<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD Journal Publishing DTD v2.0 20040830//EN" "journalpublishing.dtd"><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" dtd-version="2.0" xml:lang="en" article-type="reviewer-report"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">JMIRx Bio</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">xbio</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="index">35</journal-id><journal-title>JMIRx Bio</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title>JMIRx Bio</abbrev-journal-title><issn pub-type="epub">2819-2044</issn><publisher><publisher-name>JMIR Publications</publisher-name><publisher-loc>Toronto, Canada</publisher-loc></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">v4i1e89399</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/89399</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Peer-Review Report</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>Peer Review of &#x201C;Relationship Between Seed Coat Color and Cytokinin Concentration in Efficiently Regenerating Leaf Lettuce Shoots: In Vitro Experimental Study&#x201D;</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Soufi</surname><given-names>Hamidreza</given-names></name></contrib></contrib-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="editor"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ikhajiagbe</surname><given-names>Beckley</given-names></name></contrib></contrib-group><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2026</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>8</day><month>1</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>4</volume><elocation-id>e89399</elocation-id><history><date date-type="received"><day>11</day><month>12</month><year>2025</year></date><date date-type="accepted"><day>11</day><month>12</month><year>2025</year></date></history><copyright-statement>&#x00A9; Hamidreza Soufi. Originally published in JMIRx Bio (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://bio.jmirx.org">https://bio.jmirx.org</ext-link>), 8.1.2026. </copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link>), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIRx Bio, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://bio.jmirx.org/">https://bio.jmirx.org/</ext-link>, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.</p></license><self-uri xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="https://bio.jmirx.org/2026/1/e89399"/><related-article related-article-type="preprint" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.1101/2024.12.10.627673" xlink:title="Preprint (bioRxiv)" xlink:type="simple">https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.10.627673v1</related-article><related-article related-article-type="author-comment" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/89391" xlink:title="Authors' Response to Peer-Review Reports" xlink:type="simple">https://bio.jmirx.org/2026/1/e89391</related-article><related-article related-article-type="reviewed-article" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/70496" xlink:title="Published Article" xlink:type="simple">https://bio.jmirx.org/2026/1/e70496</related-article><kwd-group><kwd>leaf lettuce</kwd><kwd>shoot regeneration efficiency</kwd><kwd>6-benzylaminopurine</kwd><kwd>seed coat color</kwd><kwd>CIELAB color scale</kwd><kwd>flavonoid</kwd><kwd>BAP</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><body><p><italic>This is the peer-review report for &#x201C;Relationship Between Seed Coat Color and Cytokinin Concentration in Efficiently Regenerating Leaf Lettuce Shoots: In Vitro Experimental Study.&#x201D;</italic></p><sec id="s2"><title>Round 1 Review</title><sec id="s1-1"><title>Reviewer&#x2019;s Comments on the Manuscript</title><p>The manuscript [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>] presents a well-structured and novel study exploring the correlation between seed coat color and the optimal concentration of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) for shoot regeneration in leaf lettuce cultivars. The research is timely and addresses a significant challenge in plant tissue culture&#x2014;genotypic variability in regeneration efficiency.</p></sec><sec id="s1-2"><title>Strengths</title><p>The experimental design is solid, involving 6 cultivars with distinct seed coat colors.</p><p>The use of the CIELAB color scale adds objectivity to phenotypic assessments.</p><p>The identification of seed coat color as a potential morphological marker for shoot regeneration efficiency is innovative and potentially valuable for breeding and transformation programs.</p></sec><sec id="s1-3"><title>Suggestions for Improvement</title><p>Language and clarity: While the scientific content is strong, the manuscript would benefit from careful language editing for grammar and fluency.</p><p>Statistical reporting: The statistical significance (eg, <italic>P</italic> values) is noted, but a more detailed description of the statistical models and effect sizes would enhance reproducibility.</p><p>Figures and tables: Ensure that all figures and tables referenced (eg, Figure 1, Table S1) are clearly labeled and formatted for clarity. Including a visual summary (graphical abstract) could further enhance impact.</p><p>Discussion depth: The discussion of mechanisms linking seed coat pigmentation to shoot regeneration could be expanded, possibly integrating flavonoid biosynthesis and tissue culture responsiveness more.</p><p>Conclusion: Consider sharpening the Conclusion to emphasize the practical applications of the findings, especially in the context of lettuce transformation systems.</p><p>Overall, this is a meaningful contribution to plant biotechnology literature and warrants publication after minor revisions.</p></sec></sec></body><back><fn-group><fn fn-type="conflict"><p>None declared.</p></fn></fn-group><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="ref1"><label>1</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kimura</surname><given-names>M</given-names> </name><name name-style="western"><surname>Yoshizumi</surname><given-names>T</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>Relationship between seed coat color and cytokinin concentration in efficiently regenerating leaf lettuce shoots: in vitro experimental study</article-title><source>JMIRx Bio</source><year>2026</year><volume>4</volume><fpage>e70496</fpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/70496</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref></ref-list></back></article>