Combining novel technologies with interdisciplinary basic research to enhance horticultural crops

Horticultural crops mainly include fruits, vegetables, ornamental trees and flowers, and tea trees (Melaleuca alternifolia). They produce a variety of nutrients for the daily human diet in addition to the nutrition provided by staple crops, and some of them additionally possess ornamental and medicinal features. As such, horticultural crops make unique and important contributions to both food security and a colorful lifestyle. Under the current climate change scenario, the growing population and limited arable land means that agriculture, and especially horticulture, has been facing unprecedented challenges to meet the diverse demands of human daily life. Breeding horticultural crops with high quality and adaptability and establishing an effective system that combines cultivation, post-harvest handling, and sales becomes increasingly imperative for horticultural production. This review discusses characteristic and recent research highlights in horticultural crops, focusing on the breeding of quality traits and the mechanisms that underpin them. It additionally addresses challenges and potential solutions in horticultural production and post-harvest practices. Finally, we provide a prospective as to how emerging technologies can be implemented alongside interdisciplinary basic research to enhance our understanding and exploitation of horticultural crops.     

The technology of ethylene control: use and removal in post-harvest handling of horticultural commodities

A meeting of the Post-Harvest Biology Group of the Association of Applied Biologists on 26 April 1984 discussed the significance of ethylene in the post-harvest handling of horticultural commodities. The natural production of ethylene by crops and the risks of accidental exposure were surveyed. The effects of ethylene on plants were described in terms of ability to respond (responsiveness) and the relationship between response and concentration of ethylene (sensitivity). Sensitivity is related to the properties of ethylene receptors and may be common to all plant tissues. The varying responses to ethylene of fruits, vegetables and ornamentals were described. The limited studies of production and action of ethylene under temperature and atmosphere conditions of normal post-harvest handling were reviewed. Methods of applying and removing ethylene were evaluated in terms of their practicality and applicability. The methodology of ethylene measurement was briefly considered. The potential for further research on post-harvest significance of ethylene was discussed.     

Retrospect and prospects of secondary agriculture and bioprocessing

Secondary agriculture plays a significant role in making a positive impact on the country’s economy. It has potential to increase the value of primary agriculture. It ensures better utilization of renewable agro-bioresources either through value addition or waste utilization. Nurseries, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, compost, fruit-processed products, agro-tourism, weaving, flavours, and dyes are some of the avenues of secondary agriculture. By-products from agricultural crops like wheat and rice bran, corn gluten meal and germ, pulses meal and husk, and sugarcane bagasse, if processed appropriately for deriving industrial products could pave a way in getting better economic returns from agriculture rather using them as livestock feed. Among food crops, major post-harvest losses (30–40%) occurs in fruits and vegetables; their waste being rich in several bioactive compounds possess great potential to be added as a polyphenol rich and fibre source in food products or for the synthesis of food-grade industrial products like ethanol, citric acid and pectin etc. Wastes from floriculture industries can also be utilised for the production of several value-added products such as biofuels, bio-ethanol, compost, organic acids, pigments and dyes, incense sticks, handmade paper production, and sugar syrup. Around the world, 80% of population is dependent on traditional medicine for health care needs. The secondary metabolites from medicinal plants possess pharmaceutical properties and advancement in extraction techniques can lead to novel range of herbal products of high economic value. The market potential of agro-produce seems to be naïve but opportunistic in near future. The advancement in technologies, equipments, and processes would enable enhanced secondary agriculture practices giving range of materials of better quality, yield, nutrition, and convenience. Hence, the potential of secondary agriculture and bioprocessing could be strong boost to the economy, societal status and environmental protection. In this article we have made an effort to understand the secondary agriculture, its potential to uplift the economy and strategies for value addition in different agricultural domains such as horticulture, floriculture and medicinal plants.     

