Comparative Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Genes Related to Spine Development in Cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i>)

Fruit spine is an important quality trait of cucumber. To better understand the molecular basis of cucumber spine development and function, RNA-Seq was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in fruit spines of different development stages, namely, 8 days before anthesis (SpBA8), anthesis (SpA) and 8 days after anthesis (SpAA8). Stage-wise comparisons obtained 2,259 (SpBA8 vs. SpA), 4,551 (SpA vs. SpAA8), and 5,290 (SpBA8 vs. SpAA8) DEGs. All the DEGs were classified into eight expression clusters by trend analysis. Among these DEGs, in addition to the Mict, Tril, CsTTG1, CsMYB6, NS, and Tu genes that have been reported to regulate fruit spine formation, we found that the CsHDG11, CsSCL8, CsSPL8, CsZFP6 and CsZFP8 may also be involved in spine development in cucumber. Our study provides a theoretical basis for further research on molecular mechanisms of spine development in cucumber.     

Effects of Allelochemicals on Root Growth and Pod Yield in Response to Continuous Cropping Obstacle of Peanut

Continuous cropping (CC) obstacle is a major threat in legume crops production; however, the underlying mechanisms concerning the roles allelochemicals play in CC obstacle are poorly understood. The current 2-year study was conducted to investigate the effects of different kinds and concentrations of allelochemicals, p-hydroxybenzoic acid (H), cinnamic acid (C), phthalic acid (P), and their mixtures (M) on peanut root growth and productivity in response to CC obstacle. Treatment with H, C, P, and M significantly decreased the plant height, dry weight of the leaves and stems, number of branches, and length of the lateral stem compared with control. Exogenous application of H, C, P, and M inhibited the peanut root growth as indicated by the decreased root morphological characters. The allelochemicals also induced the cell membrane oxidation even though the antioxidant enzymes activities were significantly increased in peanut roots. Meanwhile, treatment with H, C, P, and M reduced the contents of total soluble sugar and total soluble protein. Analysis of ATPase activity, nitrate reductase activity, and root system activity revealed that the inhibition effects of allelochemicals on peanut roots might be due to the decrease in activities of ATPase and NR, and the inhibition of root system. Consequently, allelochemicals significantly decreased the pod yield of peanut compared with control. Our results demonstrate that allelochemicals play a dominant role in CC obstacle-induced peanut growth inhibition and yield reduction through damaging the root antioxidant system, unbalancing the osmolytes accumulation, and decreasing the activities of root-related enzymes.

     

Effects of Ultrasonic Seed Treatment on Rice Performances under the Seawater Irrigation

Irrigation with desalinated seawater is an effective way to use ocean resources and save freshwater resources. However, seawater irrigation would cause yield loss of rice. In order to explore the effects of ultrasonic seed treatment on rice performances under seawater irrigation, the present study was conducted with three irrigation treatments (fresh water (SW0), ten times diluted seawater (SW1%, 0.34% salinity), and five times diluted seawater (SW2%, 0.68% salinity)) and two seed treatments (ultrasonic treated seeds (UT) and untreated seeds (CK)). Compared with SW0 + CK treatment, SW1 + CK and SW2 + CK treatments significantly decreased grain yield by 56.19% and 66.69%, spikelets per panicle by 30.11% and 55.80%, seed-setting rate by 23.05% and 18.87%, and 1000-grain weight by 4.55% and 14.50%, respectively. Seawater irrigation also significantly increased malonaldehyde (MDA) and proline contents and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD). Ultrasonic seed treatment significantly increased the grain number per panicle, seed-setting rate, and grain yield of rice under seawater irrigation. Compared with CK, UT treatment substantially reduced MDA content, SOD activity, and POD activity in SW1 and SW2 conditions. Furthermore, UT treatment significantly increased proline content and down-regulated proline dehydrogenase activity under seawater irrigation. We deduced that ultrasonic seed treatment enhanced the salinity tolerance of rice by inducing the proline accmulation. Our findings indicated that ultrasonic seed treatment could an effective strategy to promote rice productivity under seawater irrigation.     

Investigation of <i>GhFAT</i> Genes Related to Seed Oil Content and Fatty Acid Composition in <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.

