoperiodic adaptive evolution, including population-level point mutations, epigenetic modifications, structural variations, and copy number variations. In parallel, we propose that the latitudinal adaptive expansion of crops represents not merely an ecological niche shift, but a complex evolutionary process driven by coordinated genetic reprogramming across the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome. Consequently, reshaping future agricultural landscapes requires moving beyond the constraints imposed by individual climatic factors and establishing a multidimensional framework that integrates environment, genetic traits, and ecological adaptation. Moreover, rather than focusing solely on the speed of regional expansion, future molecular design should promote the coordinated improvement of broad-spectrum latitudinal adaptability and elite yield-quality traits, thereby securing global food safety and agricultural sustainability.