园艺作物花青素合成调控研究进展

花青素是一类保护植物免受生物和非生物胁迫的重要次生代谢产物,因其赋予植物丰富的色彩和对人体的保健功能而受到广泛关注。花青素合成调控机理的相关研究是目前园艺作物分子生物学研究的前沿课题,对于园艺作物花青素含量的提高、种质品质的提升等具有重要的意义。结合国内外园艺作物中花青素生物合成调控方面的最新研究进展,介绍了环境因素、酶与激素、DNA甲基化与泛素化和调控基因等对花青素生物合成的作用,以及花青素抵御外界胁迫的功能机制,综述了近年来园艺作物中花青素生物合成调控的研究成果,以期利用基因工程为提升园艺作物的色彩丰富度提供理论参考。     

基因组学技术大发展助力园艺植物研究取得新进展

园艺植物包括花卉、蔬菜、果树、部分瓜类(如西瓜(Citrullus lanatus)和甜瓜(Cucumis melo))和茶树(Camellia sinensis),在植物分类上涉及大量物种。园艺植物的基因组学和遗传学研究具有重要的理论价值和经济意义。基因组测序技术及相关生物信息学工具的发展为园艺植物基因组和分子生物学研究注入了新的活力。睡莲是一种重要的花卉植物,除了具有观赏价值,其进化地位也非常特殊,属于一种早期被子植物类群。最近,蓝星睡莲(N.colorata)的高质量基因组图谱绘制完成。通过系统分析和比较睡莲基因组与其它被子植物的基因组,研究者阐明了睡莲的进化位置及相关进化事件。所获得的高质量基因组序列将有助于园艺植物研究者开展深入的分子遗传学研究,鉴定到控制和调控花器官、花色花香及品质等众多性状的功能基因,从而推动基础研究的快速发展和加快新品种创制。     

Biotechnological advancement in genetic improvement of broccoli (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica oleracea</Emphasis> L. var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">italica</Emphasis>), an important vegetable crop

With the advent of molecular biotechnology, plant genetic engineering techniques have opened an avenue for the genetic improvement of important vegetable crops. Vegetable crop productivity and quality are seriously affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses which destabilize rural economies in many countries. Moreover, absence of proper post-harvest storage and processing facilities leads to qualitative and quantitative losses. In the past four decades, conventional breeding has significantly contributed to the improvement of vegetable yields, quality, post-harvest life, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there are many constraints in conventional breeding, which can only be overcome by advancements made in modern biology. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) is an important vegetable crop, of the family Brassicaceae; however, various biotic and abiotic stresses cause enormous crop yield losses during the commercial cultivation of broccoli. Thus, genetic engineering can be used as a tool to add specific characteristics to existing cultivars. However, a pre-requisite for transferring genes into plants is the availability of efficient regeneration and transformation techniques. Recent advances in plant genetic engineering provide an opportunity to improve broccoli in many aspects. The goal of this review is to summarize genetic transformation studies on broccoli to draw the attention of researchers and scientists for its further genetic advancement.     

菌核病防治研究进展

菌核病是一种寄主种类广泛的重大植物病害,可侵染450多种重要作物和草类,在我国每年给油菜、大豆以及多种蔬菜带来10～30亿元的损失.介绍了菌核病的症状、危害以及致病机理等,概述了主要的防治措施,并报道了国内外在关于菌核病生物防治、转基因育种、分子机理等方面的研究进展.     

Programmed Cell Death in Relation to Petal Senescence in Ornamental Plants

Cell death is a common event in all types of plant organisms. Understanding the phenomenon of programmed cell death (PCD) is an important area of research for plant scientists because of its role in senescence and the post-harvest quality of ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. In the present paper, PCD in relation to petal senescence in ornamental plants is reviewed. Morphological, anatomical, physiological,and biochemical changes that are related to PCD in petals, such as water content, sink-source relationships,hormones, genes, and signal transduction pathways, are discussed. Several approaches to improving the quality of post-harvest ornamentals are reviewed and some prospects for future research are given.     