Fatty Acyl-ACP thioesterase (FAT) is a key enzyme controlling oil biosynthesis in plant seeds. FATs can be divided into two subfamilies, FATA and FATB according to their amino acid sequences and substrate specificity. The Upland cotton genome contains 20 GhFAT genes, amongst which 6 genes were of the GhFATA subfamily and 14 of the GhFATB subfamily. The 20 GhFAT genes are unevenly distributed on 14 chromosomes. The GhFATA genes have 5 or 7 exons and the GhFATB genes have 6 or 7 exons. All GhFAT proteins have the conserved Acyl-ACP_TE domain and PLN02370 super family, the typical characteristics of plant thioesterases. Analyses of the expression level of GhFATs and the compositions of fatty acid in 5–60 days-post-anthesis seeds showed that the ratio of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATB12, GhFATB3, and GhFATB10; the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acid to polyunsaturated fatty acids was consistent with the expression profile of GhFATA3. The oil contents of mature cottonseeds were positively correlated with the contents of palmitic acid and linolenic acid as well as seed vigor. These results provide essential information for further exploring the role(s) of the specific GhFATs in determining oil biosynthesis and cottonseed compositions.     

Successful application of microspore culture in pakchoi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino var. communis Tsen et Lee) for hybrid breeding

Protoplasma - Microspore embryogenesis is an effective method of obtaining double haploid (DH) lines in only 1&nbsp;year. However, the microspore embryogenesis protocol was not efficient in...     

Melatonin Promotes Rice Seed Germination under Drought Stress by Regulating Antioxidant Capacity

Drought stress is a serious threat to the germination of plant seeds and the growth of seedlings. Melatonin has been proven to play an important role in alleviating plant stress. However, its effect on seed germination under drought conditions is still poorly understood. Therefore, we studied the effects of melatonin on rice seed germination and physiological characteristics under drought stress. Rice seeds were treated with different concentrations of melatonin (i.e., 0, 20, 100, and 500 μM) and drought stress was simulated with 5% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000). The results showed that 100 μM melatonin can effectively improve the germination potential, rate and index; the vigor index of rice seeds; and the length of the shoot and root. In addition, that treatment also increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA). The grey relational grade between the shoot MDA content and the melatonin seed-soaking treatment was the highest, which could be useful for evaluating the effect of melatonin on drought tolerance. Two-way analysis of variance showed that the effect of single melatonin treatment on rice seeds was more significant than that of single drought stress and interaction treatment of drought and melatonin (p < 0.05). The subordinate function results showed that 100 μM melatonin significantly improved the germination and physiological indexes of rice seeds and effectively alleviated the adverse effects of drought stress on rice seedlings. The results helped to improve the understanding of the morphological and physiological involvement of melatonin in promoting seed germination and seedling development under drought stress.     

Subcellular Distribution and Chemical Forms of Cadmium in the Medicine Food Homology Plant <i>Platycodon grandiflorum</i> (Jacq.) A.DC.

Although Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A.DC. is a renowned medicine food homology plant, reports of excessive cadmium (Cd) levels are common, which affects its safety for clinical use and food consumption. To enable its Cd levels to be regulated or reduced, it is necessary to first elucidate the mechanism of Cd uptake and accumulation in the plant, in addition to its detoxification mechanisms. This present study used inductively couple plasma-mass-spectrometry to analyze the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Cd in different tissues of P. grandiflorum. The experimental results showed that Cd was mainly accumulated in the roots [predominantly in the cell wall (50.96%–61.42%)], and it was found primarily in hypomobile and hypotoxic forms. The proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction increased after Cd exposure, and the proportion of insoluble phosphate Cd and oxalate Cd increased in roots and leaves, with a higher increase in oxalate Cd. Therefore, it is likely that root retention mechanisms, cell wall deposition, vacuole sequestration, and the formation of low mobility and low toxicity forms are tolerance strategies for Cd detoxification used by P. grandiflorum. The results of this study provide a theoretical grounding for the study of Cd accumulation and detoxification mechanisms in P. grandiflorum, and they can be used as a reference for developing Cd limits and standards for other medicine food homology plants.     

酿酒酵母合成木栓酮及其衍生物的研究现状及展望

木栓酮及其衍生物在植物中普遍存在且种类繁多,具有丰富的生理药理学活性。木栓酮衍生物是以木栓酮为骨架经细胞色素氧化酶P450(cytochromeP450,CYP450)及UDP葡萄糖醛酸转移酶(UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, UGT)修饰而来。植物中天然木栓酮及其衍生物的含量极低,传统的萃取分离和化学合成效率低、能耗高且污染环境,因此,利用酿酒酵母作为宿主菌生产木栓酮及其衍生物是一种高效且环保的策略。本文从增加前体含量、提高酶活性和产物合成的亚细胞定位等方面介绍并展望了木栓酮在酿酒酵母中高效生产的策略,并介绍了目前几种常见的木栓酮衍生物研究现状,从根据碳骨架相似性挖掘CYP450、蛋白质工程改造CYP450和合成代谢基因簇的挖掘等方面展望了木栓酮衍生物的合成途径解析的新思路。