Healthy and unhealthy plants: The effect of stress on the metabolism of Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae plants are one of the most popular vegetables consumed all over the world and considered to be a good source of bioactive phytochemicals. Additionally, Brassica species and varieties are increasingly becoming a research model in plant science, as a consequence of the importance of their primary and secondary metabolites. Plant interaction with environmental stress factors including animals and insects herbivory, pathogens, metal ions, light, among others, is known to lead to the activation of various defense mechanisms resulting in a qualitative and/or quantitative change in plant metabolite production. Pre-harvest and/or post-harvest conditions are also known to affect this, since plants produce signaling molecules (e.g. salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, etc.) that cause a direct or indirect activation of metabolic pathways. That ultimately affects the production of phytochemicals, such as carbohydrates (sucrose and glucose), amino acids, phenolics (phenylpropanoids and flavonoids) and glucosinolates. These phytochemicals have diverse applications due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties, but on the other hand these compounds or their breakdown products can act as anti-nutritional factors in diet. In this review we report a wide range of the stress-induced metabolic responses in the Brassica plants commonly used for human consumption.     

The potential of South African plants in the development of new food and beverage products

A review is presented of the history and recent trends in the exploration and development of food plants in southern Africa. The opportunities for developing new crops and new products for local and international markets are discussed. More than 120 species with potential as new food and beverage products (including functional foods, herbal teas and new flavours) are listed and a subjective rating of the commercial potential is provided for each of them. Some noteworthy examples are discussed and illustrated, including several indigenous fruits and vegetables that are as yet poorly known. There is a growing awareness of the importance of indigenous plants in new product development and numerous new products are already being developed. Basic research in botany (to guide genotype selection), horticulture (to develop new crops), food science (to focus on nutritional analyses) and marketing (to understand and develop new marketing approaches) is mentioned as important priorities.     

Deficit Irrigation as a Strategy to Save Water： Physiology and Potential Application to Horticulture

Water is an increasingly scarce resource worldwide and irrigated agriculture remains one of the largest and most inefficient users of this resource. Low water use efficiency （WUE） together with an increased competition for water resources with other sectors （e.g. tourism or industry） are forcing growers to adopt new irrigation and cultivation practices that use water more judiciously. In areas with dry and hot climates, drip irrigation and protected cultivation have improved WUE mainly by reducing runoff and evapotranspiration losses. However, complementary approaches are still needed to increase WUE in irrigated agriculture. Deficit irrigation strategies like regulated deficit irrigation or partial root drying have emerged as potential ways to increase water savings in agriculture by allowing crops to withstand mild water stress with no or only marginal decreases of yield and quality. Grapevine and several fruit tree crops seem to be well adapted to deficit irrigation, but other crops like vegetables tend not to cope so well due to losses in yield and quality. This paper aims at providing an overview of the physiological basis of deficit irrigation strategies and their potential for horticulture by describing the major consequences of their use to vegetative growth, yield and quality of different crops （fruits, vegetables and ornamentals）.     

Deficit Irrigation as a Strategy to Save Water: Physiology and Potential Application to Horticulture

Water is an increasingly scarce resource worldwide and irrigated agriculture remains one of the largest and most inefficient users of this resource. Low water use efficiency (WUE) together with an increased competition for water resources with other sectors (e.g. tourism or industry) are forcing growers to adopt new irrigation and cultivation practices that use water more judiciously. In areas with dry and hot climates, drip irrigation and protected cultivation have improved WUE mainly by reducing runoff and evapotranspiration losses. However, complementary approaches are still needed to increase WUE in irrigated agriculture. Deficit irrigation strategies like regulated deficit irrigation or partial root drying have emerged as potential ways to increase water savings in agriculture by allowing crops to withstand mild water stress with no or only marginal decreases of yield and quality. Grapevine and several fruit tree crops seem to be well adapted to deficit irrigation,but other crops like vegetables tend not to cope so well due to losses in yield and quality. This paper aims at providing an overview of the physiological basis of deficit irrigation strategies and their potential for horticulture by describing the major consequences of their use to vegetative growth, yield and quality of different crops (fruits, vegetables and ornamentals).     

Advances of organic products over conventional productions with respect to nutritional quality and food security

Organic products are derived from the organic production system, following organic agricultural cultivation standards, and processing schedules must be identified by an independent certificate authority. The main characteristic of the organic agricultural production system is that all artificial synthetic materials such as pesticides, fertilizers, growth regulators, feed additives, and gene engineering products are not allowed to use. However, there is much debate on organic production quality and health safety issues in academic circles. Some people believe that there is a “Three Cannot” problem with organic production, that is, organic products “cannot be distinguished, cannot be tasted and cannot be measured” compared to common ones. To objectively reflect the differences in nutritional quality and food safety between organic and conventional products, we combined extensive literatures with our research data and have reported some advances in the sensory quality, nutritional value, and safety of the two types of products. The results showed that organic products tasted better; the percentage of leanness was higher, and the products tasted much tender. The dry matter content of most organic crops was about 7–20% higher than that of conventional foods, and enriched vitamin C, anthocyanins, isoflavones, carotenoids, and other phenolic compounds and more elements such as P, Fe, and Mg and trace elements such as Zn, Cu, and Cr were verified in organic crops. Organic animal products contain more beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids; the nitrate content in organic fruits and vegetables was 20–50% of that in normal fruits. No pesticide residues and less heavy metals were found in the organic products. Our investigation showed that there were obvious differences in quality and safety between the products that originated from organic agriculture systems and conventional alternatives. This conclusion can provide an important theoretical basis for the healthy development of the organic industry.     

Losses in the conservation and utilisation of grass and forage crops*

Losses occur during the conservation of forage crops as a result of plant respiration post-cutting and post-harvest; as a result of fermentation, surface deterioration, and (in the case of wet crops) effluent production whilst in store. Further losses occur when conserved forages are given to ruminants; the largest being that of undigested material voided in faeces. Losses during conservation and utilisation can be reduced by minimising the period of field drying and using chemical additives to improve preservation or digestibility.     

Ensuring crustacean product quality in the post-harvest phase

Recent studies of the fisheries for the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.), have illustrated the negative effects of pathogens and of the physiological stresses of capture processes on the exploitation of live animals and their products, and have identified mitigating measures. Firstly, having established that trawl capture of N. norvegicus is highly stressful, but that these animals have powerful physiological mechanisms of recovery, procedures for on-board recovery of animals destined for vivier transport to distant European markets have been implemented commercially, with significant improvements in survival rates. Such procedures also mitigate against the initiation of a stress-induced muscle necrosis. Secondly, measurements of post-mortem autolytic and spoilage processes have identified the existence of a post-capture 'handling window' of several hours which allows the whole or tailed products to be preserved, by icing or freezing, without detriment to quality. Commercial consortia of Scottish fishermen are exploiting this opportunity to extend product shelf-life by freezing at sea within this handling window. Thirdly, the well-documented infections of Scottish N. norvegicus populations by the dinoflagellate Hematodinium sp. not only provide examples of pathogen-induced mortality, but also have effects on post-harvest products including vivier transport losses and changes in post-mortem degradation leading to earlier organoleptic rejection. Under commercial conditions these effects can be mitigated by post-capture visual screening, but only during the periods of peak patent infection when parasitised animals are visually identifiable. Wider implementation of such mitigating procedures during the harvesting of wild-caught crustaceans will contribute to a more sustainable exploitation of these valuable marine resources.     

Action of jasmonates in plant stress responses and development — Applied aspects

Jasmonates (JAs) are lipid-derived compounds acting as key signaling compounds in plant stress responses and development. The JA co-receptor complex and several enzymes of JA biosynthesis have been crystallized, and various JA signal transduction pathways including cross-talk to most of the plant hormones have been intensively studied. Defense to herbivores and necrotrophic pathogens are mediated by JA. Other environmental cues mediated by JA are light, seasonal and circadian rhythms, cold stress, desiccation stress, salt stress and UV stress. During development growth inhibition of roots, shoots and leaves occur by JA, whereas seed germination and flower development are partially affected by its precursor 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA). Based on these numerous JA mediated signal transduction pathways active in plant stress responses and development, there is an increasing interest in horticultural and biotechnological applications. Intercropping, the mixed growth of two or more crops, mycorrhization of plants, establishment of induced resistance, priming of plants for enhanced insect resistance as well as pre- and post-harvest application of JA are few examples. Additional sources for horticultural improvement, where JAs might be involved, are defense against nematodes, biocontrol by plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, altered composition of rhizosphere bacterial community, sustained balance between growth and defense, and improved plant immunity in intercropping systems. Finally, biotechnological application for JA-induced production of pharmaceuticals and application of JAs as anti-cancer agents were intensively studied.     

Proanthocyanidins--a final frontier in flavonoid research?

Proanthocyanidins are oligomeric and polymeric end products of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. They are present in the fruits, bark, leaves and seeds of many plants, where they provide protection against predation. At the same time they give flavor and astringency to beverages such as wine, fruit juices and teas, and are increasingly recognized as having beneficial effects on human health. The presence of proanthocyanidins is also a major quality factor for forage crops. The past 2 years have seen important breakthroughs in our understanding of the biosynthesis of the building blocks of proanthocyanidins, the flavan-3-ols (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin. However, virtually nothing is known about the ways in which these units are assembled into the corresponding oligomers in vivo. Molecular genetic approaches are leading to an understanding of the regulatory genes that control proanthocyanidin biosynthesis, and this information, together with increased knowledge of the enzymes specific for the pathway, will facilitate the genetic engineering of plants for introduction of value-added nutraceutical and forage quality traits.     

In-silico comparative study of inhibitory mechanism of Plant Serine Proteinase Inhibitors

The nematodes like root-knot and cyst are plant-parasitic pest found in horticultural and agricultural crops. They do damages in the roots of plants as a result losses million tons of production. High cost of nematicides and environment safety concern has necessitated finding of some alternative methods. Under Integrated Pest Management (IPM) such problems are solving significantly by means of target gene inhibition, agrobacterium mediated transformation etc. One of this strategy use Plant Proteinase Inhibitors (PIs) gene which are used to control the proteolysis mechanism of Pest by inhibiting gut Serine Proteinase (SP). Present work investigates the utility of computer aided methods to study the mechanism of Protein-Protein interactions and thereby inhibition of Serine Proteinase by PIs. Hence 3D models of Serine Proteinase as well as Serine Proteinase Inhibitors (SPIs) generated using homology modeling. Validations of constructed models have been done by PROCHECK, VERIFY3D, ERRAT and PROSA. Prediction of Protein interacting surface patches and site specific protein docking was performed by using ZDOCK Server. Backbone refinement of output protein complexes was executed in Fiber Dock server. Interaction study between SP and SPIs complexes shows their comparative inhibition efficacy, measured in terms of number of hydrogen bonds, Van dar wall attraction and docking energy. This work reported that Vigna marina and Phaseolus oligospermus are having better inhibition efficiency in comparison to other inhibitors.     

寄主挥发物、叶色和表皮毛在美洲斑潜蝇寄主选择中的作用

在室内条件下 ,初步研究了寄主挥发物、叶色和表皮毛在美洲斑潜蝇寄主选择中的作用。在嗅觉仪试验中 ,寄主叶片挥发物对美洲斑潜蝇雌成虫没有明显的引诱作用 ;在叶色反应试验中 ,美洲斑潜蝇雌成虫在叶子圆片上停留的时间明显大于在滤纸圆片上停留的时间 (p<0 .0 1) ,其在有叶片区域分布的数量明显多于空白对照 (p <0 .0 1) ;在表皮毛试验中 ,美洲斑潜蝇在无毛叶片上的产卵量明显大于在有毛叶片上的产卵量 (p <0 .0 1)。上述结果表明 ,在对寄主的定向和定位过程中 ,美洲斑潜蝇的视觉起着重要的作用 ,而嗅觉不起作用 ;叶片表皮毛有抑制产卵的作用